Year Four: 2023-2024
Our fourth year was a high-pressure time for our team. In November 2023, PUSD’s Board of Education approved our proposal for student elections. Our entire year was dedicated to creating a new structure for student voices to be represented at the PUSD Board of Education meetings. Over the course of the year, our team interviewed 15 candidates, created election ballots, and administered elections.
As a result of our work, nine representatives from four high schools were selected to serve on PUSD’s first Student Assembly. To learn more about the process, please visit PUSD’s Student Assembly webpage.
Highlights throughout the year:
- On August 3, 2023, Olivia Barrios, Sophia Chou, Mya Hernandez, Maude Windsor, and Gabrielle Trujillo made the Student Think Tank’s fourth formal presentation to PUSD's Board of Education (BOE) meeting at which we presented a format for student representation on the district Board. On November 16, 2023, the BOE formally approved our proposal and we began preparing to administer PUSD’s first student elections
- Also in August 2023, we were invited to attend PUSD’s fall Welcome Back ceremony, which is usually only for teachers. About eleven STT members attended, and we were surprised when we were summoned to the stage and given PUSD's 2023 Community Service Award; KLRN also made a documentary about our work.
- In September, we began our weekly Thursday night virtual meetings to plan out the fall semester and how the Student Assembly process would be executed. In addition, we held regular in-person Monday morning meetings at different high school campuses.
- Throughout the fall, we delivered presentations at all the high schools as well as at PUSD’s September Principals’ Meeting as well as the Board Legislative Committee meeting, and identified Student Assembly teacher advisors on all six high school campuses.
- We were consumed with running the elections but continued working on the third edition of The Learning Curve and are also editing the print version from stories collected over the past three years.
- We held our second summer internship in June 2024, and welcomed 11 Cohort 5 members. The summer session focused on creating a plan for the next round of Student Assembly elections as well as generating a plan to collaborate with Pacific Oaks College to offer a youth education conference.
(from L to R): Sophia Chou, Olivia Barrios, Maude Windsor, Gabrielle Trujillo, and Mya Hernandez as they get ready to present at the BOE meeting
Our Award and on stage as we received our Community Service AwardIn order of appearance L to R: Dr. Helen Hill, Mya Hernández, Maude Windsor, Olivia Barrios, Gabriella Trujillo Trujillo, Morgan Gaskell, Mallika Sheshadri, Paulina McConnell, Sehba Sarwar (Facilitator), Isaak Uriu, Abby, Lauren Gray, Sophia Chou, Keilah Yu.
Our first in-person meeting which Dr. Blanco attended, and at which we planned out the semester and celebrated our Community Service Award by devouring cake from Portos. L to R: Dr. Helen Hill, Keilah Yu, Mr. José Ortega, Isaak Uriu, Lauren Gray, Morgan Gaskell, Dr. Elizabeth Blanco, Paulina McConnell, Mallika Sheshadri, Maude Windsor, Gabriela Trujillo, and Julian Macdonald.
Arlington Pacheco, Lauren Gray, Maude Windsor, and Olivia Barrios after presenting to PUSD principals in September 2023.