The Student Ambassador Program aims to address systemic barriers in education by equipping a variety of high school students from diverse learning backgrounds and educators with practical, evidence-based strategies and fostering a network for broader impact. Through a series of civic leadership and action-research seminars, students engage in hands-on projects that develop skills in leadership, research, and advocacy. Ongoing coaching, small-group support, and post-program evaluations ensure students’ voices are amplified and the program continues to evolve based on participant feedback.
Identify systemic barriers and provide practical, timely, evidence-based solutions to address needs/challenges faced by CA educators.
Create agency in all those working with students through knowledge about how to meet the diverse needs of learners.
Create a network to multiply the impact of efforts to improve educational outcomes.
Pre-Program Planning, Recruitment, Selection and Design
Core Activities
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Collaborate with stakeholder team to finalize design of customized curriculum and program structure.
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Provide evidence-based practices and curricular recommendations for civic engagement and social justice leadership experience and final project.
Full Group Civic Leadership and Action Research Seminars
Core Activities
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Students learn steps for engaging in a civic leadership action-research project. Sample topics include: design thinking, stakeholder mapping, collecting and analyzing qualitative data, creative brainstorming, prototyping and iterating.
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Students participate in interactive leadership training focused on skills such as: active listening, giving and receiving feedback, project management, conflict resolution, and growth mindset.
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In teams, students prepare final project highlighting their authentic voice and findings from action research for presentation to an external audience.
Small-Group Follow-Ups and Individual Project Coaching
Core Activities
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Small group student research teams meet with assigned staff for 30-45 minutes monthly for final project development including research support, answering questions, and final project preparation.
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Feedback and coaching on final project preparation and delivery.
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Staff available for additional as-needed support.
Post-Program Recap, Evaluations and Future Recommendations
Core Activities
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Assist in preparation of program recap that can be broadly shared to highlight and empower authentic student voice
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Partner with UC|CSU Collaborative on program evaluation and iteration.
