From Protest to Partnership: Building Student Leadership at Yeronga State High School
Tapping in to the energy of their engaged student population, educators at Yeronga State High School are inviting students to actively re-engineer forms of student engagement. (image supplied)
The morning began like any other at Yeronga State High School in Queensland, Australia—until approximately 150 students assembled on the basketball court with placards, chants, and a clear message. The 2020 Black Lives Matter protests had sparked something among the 14-to-17-year-olds, and after a series of observations close to home, they organized their own demonstration before school started.
"We came to school one morning. The students had come earlier and organised themselves," recalls Holly Haswell-Smith, Head of Department for Years 9 and 10, whose portfolio includes student voice and leadership. "They had placards. They were chanting. They had organised themselves so well."
Rather than viewing the protest as a problem, the school recognized an opportunity. "We actually need to get back on the front foot with this," Holly explains. "We've heard that they are not happy and we need to talk about what it's all about."
Building a Framework for Voice
What began with ad hoc forums evolved into something more structured. Holly proposed a uniform summit to address one of the students' pressing concerns, then developed a repeatable protocol. "Now I have this formula that I can manipulate to different situations," she says. The summits now happen regularly, covering everything from uniform policy to major issues like the annual Women's Summit.
Engaging students well in advance of the biennial event, Yeronga Celebrates, opens opportunities to shape wider cultural patterns and build transferrable leadership skills. (image supplied)
But transforming student voice into sustained leadership development required more than meetings. This year, Holly connected with Charlotte (Lottie) Dowling from Inspire Citizens to add structure and accountability to the Yeronga Celebrates planning process—the school's biennial cultural celebration.
"I like the accountability this brings," Holly explains. "When it's just me and I have these working relationships with students, sometimes students can use that to avoid actually following through with tasks they have promised to complete." It is into this scenario that another adult facilitator is welcomed to play a role.
The External Advantage
The triangulation between Holly, Lottie, and the students creates a different dynamic. Students who sign up for leadership suddenly find themselves accountable to someone outside the school walls. "Those students who feel like they can be a bit wishy washy with me then have another adult in their life that is asking them to follow up," Holly notes.
Inspire Citizens brought more than accountability. When Holly asked about integrating New Metrics micro-credentialing elements—a framework from Melbourne University covering learner agency, collaboration, and active citizenship—Lottie ran with it. "I needed for the students to find the links between what they're doing and their leadership growth," Holly explains. "The fact that they're flexible enough to be able to integrate something so big—Lottie would have had to do some reading and research and build materials that would fit that."
New Metrics Framework in Action
The integration of Melbourne University's New Metrics framework provides students with concrete language for their leadership journey. The framework's three elements—learner agency, collaboration, and active citizenship—offer students a way to reflect on specific growth areas.
Complementary frameworks are employed by Yeronga educators as they seek to develop more robust student leadership potential. (image supplied)
"One of the elements is acting outside of your own self-interest," Holly explains, describing conversations with a sports-focused captain who struggled to engage with projects beyond athletics. "If we're going to take on leadership roles, we need to actually try and step into other people's shoes and other roles to try and broaden our interests."
The framework breaks down soft skills into observable criteria: building alliances beyond friendship groups, communicating clearly during conflict, seeking help from the broader community. Holly helps students use these elements as a self-reflection template, identifying where they stand as "beginning," "developing," or "solid" leaders. In one-on-one meetings, Holly offers practical tools—like BIQ scripts (Behavior, Impact, Question) for addressing communication challenges—that connect directly to the students' self-identified growth areas.
Lessons in Real Time
The Yeronga Celebrates planning revealed the full spectrum of leadership development. Year 9 students Aleandra and Tony delivered a passport system that exceeded expectations, creating stamps and prizes that worked during both the student day and the community afternoon. Year 10's Freshta integrated her book club into the celebration with a multilingual books showcase, complete with custom bookmarks.
Other groups struggled. The Sports Group foundered when their captain couldn't maintain momentum, teaching team members about real-world workplace dynamics. "Sometimes you have to actually manage upward," Holly reflects from her one-on-one conversations with frustrated group members. "And sometimes you need to subtly get jobs done outside of leadership."
The Interact group started strong but buckled under Year 12 pressures. "The conversations were more about how they need to look after themselves," Holly says, pivoting from leadership frameworks to wellbeing. Even the Business students' unrealized popcorn and snow cone venture became a learning moment about following through.
The Bigger Picture
Yeronga Celebrates itself—a 12-hour festival where students wear cultural dress and participate in workshops, concerts, food trucks, and a colour run—serves as what Holly calls an "empathy bridging moment." Held every two years, its absence is felt. "It's interesting how that is really impactful on their connection to the school," she observes, particularly for students who miss the experience during their Year 7 entry.
Far from being a one-and-done event, Holly and other educators at Yeronga State High School position Yeronga Celebrates as an opportunity for student leadership development. It’s every-other-year recurrence is welcomed for its inclusive spirit and chance to incorporate real-world experiences in event planning for student teams. (image supplied)
The work continues to evolve. This year's Women's Summit participants declared it was time to include the boys, spawning a complementary Men's Summit. The school recently won Best Co-curricular Programme from the Australian Council for Student Voice for their Women's Hub—a year-long series driven entirely by student-identified needs.
The interconnectedness of student-driven action pairs perfectly with the upward spiral of emergent student leaders. The work at Yeronga continues to fuel ongoing development of student agency and leadership. In this innovative space, Holly and others continue to benefit from access to outside support including that of Inspire Citizens. And with student perspectives remaining central to the school's mission, the next iteration of ideas is sure to be inspiring and engaging.
"I can never predict what they're going to say," Holly reflects, "and that's the best bit."