Elementary Superintendent's Advisory Council meets for first time in 2024-2025 school year

Elementary school students from around the Mount Vernon City School District stepped off the bus at the Mount Vernon Board of Education for their first Elementary Superintendent’s Advisory Council meeting of the school year on Wednesday, October 9, 2024. Students met with Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Administration Dr. Jamal Doggett, who explained how they would be working together to help improve their schools. 

“The purpose of the Student Advisory is to meet with our student ambassadors from each of our school buildings; they advise us of how we’re doing as a District, how our initiatives are going and what we can improve on,” said Dr. Doggett. “Based on the feedback that they give us, we make the necessary changes from a child’s perspective because we’re in this business for teaching and learning for the children.”

Students introduced themselves and then were served lunch. Parent Liaisons Veronica Graham and Sheba Greenwood helped to facilitate the meeting and served the food to the students as well. Students chatted with each other and got to know their peers, as they will be working together year-round. 

The Superintendent’s Advisory Council meets once a month, with different activities each week. This week, students began brainstorming ideas of what they would like to be improved in their schools. Dr. Doggett reminded students that some of the changes they saw in their schools last year were a direct result of input from the students on the council last year. 

“I feel very happy about being a part of this…” said Kyshawn Lindsay, fifth-grade student at Edward Williams School. “I want to change my school for the better, so that more people in the school have a better time.”

Students wrote their ideas for potential changes on poster paper and then discussed them as a group. Some of the ideas that students presented included new clubs and changes to recess and lockers. Students last year developed a survey to poll their classmates about what they want to see in their school, and this group will continue discussing their ideas at the next meetings to create a new survey. 

To close the meeting, students learned more about the District’s anti-bullying initiatives this month and how they could promote them at their schools. The District will hold Unity Day on Wednesday, October 16, where everyone in the District is being asked to wear orange to show unity against bullying. Blue was worn across the District on Monday, October 7, in honor of World Day of Bullying Prevention. There will also be a “Mix it Up at Lunch Day,” on Monday, October 28, where students will be encouraged to sit with new people at lunch to promote inclusion.

Throughout the year, students in the Superintendent’s Advisory will complete different activities such as meeting with the District’s food service manager and sharing their thoughts with them. They will also continue to share what is going on in their schools and what they think should change. The Secondary Superintendent’s Advisory Council will meet on Thursday, October 10.