Burrell School Board added four students as nonvoting members last month to its nine-member board.
A school board director, LeAnn Guido, brought up the idea last year, and high school Principal John Boylan opened up the opportunity to juniors and seniors this school year. The four students, in teams of two, rotate attending the board’s monthly agenda meeting.
“As adults make decisions, I want to incorporate the student voice in the decisions we make,” Boylan said.
About five students applied after learning about the student board seats during history class. Four were chosen after they wrote essays and were interviewed by Boylan.
“We hope that the students on the board will bring their voice, their ideas, and their opinions, from their perspective to their board and their district,” school board President Pam Key said.
Boylan said he picked students who were not friends and who could provide different perspectives. One student, Damian Barr, attends Northern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center; Boylan wanted a vo-tech student included.
“We got a good cross-section of folks involved in extracurricular activities,” he said. “It’s a good mix.”
The four new members said they look forward to learning what the board does and adding the student perspective.
Barr, 18, a senior from Upper Burrell who is on the wrestling team, said he wants to build a better relationship with his community and help other students have a voice on the school board.
“I want to give the school board a more inclusive view on how students feel about policies and other things,” he said.
Helaina Herbulock, 17, a junior from Upper Burrell, is a member of the district’s Reading Railroad and Interact clubs. She wants to be able to share her viewpoints with the board, she said.
“When you are a student, you see different things,” Herbulock said, “and it will be good to share with the board how students see things.”
Kaylee Armando, 17, a junior from Upper Burrell, also is a member of the Reading Railroad and Interact clubs and student government.
Armando said she believes the adults will appreciate the students’ perspectives.
“I want to present a younger person’s point of view on what we should change and make things better at our school,” she said.
Armando said the school district does a “pretty good job” in general. She, like the others, said she will have to attend more meetings and see what comes up.
Dylan Selinger, 17, a senior from Lower Burrell, is a member of the American Sign Language and Environmental clubs as well as the Light Initiative, a student-led effort to preserve the history of the Holocaust and other injustices.
Selinger said she has been involved with a school district sustainable agriculture internship and the school garden club.
“I don’t think people are taking advantage of the opportunities we are given to shape our educational experience, and I want to bring that perspective to the board,” she said.
Selinger wants more students to explore and go after educational opportunities they are passionate about.
Superintendent Shannon Wagner and Greg Egnor, director of student services, meet with the students on the Monday preceding the meeting to see if they have any issues on their minds and review the meeting’s agenda.
“We let them know what could be a conversation with the board and encourage them to speak up and how to speak up,” Egnor said.
While the administration is guiding them in how to participate in discussions, for now, the students are listening and getting more comfortable on the board, Egnor said.
Key said she hopes the students will learn about the board’s leadership process and provide input on plans and issues.
“We will work together and learn from each other,” Key said.