Student Leadership Abilities Shared at Students in Leadership Board Meeting

District 228 students showed the Board of Education and the public that they will no problem becoming the leaders of tomorrow when they participated in the District's Students in Leadership Board meeting on Tuesday, January 17 at Oak Forest High School. Each Board member and administrator was paired up with one student. Other student participants provided group reports, committee summary notes, asked questions, and made motions to approve new business items including finance, personnel, policy, and teaching and learning.

The students acting as Board Members were Rachel Sayegh (Oak Forest HS) as Board President Debi Stearns, Alicia Kolacki (Bremen HS) as Board Vice-President Kristine Resler, Peyton Anderson (Tinley Park HS) as Board Secretary Kim Kampwirth, Olivia Douglas (Hillcrest HS) as Board Member Larry Canning, Austin Franczak (Tinley Park HS) as Board Member Evelyn Gleason, Charlie Sopko (Tinley Park HS) as Board Member Mark Johnson, and Darlena York (Hillcrest HS) as Board Member Leslie Jones.

The students that took on Administrator roles were Ray Heavener (Bremen HS) as Superintendent Bill Kendall, Amir Al-Sheikh (Oak Forest HS) as Ass. Supt. for Teaching & Learning Cory Williams, Paul Wilson (Tinley Park HS) as Asst. Supt. for Finance Tom O’Malley, Ezenna Cmadu (Hillcrest HS) as Asst. Supt. for Personnel & Student Services Dan Goggins, Trevor Hadley (Tinley Park HS) as Special Ed. Director Lisa Giglio-Byczek, NiGere Epps (Oak Forest HS) as Information Technology Manager Jim Donato, Carolina Carrillo (Tinley Park HS) as Instructional Technology Specialist Jim Boswell, Nyrasia Beal (Bremen HS) as Community Relations Coordinator Lori DeVos, and Carol McNeal (Oak Forest HS) as Oak Forest Principal Brad Sikora. Two additional students took on the job of photographers for the Board meeting. They were Yosra Abdulwahid (OFHS) and Amparo Villanueva (BHS).

The students provided Board meeting reports as follows:

• College & Career Transition – Patrick Cook (OFHS), Amir Al-Sheikh (OFHS), and Rachel Sayegh (OFHS). These students suggested ways to make the transition to college or careers easier. They suggested increasing individual meetings with counselors starting freshman or sophomore year, and including early on what colleges are looking for. They asked for additional career days and stronger test prep and career-readiness be provided. Lastly, they noted that some students do not have parents that have been to college, so detailed information is very helpful for them.
• Culture & Climate – Meaghan Daugherty (TPHS), Piper Jones (TPHS) and Kaizha King (TPHS). These students suggested changes to the student handbook. Specifically, they suggested changes to wearing hats when entering school and making sure there are no double standards in the dress code.
• Quality School Construction Bond (QSCB) – Carolina Carrillo (TPHS), Estefania Flores (BHS), Austin Franczak (TPHS), Stephanie Nicholas (TPHS) and Darla Thomas (OFHS). These students explained what the QSCB will bring to District 228 students, staff and residents with the addition of turf fields, field houses and additional classrooms. They also explained that the projects implemented will also provide increased property values and an increase in those wanting to raise children in our communities all because of our outstanding facilities.
• Teaching & Learning – NiGere Epps (OFHS). NiGere reported that teachers care about what they are doing, which makes classes more engaging. He said that flexibility in the classroom makes the learning experience more enjoyable and the addition of iPads in the classroom have helped. He suggested improvements in the area of attracting students to tutoring for help where needed.

To prepare for the Students in Leadership Board meeting, a workshop took place on Tuesday, January 10. In addition to learning the Board meeting process, students met with their peers from our other schools, discussed specific topics, and provided input to Dr. Kendall and District administrators regarding those topics. That information then became the Board meeting reports.

Dr. Kendall stated, “The Students in Leadership Board meeting is one of my favorite event of the school year. I am excited to see our students’ leadership abilities and gather input from them so we can consider changes for the future.”