Students have a voice on Santa Fe’s public school board
Ihad no idea that I was in the running to become a student adviser for Santa Fe Public Schools’ Board of Education until I heard my name mentioned during morning announcements early in my junior year at my school, Capital High School. It turns out I was nominated for this position by all of my teachers.
The announcement instructed me to go to the office to see then-Principal Channell Wilson-Segura. When I met her, she said the next step to being chosen involved filling out a paper application similar to a scholarship application. The application asked questions that identified what my strengths would be as a member, how I would represent my community and why I should be chosen. From there, the school administrators served as the judges, and they had the final say in which student would represent the school. I was in the running with four other students, all of whom were girls — two seniors and three juniors (including me). Days later, I was recognized during the morning announcement as the one who would represent Capital High at school board meetings.
The experience of sitting on the board as a nonvoting member — but one whose opinion was sought out by the adult members of the board — was invaluable. My duties included being able to publicly speak on behalf of my school and others in the district, showing up to board meetings the first Tuesday of every month for the academic school year and completing a research project to improve the school system.
My counterpart from Santa Fe High School, William Wiebe, and I chose to come up with a report about school safety, particularly in light of all the school shootings and security concerns that came up this year. Will and I collected data from students in a forum about school safety. We also surveyed school faculty to gauge their input on the issue. We presented our findings at one of the last school board meetings of the school year in early May, and The New Mexican reported on it.
Whatever you think of the school board, my experience is that the individuals who serve on it are dedicated to keeping the schools at their best, academically and physically. And by ensuring that at least two students sit on the board, I believe that student voices will always be heard and considered at these meetings. Incidentally, the board welcomes student speakers during its public commentary session. Visit www.sfps.info and click on the “board of education” link to find out more.