By Nyla ’24
Something that stood out to me the minute I stepped onto Harvard-Westlake’s campus was the amount of collaboration between students and faculty, and the extent to which every student at HW has a chance for their voice to be heard. From advocating for change to being a member of student council to representing Harvard-Westlake as a student ambassador, Harvard-Westlake not only allows but encourages students to share their ideas and opinions with the administration and faculty.
This value rang true especially during the quick transition from “normal” in-person learning to online school in March of 2020. From speaking with students about their experiences with online learning to sending school-wide surveys, teachers and administration used every resource they could to get input from students on how they wanted to learn, what they felt was most effective, and even made efforts to just see how students were coping and feeling. I truly felt heard, even during a time of isolation for many. Harvard-Westlake listened to their students and quickly made adjustments to the schedule and workload to lessen the stress for students and allow more time away from their screen. In addition to adjusting the school day to start at a later time, allowing students to get more sleep, HW also added more time in between classes and made more options for asynchronous learning.
These small adjustments decreased the stress load of many Harvard-Westlake students and allowed everyone more time to be away from the screen in order for more rest or time to go outside (things that are very much needed during quarantine!!). And these adjustments are continuing to benefit our lives, even as we look to resume a very different method of on-campus learning. HW is always doing their best to ensure that they are supporting each and every one of their students!!
