I’ve had the privilege of attending virtual sessions with Student Design Thinking Institute team leaders in January and February and they are confident in their focus on lofty challenges such as how to address teacher shortages from a student perspective or strategies to develop community understanding of those who are homeless- or unhoused. The theme of this year’s Institute is “Think Globally, Act Locally” and the teams are already activating their responses to the challenge of impacting an issue of concern to them in their school and/or community. Participation in this VaSCL event is free to member divisions.

These current high school teens on our design teams are Generation Z, aka the Zoomers! They have grown up as the first true “digital natives” who are as facile with mobile devices as their parents, mostly Gen Xers, were with a television. Zoomers  truly were almost born with a phone in their hands. They also are the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in history and they value diversity in their schools and communities. Finally, of concern, Zoomers report a high level of stress in their lives, much greater than past generations of high schoolers have reported. Our current high schoolers spent their early elementary years watching their families and communities’ weather the Great Recession. They also will never forget the emergence of the 2020 Pandemic and its impact on their school experience. The events of their early lives will continue to shape the Zoomers for decades to come even as Gen Alpha, our next generation, comes behind them; our youngest children who spent their toddlerhood observing the world through masks. VaSCL continues to build out its annual opportunity for our students to come together as leaders and take on challenges of interest to their teams. We can’t wait to see what Gen Alpha does when it’s their turn to participate!

The annual Student Leadership Design Thinking Institute Showcase will be held on March 23 in Charlottesville at the Holiday Inn, Emmet Street. We have around 35 teams from across our member division high schools. Teams began work in January with our Institute facilitator, Dee Lanier. Each team has a faculty advisor who supports team members as they work through their projects. Fluvanna High School students will provide logistical support and media coverage of the Design Institute. For more information, contact Alison, Dwier-Selden, VaSCl coordinator, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Resources: Gen Z and Gen Alpha

Teaching the Next Generation: How Gen Z Learns (Chalk)
What You Need to Know about Gen Z Students
Meet Gen Alpha: Teaching the Newest Generation of Students
The Challenge with Gen Z (Simon Sinek video)