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Lily Shapiro
Student Board of Education Representative
September 23rd Meeting
Dear Students and Community Members,
I hope you are having a great start to fall. At our meeting on September 23rd, we were delighted to have representation from West, East, La Follette, and Memorial high schools. Representation from schools across the district is vital to ensure we are making decisions that will positively impact all students.
We established our five meeting norms for the year:
- Every Voice Matters: We actively create space for every school, perspective, and student to be heard. No school or individual should dominate the conversation.
- Challenge Ideas, Not People: Disagreement is expected. Personal attacks, dismissiveness, and disrespect are not. Debate the issue, listen to the reasoning, and leave room to change your mind.
- Speak With Purpose: Be clear, concise, and intentional. Make room for others rather than speaking simply to fill the silence.
- Lead With Solutions: We do not come together simply to identify problems. When we raise a concern, we work toward solutions, action steps, and measurable change.
- Own Your Commitments: If you say you will do something, follow through. If circumstances change, communicate early. Accountability is a responsibility of leadership.
These norms set the expectations for the year as we work together to discuss and execute projects.
For students to make change in our district, I believe it is important to stay informed on current events and discussions that will affect our school communities. Students learned about Parliamentary Procedure, the BOE’s members and roles, and the Summer Board of Education Report which included the updated Phone Policy, the launch of MMSD: Excellence Together, and the renaming of three elementary schools. Each meeting, students will get the opportunity to discuss and share their opinions on upcoming policies. I plan to share these opinions at board meetings to ensure that students are being properly represented.
For the remainder of the meeting, we brainstormed project ideas, with a Tree Root Issue activity and Shark Tank, where students pitched solutions to problems they observed in their schools.
Our next meeting will be on October 7th at 5:30 PM at the Doyle Building (545 West Dayton Street). Students will get to tour the Auditorium and hear from our Student Senate Liaison on the Board of Education, Board Member Vander Meulen. We will also begin to narrow down ideas for committees.
Students can still join Student Senate, and I encourage you to get involved!
Lily Shapiro
