Roses Talk: Elevating At-Promise Student Voices in San José Unified is a Stanford Center for Racial Justice Law and Policy Lab (LAW 809X/EDUC 309X) that seeks to directly address persistent disparities in education by centering “at-promise” student voices in education policy and practice. In the course, Stanford students conduct interviews and focus groups with the most marginalized students at Gunderson High School, a Title I school in San José Unified School District (SJUSD). Using this data, students will develop policy recommendations that inform school and district decision making, particularly on how to engage and improve outcomes for at-promise students across the district. As part of their coursework, students author a series of independent blog posts that offer insight into their experiences. These reflections not only document their learning but also contribute to an ongoing dialogue about education in the U.S., particularly by amplifying the voices of the young people they work with.
Navigating Positionality, Power, and Bias in Qualitative Research Methods | Ev Gilbert
I applied to Roses Talk because the policy lab description aligned with my personal and professional goals: to uplift and center the voices of multiply marginalized students in education policy and practice. I viewed it as an incredible opportunity to directly engage with young people and positively impact the local community. After working on this research project for the past nine weeks, I have learned that this work transcends school and location—student-driven humanizing education research is the key to achieving educational equity and transformative systems change. Students embody hope for a liberated future, and it is imperative that we value and prioritize their present.
Positionality. My time working with LGBTQ middle and high school students as a youth worker in Massachusetts taught me the values of representation and positionality. I learned that by professionally owning and advocating against the multiple daily oppressions I face as a trans, queer, neurodivergent, Chinese American adoptee—transphobia, homophobia, ableism, and racism—my authentic existence inspired hope in many of my students to reimagine a future where they can move beyond deficit-based survival narratives to thrive as radically queer adults. Openly claiming my positionality as a student-centered LGBTQ youth worker and educator allowed me to build reciprocal bonds of solidarity, trust, and hope with the exceptional young people I worked with. In my role as a researcher for this policy lab, my purpose remains the same: to empower at-promise students to reposition themselves as leaders in school change.
Power. It is critical to rigorously and iteratively address the inherent power imbalances between adults and minors to prevent students from feeling exploited or tokenized in the research process. Our data collection methods addressed this in six key ways: (1) on our first visit to the high school, we met with at-promise students to explain the study and build connections; (2) students were compensated with $75 gift cards for each interview to honor their personal stories and time; (3) we provided students with snacks and water on interview days; (4) confidentiality was emphasized throughout the interview protocol to capture honest responses; (5) we provided opportunities for students to give ongoing consent by allowing them to skip questions or end interviews at any time; and (6) students were offered space to ask us questions at the end of each interview.
Humanizing research methods require us to explicitly consider and navigate traditional power structures that position researchers as authority figures and students as vulnerable minors. Culturally responsive research practices combat dominant deficit-based narratives by using strength-based language to reposition students as independent experts and fostering reciprocal researcher-subject relationships. For example, while every student we interviewed had a GPA of 2.2 or below, we chose not to focus on deficit statistics during our initial visit. Instead, we emphasized each student’s extraordinary potential and their unique expertise on the teaching and learning process, empowering them to share their stories to critically improve student outcomes across the district.
Bias. Now that our class has transitioned to data analysis using critical race theory (CRT) methodology to construct composite counterstories, we must ensure that the at-promise student community we are working with feels accurately represented in our writing. We were fortunate to have Dr. Daniella Cook Sumpter, a leading CRT scholar in composite counterstorytelling, share her insights with our class. She emphasized the importance of staying grounded in the data—student quotes—so that the humanity captured in these counterstories speaks for itself. When asked how she navigates accusations of researcher bias and validity, she responded, “Everybody is biased, I’m just owning up to it . . . I believe that communities of color and underprivileged communities offer critical insights.” As we prepare to develop and present our findings and recommendations to SJUSD leadership, I remain committed to elevating the voices of the students we interviewed in every recommendation.
