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Students to Advise Board: DULUTH:Concerns Are Raised That the Opportunity Wasn't Made Known to More Students.

Posted on: Monday, 2 January 2006, 12:00 CST

By Jake Weyer, Duluth News-Tribune, Minn., Duluth News-Tribune, Minn.

Jan. 2--Each month, the Duluth School Board makes decisions that affect students, ranging from schedule changes and program additions to new policies, budget adjustments and school closures.

Students, though, are often hard to find at board meetings and their input doesn't always make it to the table.

At a special board meeting on Tuesday, that will change. Three students, one from each public high school in the Duluth school district, will become advisers to the board. They will serve for two consecutive semesters.

As representatives of their schools, they will take part in meetings and relay information to their peers. The advisers also will be responsible for listening to student concerns and taking them to the board. State law prohibits them from attending closed meetings and voting.

This is a pilot year for the positions, filled by students involved in Community/Youth Connection, a local service-learning and leadership organization that is part of Service Learning Duluth.

The idea of student representation on the board, for years a reality in other districts, has been widely accepted throughout the Duluth district. But some staff, students and community members hope the selection process, which resulted in choosing two board members' children, is improved so the opportunity is offered to all students.

READY TO SERVE

The advisers, all juniors, are Michael Wasson, 16, from East High School; Joe Fisketti, 16, from Central High School; and Melody Schraw, 17, from Denfeld High School.

They received training for their new positions in November from the Minnesota School Boards Association and are looking forward to sitting down with the board.

All the advisers are involved in a number of athletic activities or other extracurricular organizations, but are willing to dedicate time each month to several committee meetings and a board meeting. Meetings can last from a half hour to more than two hours, and students must review weekly information packets to keep up with agenda items.

It's being discussed that students receive class credit for their service. Meanwhile, however, the students said they don't fear the additional workload.

"I think this is pretty important," Fisketti said. "I think it's important for the board to get a student feel if they are going to be making decisions about us."

Advisers are still working on how to get information from students. Fisketti, whose father teaches American history at Central, wants to arrange a morning announcement encouraging students to approach him with issues.

Schraw, daughter of departing board member Bevan Schraw, said she could host discussion forums during her open sixth hour. She is a post-secondary student who takes four classes at Denfeld and the rest at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Her time at UMD will not hinder her ability to represent Denfeld, she said.

"I'm there enough to know what's going on," she said.

Wasson, son of board member Ann Wasson, isn't sure how information will be relayed to and from students. He plans to attend the board meeting first to get a handle on his role.

Neither Michael Wasson nor Melody Schraw is concerned about being influenced by their parents. Both are determined to defeat perceptions of a conflict.

Melody Schraw hopes the adviser positions are well received by the community during their first year.

"I want people to have an open mind about it," she said. "It might take a couple years, but it'll get there."

IDEA BECOMES REALITY

Student representation has been talked about in the district for years, surfacing most recently last year during a student presentation to the board, said Kathy Bartsias. She is the service-learning coordinator for the Duluth district who led the development of the adviser positions.

This year just seemed like the right time to make it happen, she said. Because this is a pilot year, there will be much discussion about how to improve the positions and the selection process, she said. The important step was getting students on the board.

With the help of such organizations as Service-Learning Duluth and Volunteers In Service To America, or CYC, which Bartsias oversees.

All three student advisers are members of CYC, which comprises 15 students from East, Central and Denfeld that meet monthly. After discussing the expectations of advisers, the students decided among themselves who should serve, Bartsias said. The School Board approved the selection Dec. 20.

Being a junior was required, enabling advisers to serve one semester in both 11th and 12th grades.

Students were chosen from CYC because of the leadership experience and support the organization provides, Bartsias said. Time will be set aside at the group's meetings to talk with the advisers about their experiences and help them with problems.

"CYC is a platform for them to reflect," Bartsias said.

Opening the adviser opportunity to students outside CYC is a possibility, but students might struggle when dealing with School Board responsibilities themselves, she said.

"Our mind is open, but then we'd really have to find a way to get that support," Bartsias said.

ASKING FOR OPPORTUNITY

Principals at each school were informed of the adviser positions, but many staff members and students were not.

Several individuals were disappointed to find students were selected without everyone knowing.

"I think an announcement should have been made at each school as to how it was going to work," said Angelo Florestano, a student government teacher at Denfeld. "There might be kids out there that have leadership qualities, but they're not in student government or other groups. This might be the perfect opportunity for a kid that has the interest."

Florestano is confident in the selected advisers, but said all students should have been offered the opportunity. The entire student body should have had a vote, too, he said.

Brian Langlee, 16, a junior at Denfeld, was puzzled when he first heard about the advisers. He'd liked to be involved.

"I didn't even know it was happening," he said. "If they would have asked for volunteers and done an interview process, it would have been nicely set up and they would have found the perfect people."

But Langlee does not think the chosen advisers are unqualified. Melody Schraw will do well and students can trust her, he said.

Kerstin Johnson, 16, an East junior, said the same of Michael Wasson. But she didn't know the adviser position existed and said it would be nice if more students could get involved in the process.

Both Langlee and Johnson are not worried about Melody Schraw and Michael Wasson's relation to board members.

Doug Maguire, a former Parent Teacher Student Association member with a daughter at Central, said it could be difficult for the advisers to escape the influence of their parents.

"A child can't be unbiased about their parent's views," he said. "That's where their values come from."

Former School Board member Eileen Zeitz Hudelson said even if the advisers' parents are not influential, the perception of a conflict exists. The parents should have abstained from voting to approve the CYC's selection of their children, she said.

Ann Wasson said if the community becomes concerned, she would be happy to revote, but she felt abstention unnecessary, noting that a group of her son's peers chose him to represent the school.

School Board members unanimously approved the CYC selection.

Member Mary Cameron has long pushed for student representation and was glad to see it finally happen. She has no problem with the children of board members serving.

"We have board members married to teachers," she said. "To me, it doesn't matter if their mother or father sits on the board. The students have their own minds."

She would like to see more diversity among future advisers, but said the process is new and everyone is still learning.

Member Tim Grover said the board had one student adviser in the late 1990s but the position quickly faded away. Grover was unsure why. He's optimistic about the new student position but wants to see a democratic election process for future advisers.

"That's how we all got there," he said of his fellow board members. "We were all elected. I hope this works. I hope it's useful."

ADVISERS STATEWIDE

Don Helmstetter, superintendent of schools in Spring Lake Park, Minn., said student advisers have been so useful the board would have difficulty functioning without them.

The Spring Lake Park board has had student advisers for seven years.

"I think we would be at a bit of a loss here if they didn't attend," he said.

Helmstetter's district has one high school and the student government -- more than 35 students -- elects the advisers from its members. The entire student body of 1,200 elects the student government.

One adviser serves a whole year; a second changes each trimester.

Students have helped board members make budget cuts during financial crunches and other decisions, he said. They are not afraid to speak up, and board members respect what the advisers say.

Aside from the real-world leadership experience gained on the board, students have received mentoring, Helmstetter said.

Roughly a fourth of Minnesota's 341 school districts have student advisers to the board, said Greg Abbott, spokesman for the Minnesota School Boards Association. Abbott said adviser positions are becoming more common.

"We do encourage boards to include students at the table," he said. "As more districts see others that are successful, they're more likely to try it themselves."

JAKE WEYER covers Duluth K-12 education. He can be reached weekdays at (218) 723-5342, (800) 456-8282 or by e-mail at jweyer@duluthnew›cm normalons.com

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Source: Duluth News-Tribune (Duluth, Minn.)

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