Student Advisory Board

SUSD’s Student Advisory Board Hosts Second Monthly Meeting

SUSD’s Student Advisory Board (SAB) held its second monthly meeting this October, bringing together student representatives from all five high schools to discuss key topics with Superintendent Dr. Menzel, elect new board leaders, and launch the first subcommittee meetings of the 2025–26 school year.

During the meeting, students engaged in their customary Q&A session with Dr. Menzel and welcomed two members of the Communities Celebrating Diversity (CCD) board. Together, they explored ways to increase student engagement in CCD programming and shared perspectives on the importance of maintaining a diverse and interconnected Scottsdale community.

In addition to insightful discussion, October’s SAB meeting also included annual board elections. Each high school elected one Senator, and the full board selected a President Elect. Congratulations to our 2025–26 SAB Senators:

• Arcadia: Kinsey Hunkins
• Chaparral: Olivia Dougherty
• Coronado: Lindy Richards
• Desert Mountain: Siddhanth Gupta
• Saguaro: Aashni Sahai

A big congratulations to Desert Mountain’s Matthew Lair, the newly elected President Elect! 

The meeting concluded with SAB’s first subcommittee sessions of the year. SUSD officials joined students to introduce themselves and begin developing the board’s Wildly Important Goals (WIGs), which will guide future meetings and inform the board’s presentations to the SUSD Governing Board.

Looking ahead, the Student Advisory Board will hold its third meeting this month and deliver its first Governing Board presentation of the year on November 18. As the fall semester continues, SAB members remain dedicated to strengthening student engagement, building community connections, and amplifying the voices of students across Scottsdale Unified.

Fiona Riley 
Saguaro High School 
SAB President

Learn More at the Source

Scottsdale Unified School District’s Student Advisory Board, composed of students from all five high schools in the district, meets monthly to discuss student achievements and identify areas for improvement. It’s an opportunity for students to speak directly with Superintendent Dr. Menzel, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Dr. Sackos, and other SUSD officials. 

August marked SAB’s first meeting of the school year, where they discussed an array of topics like: AI in classrooms, recent board legislation, and the updated code of conduct. At the end of the meeting, students broke into subcommittees and began brainstorming this year’s Wildly Important Goals (WIGs).

During every monthly meeting, students have a lengthy Q&A period with Dr. Menzel. They can ask questions, as well as voice suggestions to the superintendent himself. After this, there is a discussion period, where students from all five schools come together to share what concerns they may have and what solutions work for their learning community. Additionally, every meeting includes time for student subcommittee meetings, where students join SUSD officials to discuss specific interest groups. Last year, two of the five subcommittees were the 'Climate and Culture' group and the 'Facilities' group, highlighting the diverse interests of students.

This school year, new subcommittees will meet to establish WIGs, which will shape SAB agendas, guest speakers, and the ways student voice influences SUSD. With monthly meetings and three presentations to the school board, Student Advisory Board members will be busy making an impact this school year!

Fiona Riley 
Saguaro High School 
SAB President

SUSD’s Student Advisory Board, composed of students from all five high schools in the district, meets every month for an open discussion centered around the successes and challenges faced at the student level. At each meeting, students also get the opportunity to share their concerns with and ask questions directly to Dr. Menzel! So far this year, topics have been wide-ranging: AI in schools, facilities questions, and vaping, to name a few. SAB students have been working in their subcommittees, developing strategies to achieve the Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) they set in the fall. Although we often discuss areas for improvement, we also like to reflect upon what is going well at school. This month, we’d like to bring attention to one of the most special parts of SUSD: the teachers! To conclude the school year, SAB leaders talk about the teachers who have been incredibly meaningful to them, both as students and people. So many of us cannot imagine our school experiences without our favorite teachers. 

Harper Helfman, SAB Senator for Desert Mountain High School, chose Ms. Murray:

I have had the privilege of attending Ms. Murray's math classes for three years of my high school experience. Starting in Algebra II Honors as a freshman to finishing Differential Equations as a senior, Ms. Murray has more than prepared me to approach any math problem that comes my way. In addition to being a friend to all students before a teacher, Ms. Murray makes math fun. Her sheer passion when explaining eigenvalues or separation of variables is simply contagious and challenges all students to find the joy in calculation. She even made Calculus Camp one of my favorite memories from high school. In fact, Ms. Murray somehow made my IB class excited to write our 18-page internal assessment and was incredibly supportive of our topic ideas. Teaching both IB and AP curriculums, Ms. Murray gives each student the attention needed for them to succeed. She is meticulous in preparing her students for exams and makes them feel confident. While I am saddened that I will be leaving her classroom next year, I am grateful and proud to have been one of her students. Thank you, Ms. Murray!

Avery Liu, SAB Senator for Arcadia High School, chose Mr. Guy:

Some of my favorite memories from high school are in Speech & Debate with Mr. Guy. The team is always supportive and encouraging of each other, and Debate has made a huge impact on my life. Thanks to Mr. Guy, I have improved my public speaking skills, political knowledge, and involvement in the school. I have had the opportunity to meet so many people from different schools at tournaments. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Guy, for everything!

