Oregon Board of Education adopts agenda with teacher-priorities addendum, hears Jerusalem Elementary student council

The Oregon Board of Education convened on March 18 and adopted its meeting agenda, including an addendum described as the board’s "priorities of teachers," following a motion, second and a roll-call vote recorded as 'Yes' by four members. The meeting then heard a presentation from Jerusalem Elementary School’s third- and fourth-grade student council.

The student council members, introduced and accompanied by advisors Sally Hower and Whitney Wasserman, described their program and recent service projects. "Student council members are urged to represent their classroom and their grade level. They listen to their classmates and bring new ideas or concerns to meetings," said Grace Bickford, who identified herself as a student council member. The council told the board it collects donations for local food banks through a program the transcript names "Hiding for Humanity" in partnership with "Access American Culture Exchange Service."

Council members also recounted a peanut-butter-versus-jelly drive held before Thanksgiving, a December food-and-toy drive that supported the Oregon Health and Welfare Christmas Basket Program, and fundraising activity through sales of themed treats to support spring events. The transcript includes numeric references for some collections but the counts are garbled in the record and are not specified in this article.

During a short question-and-answer exchange, a board member asked how students are selected for the council. A student described the process: candidates write a poem, explain why they should represent their classroom, and are chosen by a classroom vote in September. The students said they plan to visit each classroom for art projects and to run games at a Spring Family Night on April 18.

Board members praised the students’ presentation and pledge performance and invited students and families to remain briefly for photographs before community recognitions. The meeting proceeded to a community recognition segment after the presentation.

Actions recorded in the transcript include a motion to adopt the agenda with the stated addendum; the motion was seconded and approved by roll call in the record. The transcript does not clearly identify who made the motion or who seconded it. The roll-call names and recorded 'Yes' responses in the transcript were: Mr. Scabick, Mr. Eversman, Mr. Zadisky and Mrs. Moore.