Previous research related to Youth Adult Partnership, Empowerment and Empowering Environments, and Liberatory School Design all highlight the importance of relationships in ensuring that young people experience school environments as empowering. Currently, there is a lot of interest and energy around redesigning schools to be Learner-Centered, in order to ensure that young people leave these schools with a greater sense of empowerment. More research is needed to determine what design features schools employ to foster healthy, productive relationships between adults and students. Further research will also help center the perspectives and experiences of youth in these schools to inform practice. In addition, more information is needed to understand if these environments are experienced differently by youth who identify as belonging to a historically marginalized or minoritized group. This study investigates three schools that have been recognized for their empowering environments in order to identify common design features across schools, capture the perception and experience of students in these schools, and the impact these schools have. Students in these schools consistently report that in these schools: "Relationships matter. Our perspectives matter. Our work matters." This study has implications for school leaders and designers as they work to design or redesign high schools to be more empowering for all youth. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]