Now more than ever before, students are working alongside teachers to develop their own individualized high school programs. Students in Beijing City International School's (BCIS) innovative IDEATE program are now sharing that experience with their peers around the world.

Over the weekend, Natalie (Grade 12) and Valeria (Grade 11) led a workshop for students and teachers at an online international education conference.

"Watching our own IDEATE students participate in the Summit was the highlight. I am extremely proud of all the students who participated, and I am grateful to the SAS students for giving them the opportunity to share their stories, successes and challenges" said Megan Eddington, IDEATE Coordinator.

Singapore American School (SAS) invited IDEATE students to attend a student-led Summit on Student Agency (SAS@SAS). Despite recent challenges related to the spread of COVID-19, the student hosts showed resilience, transitioning to host the conference online.

"I learned that students together can accomplish anything, with the support of their mentors, community and the trust of their mentors" Grade 11 student Valeria said. "I enjoyed the entire conference but most of all I enjoyed listening to the other students and hearing how much they learned and grew from their projects and experiences."

The goal of the summit was to connect students from schools across Asia who have experience with programs with a high level of student agency, which the IDEATE program offers. The conference itself was a fantastic example of student agency. Students took responsibility for their own learning and encouraged more independent, self-regulating learners.

"I enjoyed seeing how the whole meeting was student driven" Grade 12 student Natalie said. "Student agency to me means it is important to let students take charge and be independent."

For students to attend this conference, they had to apply by a written application outlining why they are the best candidate to represent IDEATE and suggest possible presentations to share during the conference.

"I joined the conference because I plan to be a future IDEATE student," Grade 10 student Maggie said. "I wanted to know more about similar projects and help with the development of IDEATE. I enjoyed the meeting a lot as I heard many experiences shared from other students which allowed me to know that anything is possible in life."

We thank the SAS students for their leadership and perseverance in running this event. Our IDEATE students proudly represented BCIS and developed their collaboration skills in the process. We're excited to take what we've learned about student agency and continue to develop the IDEATE program to meet the individual needs of students in the program.

Please click here for more information on the IDEATE program.