Student Council Teacher Advisor
Overview
I was the co-adviser to our local student council. As an adviser, I wanted to make sure that our student council was a valid and meaningful way a student at Hillside could make their voice heard. Two 
student-led, grassroots, movements provided some proof that students had an opportunity to not only speak out, but when they successfully lobbied the principal to add on to our school master calendar an activity not previously scheduled, they got to see their voices result in action.
One example of a student-generated movement was a Cleaner Campus Campaign students saw a need to put on. They came up with this idea after discussing the lack of lunchtime etiquette shown by many of our students at Hillside ES during one of our Student Council meetings.The other student-generated campaign was a Talent Show students had unofficially been petitioning the principal for a couple of years now. The Student Council student leaders met with the principal, teachers, and parents to develop a viable plan the principal could approve, a plan that had to cover everything from the proper community support to the proper supervision.
Responsibilities
- My colleague and I facilitated student government meetings that developed leadership skills in students and empowered them to make a positive impact on school culture.
- My colleague and I coordinated a school-wide cleaner environment campaign to help raise the feeling of pride on our school campus and raise awareness of recycling and reusing. This campaign took place the first two weeks in November of 2013.
- We also worked with a team of teachers and Student Council members on a school wide Career Day to help all students make a connection between what they are doing now and what is possible for them in the future. We wanted to broaden their horizons, and we wanted to receive input from the professional community on what they believe our school can do to help prepare students to become healthy citizens of a global society. This event took place May 16, 2014.
Reflection
As a future leader, one important lesson I can walk away with from this leadership activity is the importance of providing students a real opportunity to allow their voices to be heard. We were able to do this, while at the same time allowing our entire school community an opportunity to participate in the democratic process.
As a school community we all got to participate in the democratic process of voting. Each class elected class representatives, from these representatives, the school community voted a Class President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Some of the research we read would argue that by allowing our students to participate in this democratic process, they are more likely to participate in civic duties in the future.
There were implications for our student leaders that would benefit them now and in the future. The student body leaders were responsible for meeting with the various stakeholders when they were trying to get a school-wide Talent Show put on this year’s calendar. This allowed them to practice developing arguments and strategies appropriate for addressing different audiences. Also, during lunchtime meetings with the principal, student leaders practiced their oral presentation skills, as well as proper etiquette when greeting and welcoming people onto our campus. These are both skills that will benefit them in their future endeavors.
Connection to CPSELs
- CPSEL #3 – In helping to establish this Student Council and then the student body leaders, my colleague and I were helping to create an infrastructure that would help support an effective learning environment by allowing students to see they are an active part of this environment.
- CPSEL #5 – I fulfilled this standard by helping our students to participate in a civic activity that, according to research conducted by Prof. Rogers, will make it more likely that will participate in other civic activities in the future. My colleague and I helped develop leaders by modeling and maintaining Ethical standards of professionalism, and helping students to practice these standards we modeled for them as well.
