More Than a Seat at The Table: Reimagining Power and Participation in K-12 Education

This reflective inquiry examines the gap between the rhetoric of inclusion and the reality of tokenistic participation in K-12 school, governance. Drawing on personal experiences as a youth school board candidate and a classroom teacher-turned-researcher, alongside scholarly frameworks from Dewey, Arnstein, and Yosso, we reflect on why students and families remain peripheral in decision-making processes that shape their educational lives. We identify three intersecting ideas that constrain authentic co-governance and perpetuate adult-centric norms: structural power imbalances, accessibility gaps, and erosion of trust. Through reflective practice grounded in open-mindedness, wholeheartedness, and responsibility, we examine these ideas alongside promising models that hold the potential to redistribute power, build upon community capacity, and cultivate trust. Comparative insights from high-trust systems, such as Finland’s decentralized education model, further illuminate alternative governance philosophies and challenge assumptions embedded in U.S. practices. Ultimately, we posit that transforming tokenistic consultation into genuine co-creation requires reimagining governance as both structural redesign and cultural shift. We conclude with implications for youth, families, educators, educational leaders, advocates, and researchers seeking models of democratic innovation that center community cultural wealth and foster equitable, relational participation in schools.