What’s not at the top of most teenagers’ lists of exciting activities? Listening to adults talk about budgets and “agenda items” and people hurling insults at each other during public comment periods at a school board meeting.
However, for Ferndale High School students Jazzie Gonzales and Kwabena Ledbetter, it’s a regular occurrence. The senior and junior, respectively, are the student representatives to the district’s school board and sit in for monthly meetings.
“You’re usually the first to know things, which means you’re usually the first to communicate how you feel about it before the school board makes a decision,” Gonzales said. “I think that’s my favorite part.”
The students listen in on new policies, curriculum and ideas that will impact their and their peers’ educations, as well as weigh in as decisions are made.
“It’s always been an aspiration of mine to be an agent for tangible change,” Ledbetter said.
In 2014, Ferndale created the student school board representative positions to elevate students’ voices and foster a direct relationship between the student body and the district’s top leaders.
Each student is required to serve two years, attend all meetings and give monthly reports to the board about anything from the upcoming choir concert to the accomplishments of the leadership class. Each spring, a batch of sophomores submit their applications and get interviewed by the board to fill the junior representative positions the following year.
Typically, the students are heavily involved in the school and interact with a wide range of the student body. Gonzalez and Ledbetter both do leadership to help plan student activities, play sports and participate in other clubs.
“Having our student representatives ensures that we keep them centered in our decision-making,” Superintendent Kristi Dominguez said in an email. “They are dedicated to the role and take the work very seriously, grounding us in what truly matters.”
“It’s about us. It’s for us, to benefit us.” — Senior board representative Jazzie Gonzales
The students do not attend the board’s executive sessions, hold any special offices or make motions, according to the school district’s board policies.
Last year, the student representatives weighed in heavily on the new superintendent search and other topics that had a ripple effect on all students.
This school year, Gonzales and Ledbetter aim to further increase student engagement at school board meetings. They plan to increase publicity of the monthly meeting among students, as well as invite students to talk about the projects and activities they’re working on and are passionate about.
“It’s about us. It’s for us, to benefit us,” Gonzales said. “I think we need to be at the meetings to advocate for ourselves.”
At the end of last school year, Gonzales and other board members saw some success on this front.
For months, public comment periods had become increasingly negative due to a group of disgruntled parents, former employees and community members — some spewing discredited conspiracy theories — who were frustrated by decisions made by the district throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response, a group of students spoke at a series of meetings, focusing on the positive happenings within the district, like the National FFA Organization competing in state competitions.
In their roles, Gonzales and Ledbetter also aim to further encourage the message of “You Belong” — a common point reiterated by Dominguez in her inaugural year as superintendent. The goal is to make students, no matter their backgrounds, identities or experiences, feel as though they belong within the district.
Meridian School District also has two student board members who fill a similar role.
