HCMS students learn and grow in equity workshops

At Horizon Community Middle School, equity is the foundation of meaningful student engagement and transformative conversations. For the past few years, the school has been building a culture where students don’t just learn about equity—they help lead the work. 

The journey began with student equity teams at each grade level. These teams created a space where all students could come together and talk openly about their lived experiences, the challenges they face, and the opportunities they see to make their school a more inclusive place for everyone. What started as thoughtful conversations quickly grew into a full-scale student equity workshop, an immersive several-hour experience focused on identity, belonging, and change-making.

“We talk about race and racism as well as other inequities in education and the world at large,” shared Horizon Community principal Dr. Brad Weinhold. “We have students with many different lived experiences, and they are eager to engage in these conversations. They don’t want to ignore it, and they want to be included in the solution.”

The conversations center around understanding these challenges and how adults and students can work together. Though the topics are complex, it’s critical to help ensure every student has access to what they need. 

“We’re continuing to build our school culture as a community of learners,” added Weinhold. “When students feel included, they can be powerful champions for this vision. Students are now thinking about how to expand these conversations across advisory classes, into assemblies, and into the school’s larger identity.”

Students at Horizon Community have been inspired by their older peers at Smoky Hill High School; over the past two years, students from the “Call 2 Action” class at Smoky have visited the middle school to engage with and inspire students. 

“When our students heard about the class at Smoky, they said they wanted to take that class,” said Weinhold. “They want to advocate and be part of their community.”

Sarah Ogide, an English and language arts teacher at Smoky Hill High School, has been part of this work and believes that students can build their ability to facilitate courageous conversations about race and the ability to speak their own truths.

“When students are given the opportunity to help create their school culture, they can morph it into something beautiful, relevant, inclusive, and most importantly, authentic to the student population,” said Ogide.

Dan Taylor, an equity partner in the office of Equity, Culture, and Community Engagement, has seen positive changes in students, including the development of their own voice and vision for what equity should look like in their school community.

“It has been truly amazing to see the development of authentic leadership,” Taylor shared. “I think the best thing to do is to build relationships with the student community first. As adult leaders, we have to be attuned to general student needs and develop authentic trust before ‘the work’ begins. But being ready to listen and learn paves the way for uplifting all our students.”

Moving forward, plans at HCMS include expanding the work to involve more students, continuing to engage in equity-related conversations between students and staff members, and creating more action projects which have an impact on the entire community.