a california distinguished school & national blue ribbon school

Having a Voice

This is an ongoing leadership program designed to empower students that are underrepresented at school.  Having a Voice Student Leadership Academy was developed in 1997, in response to the concern of two Sunset High School staff members who recognized the large number of Latino students being sent to Sunset.  Through support from the district's Special Projects Office and the vision of the two Sunset staff members, district-wide recruitment of staff began and summer trainings were conducted for designated students from each high school in the San Dieguito School District.  The objective of Having a Voice is to reach English-dominant Latino high school students and cultivate their leadership skills through monthly district-wide meetings and a three-week intensive summer institute and training.  Students who are involved learn leadership and interpersonal communication skills to help foster their connection with their school sites.  Additionally, they meet with school faculty and staff members regularly to offer suggestions and first-hand knowledge of what drives inclusion for Latino students.  This program has been very successful in both the eyes of the staff and student members and has recently expanded to include opportunities for middle school-aged students to get involved.   To date, Having a Voice has reached over 800 high school and middle school students and is currently in its eleventh year. Boy and girl groups are held once a week on Mondays during APT at Earl Warren.  Contact Mercedes Capruso or Adam Camacho  for more information.