The nature of this research is political. We are experiencing a national moment where marginalized students—often students of color, immigrants, LGBTQ students, girls, and students with disabilities—are being strategically disempowered and placed in politically vulnerable positions. As a human, researcher, and graduate student at Stanford University, I am committed to leveraging my cultural capital and privileges by openly owning my bias against white supremacy and towards social justice in every role. Conducting humanizing research with the Roses Talk team and the brilliant students at Gunderson High School is an act of hope, collective care, and resistance towards a student-centered educational future.
Striving to be a ‘Worthy Witness’ to Students’ Stories | Andrea Akinola
While I was reading a chapter of Humanizing Research: Decolonizing Qualitative Inquiry With Youth and Communities (Paris and Winn, 2014) in preparation for a recent class seminar, I was struck by the authors’ idea of creating relationships of dignity, care, and respect so that participants feel valued by a “worthy witness.” As I went into interviews with students at Gunderson High School, I was thinking about what it meant to be worthy of hearing these students’ stories. I knew that I wanted the students to feel supported, but I was unsure of how to do so within the sixty minutes we had for each interview. In the past as a teaching assistant and mentor, my goal was to build long lasting relationships with my students and to be there for them on a consistent basis. But I’m learning that as a researcher, my commitment to the students can be just as strong even if the way I’m showing up for them looks completely different. I had to get comfortable with the idea that “worthy witnessing” isn’t limited to the time frame of a student interview. To be worthy of students’ stories, we as researchers have to be committed to ensuring that we partner with them to bring about actionable change to improve their experiences and the experiences of those who will come after them.
Over the last few weeks of data analysis, I’ve listened to our interviews over and over again. Each time I listen, I’m struck by how thoughtful, passionate, and creative these students are. I’ve been so impressed by their ability to be both vulnerable and imaginative as they opened up about their stories and envisioned what a school system that truly met their needs would look like. It’s clear they know better than anyone else what they need to thrive.
Listening to the students has helped me reflect on my own K-12 experiences. Growing up, I had the privilege of going to well-funded public schools where I was provided with the resources that I needed to thrive. I’m grateful that this academic foundation has allowed me to pursue the future of my dreams, but it has also left me questioning how I can use the positions of power and privilege that I’ve been afforded to disrupt the very systems that marginalize other members of my community.
What’s exciting about this project is that I get the opportunity to do exactly that. We get to use our platform within Stanford to help Gunderson teachers and administrators meet the needs of underserved students. Our project directors have stressed the importance of staying close to the data and letting our students’ voices speak for themselves. I’m enjoying learning how to ground all of our policy recommendations in the students’ own words. Working alongside my incredible classmates, I’m hopeful that this team can do these students justice and be worthy witnesses to their stories.
Ev Gilbert (MA ’25) (they/he) is a community organizer and youth worker from Brookline, MA, dedicated to uplifting and centering the voices of multiply marginalized youth. They are a master’s student at the Stanford Graduate School of Education in the Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies Program and hold a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Boston University with a minor in Public Health. Currently, Ev is a Research Assistant for the National Student Support Accelerator working on a qualitative research project studying master schedule creation in K-12 schools using AI. Previously, Ev served as Youth Programs Coordinator for the Massachusetts Safe Schools Program for LGBTQ Students. In this role, they managed all direct youth programming and supported high school student activists to create and inform policy, promote inclusive learning environments for all students, and foster statewide collaboration among LGBTQ students and allies. Ev is passionate about educational equity for all students and the power of student voice in bringing about transformative change in local and statewide education policy.
Andrea Akinola (JD ‘27) (she/her) is a 1L at Stanford Law School from Irvine, California. Her interests include civil rights law and education equity. Before coming to law school, Andrea was an English Teaching Assistant in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain where she worked with her students and her community on a research project on Canarian history, identity, and belonging. Andrea graduated cum laude from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in Education Studies. While at Columbia, Andrea was a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion facilitator at the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Vice President of Columbia Women in Law and Politics, and a member of the Holder Initiative for Civil and Political Rights. In her free time, Andrea enjoys working out, baking gluten-free desserts, and watching reality TV.
Follow the Stanford Center for Racial Justice on LinkedIn and Instagram and subscribe to our newsletter.
