SBDM votes to include student advisory member

SBDM, or Site Based Decision Making Council, includes teachers, principals, and staff members who represent HC, and oversee all interactions affecting our school and community. They are the governing council for our school, making major decisions for our daily schedule.

For years, the Student Voice Team at HC worked to get a student member on the council. This team works to give students opportunity to participate in school affairs, such as SBDM. They argued the necessity for a student body to have a voice in the decisions to improve daily functions of the school and how it operates in the future.

HC junior Reagan Smith announced the addition of a non-voting student advisory member to the SBDM council. This marks a unique moment for the future of students being involved in the education process.

“The importance of a student member is to help students have a say in our education,” junior Anne Boggess said. “We are the largest stake holders in our education; The SBDM’S decisions directly affect us on a daily basis.”

The opportunity offers a student a chance to have input in the issues and decisions of the SBDM, which represent the school and FCPS community as a whole.

“This position is a huge step forward in having students as partners in schools, rather than just a subject,” Boggess said. “As students, we are the most capable of telling the council if something is working for us or not.”

Although the student member will not be able to vote or attend closed meetings (such as staffing decisions), many students see the addition of a student in decision making as beneficial, as it could enhance the process of communication around the school.

With a student advisory member on SBDM, communications between students, administrators, and teachers would benefit by creating an organic relationship of respect,” Boggess said.

The role of the advisory member is to let students have a voice in their school.

“[The job of the student] is to have a working relationship with the council to highlight what students are seeing, feeling and experiencing from the decisions of SBDM,” she said.

The appointment of the student advisory council member is set to be decided soon by the student council.

“Student council is forming a committee at this week’s monthly meeting,” Smith said. “The council will decide the process of how the member is selected.”

Regardless of whom this student may be, the addition of a student can only encourage positive and productive discussion on how to better the HC community.