Calling all Monroe School District sophomores! Are you interested in serving as a student representative on the school board beginning in the 2023-24 school year?

With the goal of including student voice in school board meetings, two Monroe School District students (one junior and one senior) serve as student representatives on the school board. 

Each spring one new incoming junior is selected to serve a two-year term as the current junior representative moves up into the senior representative position. Last year Laura Wittenberg from Sky Valley Education Center was selected as the junior representative and she will be serving the second year of her two year term as the senior representative in the 2023-24 school year. 

All interested sophomores are invited to submit an interest form by May 2, 2023. The school board will conduct interviews of the interested students the week of May 22, 2023.

What’s in it for you?

• Be a voice of change for all students in the Monroe School District

• Develop your leadership skills 

• Gain firsthand experience with governance systems

• Get leadership mentoring from the Superintendent and Board President

• Hone your public speaking skills

• Gain an excellent addition to your resume and/or college applications

• Earn a letter of recommendation from the Superintendent and/or Board President

• Collect volunteer hours

The new student board member’s terms will begin at the start of the school year in September. The term for each student board member starts at the beginning of their junior year and concludes at the end of their senior year. This means the selected junior must commit to serving a two year term.

Criteria for Serving as a Student Board Representative

• Student board members must be enrolled in the Monroe School District and remain so throughout the length of their term.
   
• Student board members should be able to effectively communicate and represent the needs and interests of all Monroe School District students, which includes those that may differ from their own.
   
• Student board members must commit to attending all school board meetings throughout the school year (some exceptions may be made for extenuating circumstances). School board meetings are typically held on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 5:00 p.m.

Student Representative Expectations

• Attend all regularly scheduled board meetings during the school year (some exceptions may be made for extenuating circumstances). Transportation assistance for the student may be provided if needed.

• Attend special board meetings and conferences, as needed.

• Be punctual. 

• Be prepared for board meetings by reviewing meeting agenda items and information online prior to meetings.

• Meet with the superintendent and/or board president at least once monthly (can be conducted via phone call or Zoom) to prepare for board meetings.

• Develop a communication plan, with guidance from the superintendent and director of communication, to regularly seek input from the student body and to share relevant information.

• Contribute to board discussions by providing student insight and perspectives.

• Regularly report back to the student body regarding work of the board, issues under consideration and decisions to be made.

• Present potential agenda items that are of interest and concern to students, in collaboration with the superintendent and/or board president.

• Help with the recruitment of a new student board representative at the end of the school year.

Students may submit an interest form now! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScvglEJRt_zSOp6y4mwZux29FalPN8Z4xtd0qRjN1Dl8Dn3Cw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Background Information

For many years, the role of student representative on the school board was filled by the current ASB President of Monroe High School (MHS), who is elected annually by popular vote by the MHS student body. In addition to the ASB President’s role as the student leader of MHS ASB activities, the president was also required to attend school board meetings as the ASB representative for the district.

In evaluating this past practice while looking through the lens of equity, it became apparent that selection of the student representative on the school board needed to be a more equitable process. This included opening the opportunity up to students at Leaders in Learning and Sky Valley Education Center in addition to Monroe High School, and removing qualifying criteria, such as GPA, so that the opportunity would be open to any interested and committed student. 

In addition to ensuring the selection process is equitable, another goal in making changes to our policy & procedure was to ensure that student voice becomes a more integral part of the decision making processes in our district. As a public school district, our organization exists to educate and serve all students in our community and therefore, students’ needs, interests, ideas and opinions should be integral in decisions that impact their experiences in our schools. Therefore, we now have TWO student representatives and encourage selected student representatives to contribute to board discussions on behalf of all MSD students. We recognize there is much diversity in our student body, not just in ethnicity and cultural backgrounds, but in life experiences, individual needs, interests, skills, ideas, and opinions, and our goal is to ensure that the diversity of our student population is represented in board discussions and decisions.

Questions? 
Please reach out to Holly Kahler, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent/School Board, by email at kahlerh@monroe.wednet.edu.