Students present seven priorities for belonging and instruction to North Santiam SD 29J board

Nine students representing the Equity Collaborative presented seven strategies they want the district to prioritize to improve belonging and learning.

Mackenzie Grimes and other student members described the strategies ' metacognition and explicit standards; checks for understanding; actionable feedback; connecting learning to future careers; visibility and connecting to students' lives; scaffolding; and directly addressing race, racism and prejudice ' and gave classroom examples for each. The presenters said the student group started with 45 members; 50 students originally opted in to the Equity Collaborative and 49 remained committed through training, which staff and board members praised as a high retention rate.

"We chose this because everyone learns in a different way, and we want the teachers to acknowledge our barriers and limits," one student said while explaining the metacognition strategy. The students also recommended teachers use explicit checks for understanding (pretests and exit tickets), offer actionable written feedback, and connect lessons to students' future career pathways.

Principal Vicky Storey and staff praised the students for their leadership and for voicing concrete classroom strategies during a public board meeting. Staff noted the student recommendations informed the district's curriculum adoption discussions and professional learning, and said the Equity Collaborative work will continue with staff and external partners in coming weeks.

Board members thanked the students for presenting and noted that the student voice is central to the district's efforts to improve psychological safety, belonging and instructional practice.