Empowered Youth at 360 High School
Make sure to check out Melissa’s interview with the principal of 360 High School here.
Jashua Cabrera
11th grader at 360 High School
Tyrell David
11th grader at 360 High School seen here with beloved author Jacqueline Woodson at the XQ Schools event.
5/8/21
Leadership -
Jashua:
If there’s anything 360 High School has done for me, it’s shape me into the leader I am today. Coming into high school, I envisioned myself as a leader but in reality I was far from the person, student, and leader I wanted to be. As advertised, from the first day I stepped foot in 360, I was guided towards leadership opportunities in and out of class. My first leadership experience came in the form of the Student Council; a group of students from every grade, voted in as co-class presidents by their classmates. As a member of the Student Council, we made decisions/ planned seemingly everything the entire year. This was a refreshing change of pace from middle school where I felt my voice was silenced. As a result of me taking this leap of faith towards becoming a better leader, I was presented with multiple more leadership opportunities such as the XQ Design Team and the Greenhouse Project. I’m grateful for the trust Kerry and everyone at 360 continues to give me.
Tyrell:
I wanted to just be a regular student coming to 360. A “come in, do your work and go to basketball practice or go home” type of student. But as time went on during the beginning of my freshman year, I was introduced to the issues in our school and how the Student Council could help tweak that. Me being given the opportunity to witness something positive happen to 360, and knowing I was a part of it, made me want to become a better leader. Receiving an invite to join 360’s team in high school redesign work with XQ Schools showed me that we were not the only school looking for improvement. Watching teachers and students from other schools talk about what their schools and communities go through, helped me better understand my role as a leader. I started to become fascinated with early leadership and how it gradually makes you a more optimistic person. I thank Kerry and the 360 family for shaping me into who I am today.
Connection with Students and Staff - Jashua
Generally, when you hear about 360, the connection between teachers and students is brought up as one of the most loved things about us. In my personal experience, that’s one of the things that gives 360 its identity. Students love the school, appreciate teachers and staff members and have multiple people they trust in the building. School is more than just school to us, we have a relationship with teachers that makes it fun to be in the building and in class. Teachers take our input not only for future electives, activities, and extracurriculars but for the things we’ll learn in class. To me, having a decision in the direction my learning goes is very important. Lastly, the ability to fully trust my teachers to create a rigorous lesson while receiving the same amount of support and trust in my ideas in class is a right I didn’t know I cared for, until now.
Innovation and Creative Freedom - Tyrell
When you walk into 360, you can see the many hands on murals and displays of art along the walls. Students have many ways to express themselves, but to be able to put it on an open platform to show your peers your skills and thinking through innovation. We are also trying out passion projects that help students find and use their own interests in their community. It's expected that everyone brings something unique out of themselves. Our student body has many underrated talents, and everyday we work to bring ourselves out of our shells. Even in the classroom we use creative ways to learn such as page poetry, making something hands-on in the makerspace lab (3D printing, sewing, etc.), creating readings on real world problems, and using art as a way to connect with history. These are all ways innovation and creativity tie into 360’s goal as a maker-focused school.