Schools
High school seniors share thoughts with school district leaders
A superintendent's forum invited input from members of the class of 2025
Taylor Spells - Mustangs Ahead
(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) - On Feb. 27, I joined five other Lakewood Ranch seniors and student leaders from other schools to meet with Manatee School Superintendent Dr. Jason Wysong and other Manatee County School leaders for a leadership workshop.
The workshop lasted from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Seniors shared their input on ways to improve schools across the county.
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Wysong gave us cards, and we grouped ourselves to introduce ourselves to other seniors. My partner was Ava from Palmetto High School. After introducing our partners, we were placed into larger groups based on our card assignments.
Seven topics were set up at different tables, each with a poster board. Groups had five minutes at each table to brainstorm ideas before rotating to the next table. When moving to a new table, we could check off ideas we agreed with or add new suggestions.
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After rotating through all seven tables, we returned to our original groups to review what others had contributed. Each group then had five minutes to choose the best ideas to present to the rest of the participants.
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I really enjoyed the experience. I felt free to express my thoughts without bias and appreciated hearing how other schools operate. Some schools offer Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) as both a class and a club. Others have removed their Advanced Placement Program (AP) programs entirely, offering only Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) courses.
I loved learning from others and felt like my voice was truly heard.
Lakewood Ranch Seniors Colin McRae and Nadia Gandhi also attended the workshop.
Gandhi said, “The workshop was an incredibly eye-opening experience to understand the way other schools work in Manatee County.”
McRae added, “Yes, it felt like my voice was actually heard, and I had the opportunity to make a difference.”