Victoria Bourgeois-Conti, SAB President, chose Mrs. Rand:

I’ve had so many great SUSD teachers, but my absolute favorite memories take me all the way back to fourth grade with Mrs. Rand at Hopi Elementary School. Never before had a teacher been so interested in and encouraging of what each of her students were passionate about. She truly brought excitement to all that we learned and cultivated a classroom environment centered around curiosity. We also had so much fun with her. She was kind, warm, and very funny, and we all loved her. She went along with each of our personal quirks and gave us countless opportunities to make choices of our own, instead of following rigid rules. Getting to have Mrs. Rand was such a privilege, and my greatest takeaway from her class must be that joy and curiosity around learning are natural to us as humans. We love to learn, and when we remember that, we also realize that the possibilities of what we can learn and attain mastery over are endless. Thank you, Mrs. Rand, for everything: you truly made an impact. 

Thank you to not only these wonderful teachers but to all our teachers who have brought students joy and laughter and provided them support throughout their academic journeys. You are so greatly cherished, and all the Student Advisory Board wants to extend their gratitude to you. 

As for SAB, as the school year approaches an end, SAB members will continue working to make progress toward their WIGS, likely continuing many of their efforts into the next school year. It’s been a great year, and we will celebrate our seniors this month. Most of all, we look excitedly forward to the year ahead under the leadership of President-Elect Fiona Riley!   

Learn More at the Source 

SUSD’s Student Advisory Board, composed of students from all five high schools in the district, meets every month for an open discussion centered around the successes and challenges faced at the student level. At each meeting, students also get the opportunity to share their concerns with and ask questions directly to Dr. Menzel! So far this year, topics have been wide-ranging: AI in schools, facilities questions, and vaping, to name a few. SAB students have been meeting in their subcommittees, developing strategies to achieve the Wildly Important Goals they set in the fall. SAB students are also tasked with coordinating their school’s Teen Town Hall. 

At our last meeting, we reviewed the new policy on graduation regalia, which is tightening what cords/stoles can be worn at graduation as we transition into the Latin Honors System. We compared our Teen Town Hall experiences, sharing what best led to large and diverse turnout, as well as the mode for submitting questions and offering answers. We also talked with SUSD Facilities Director Dennis Roehler, who is in the process of accumulating details about improvements that may be needed on each campus for a possible, future bond program. Thus, if you have any thoughts about areas to improve or keep just as they are on campus, don’t hesitate to reach out to your principal, your school’s SAB senator, or Mr. Roehler himself. Finally, in honor of National AI Literacy Day, the technology and communications subcommittee has created a Google Classroom for students, with resources to learn more about AI and its use in college. All SUSD students are encouraged to join the Google Classroom using the code f7msmzhk. We hope you will embrace these readily accessible and excellent resources, given the chance to! :)

At our next meeting, students will continue working on initiatives in their subcommittees and bring more ideas to the Q&A, sharing what was discussed at their town halls with the board. It’s been a great year so far and we look forward to more student insight!

Victoria Bourgeois-Conti
Arcadia High School 
SAB President

Learn More at the Source

SUSD’s Student Advisory Board, composed of students from all five high schools in the district, meets every month for an open discussion centered around the successes and challenges faced at the student level. At each meeting, students also get the opportunity to share their concerns with and ask questions directly to Dr. Menzel! So far this year, topics have been wide-ranging: AI in schools, Facilities questions, and vaping, to name a few. SAB students have been meeting in their subcommittees, developing strategies to achieve the Wildly Important Goals they set in the fall. SAB students are also tasked with coordinating their school’s Teen Town Hall. Now, we share something a little different than the normal monthly blog and look at an overview of Arcadia’s recent Teen Town Hall!

We held the Teen Town Hall (TTH) during lunch on February 19, and we are happy to report great turnout among students and faculty! Students submitted questions and concerns prior to the event on a Google form. We received questions about how decisions made by the federal government would impact the district, as well as attendance policy, finals, recycling, school lunches, and security in a time where school shooting threats are horrifically common. Dr. Menzel, Dr. Sackos, Dr. Danskey, Mr. Roehler, and Mr. Friedman were all in attendance and spoke on these issues, sharing the current procedures in place, as well as steps that can be taken in the future to make improvements

One key takeaway from the TTH was that administration can only act upon an issue when they are made aware of it, so students are encouraged to reach out to teachers or admin when they have a concern. Additionally, although SAB is a great way SUSD brings forth student voices, the students on SAB only comprise a tiny fraction of the entire student body. Thus, all students are encouraged to contact their school’s SAB members if they have any thoughts, concerns or questions so their ideas can be relayed to district administrators. Finally, district leaders talked about the diverse student body at Arcadia and other schools within SUSD, and what an asset that is. It is so valuable to go to school with peers who have different life stories and perspectives, and we must honor this by making every SUSD school a safe space for every student.

At our next meeting, students will continue working on initiatives in their subcommittees and bring more ideas to the Q&A, sharing what was discussed at their Town Halls with the board. It’s been a great year so far and we look forward to more student insight!

Victoria Bourgeois-Conti
Arcadia High School 
SAB President

Learn More at the Source