The Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) proudly continues its tradition of supporting a Student Advisory Board (SAB) of representatives from each of our five high schools. These student representatives meet monthly with the Superintendent and the Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education and engage with District leaders through various subcommittees of student interest. Additionally, they work closely with their site principals to organize Teen Town Hall events, which are designed to gather valuable student feedback.
SUSD is dedicated to enhancing both academic excellence and extracurricular opportunities by actively incorporating student perspectives.
The Student Advisory Board provides crucial insights to the Superintendent and the District Leadership Team, helping to elevate the quality of education and address concerns raised by students during Teen Town Halls. SAB serves as a vital bridge between students and the school district, ensuring that student voices are heard and valued.
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The SUSD's Student Advisory Board (SAB) is a group of high school students from each high school in SUSD that comes together to problem solve and help shape the overall student experience. Students meet monthly with SUSD District Leadership to collaborate and share current concerns and opportunities for improvement. In today’s episode of the "SUSD Spotlight" podcast, we’ll chat with student, Nikhil Sethi, to learn more about the Student Advisory Board and his own journey as an SUSD student. Hear about the work the SAB does, how it has been from a student perspective, future goals for the SAB, and how we all can play a part in making SUSD a district that serves everyone better.
Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube and all other podcasting platforms!
The Student Advisory Board has been keeping busy throughout the past month, reaching student voices beyond their team of 20. Desert Mountain, Arcadia, Coronado, Chaparral, and Saguaro have all conducted what is known as a “Teen Town Hall” on their respective campuses. A Teen Town Hall is facilitated by SAB members in cooperation with student governments during lunchtimes or after school. Here, students from all high schools are provided the opportunity to voice their concerns directly with representatives from the board and district.
More than 500 students across all of the high schools participated in this event, taking the chance to advocate fortheir educational rights. SAB noticed the recurrence of many of the most common grievances among students, including bathrooms and nutritional options. However, each school had other more unique questions of which you can see a snapshot below.
- How SUSD is prioritizing safety, comfort, and healthy environments in their schools
- How to maximize student success with community and teacher connection
- In what ways can SUSD promote a healthy school and life balance
- How is SUSD ensuring that students are provided with adequate technology
SAB is beyond excited to take this new feedback and apply it to our future plans. However, Teen Town Hall is not the only opportunity for students to voice their concerns. If a student believes their questions were not answered or has something entirely new to bring up, please feel free to email your school principals or your SAB representatives on campus. Our goal is to make your time in SUSD as best as possible, and we cannot do that without hearing about your experiences!
Victoria Hill, Desert Mountain High School
President, Student Advisory Board
As the year is progressing, the Scottsdale Unified School District Student Advisory Board (SAB) is continuing to make progress in collaborating with district leaders to improve the educational experience of Scottsdale Unified students. SAB offers a unique opportunity and perspective for students and staff, as allsides of the SUSD experience are taken into consideration. The board is composed of representatives from all five high schools with representatives including members from all four grades. To be able to properly assess all the important issues in our district, the members split into subcommittees. Our subcommittees are climate and culture, college and career readiness, communications, safety and security, and technology. However, although these are the subcommittees right now, these are revisited at the beginning of each year to properly adapt to the school year and students that are on the board for the given year.
I have personally been on the Student Advisory Board for two years now, and the opportunities that it has presented to me have been priceless. Although my future isn’t anything related to community relations or government, the skills I have learned in the Student Advisory Board are those I will take for the rest of my life. It is amazing that SUSD offers an opportunity like this to work closely with our district leaders.
This year, SAB had the opportunity to attend the city of Scottsdale’s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. There, we were able to listen to talks from many leaders in the Scottsdale community. I was even brought to tears by many of the speeches I heard. As an aspiring journalist, getting to meet Susan Casper and Dr. Battino Batts, the dean of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, was such a meaningful opportunity.
Members of their respective schools also take part in planning and being a part of their school Teen Town Hall. Teen Town Hall gives students the opportunity to ask questions to a panel of members from the district and their school’s administration. This is a vital opportunity for students from each school to raise their voices and concerns to members of the district they wouldn't normally see.
Overall, the Student Advisory Board not only benefits the students that choose to participate in it, but the community as a whole. It goes without saying that the Scottsdale community as a whole is better with the Student Advisory Board.
Ella Wolter-Sanchez
SAB Senator
Arcadia High School