Student advisory members highlight SEL, accountability and inter-school stereotypes in district feedback

Student leaders and district staff told the Camas School District Board on April 8 that the district’s Student Advisory Committee (SAC) returned strong feedback from a recent leadership conference and has identified priorities for next steps.

Katie Bridal, a staff lead for the student advisory effort, said the SAC had positive reactions to activities and cross-school collaboration but noted turnout for an immediate debrief was low. "We had low attendance at our student advisory meeting today for various reasons ... we saved it because there just weren't enough students who wanted to make sure everybody's there to get the feedback," Bridal said.

Students and staff synthesized conference feedback into themes. Bridal said students praised social-emotional learning (SEL) but called for better delivery and consistency across classrooms. She also said students reported persistent stereotypes between schools and urged more accountability "around students who cause harm, accountability for staff members who maybe say something or do something that's inappropriate or that they don't feel comfortable with, and accountability for administration." The accountability theme, she said, arose repeatedly.

Student Sophie Knight described how her classes at Discovery incorporate SEL into lessons and projects. Reading the SAC’s mission statement, Knight said: "The student advisory committee unites students in middle and high school in the Camas School District to advocate for district wide improvements in equity, wellness, and academics."

Board members discussed ways to deepen student influence: regular SAC reports at board meetings, plugging SAC into policy review for topics that affect students, and possible student representation at statewide conferences. Staff said they will share the detailed feedback with SAC participants and with principals to develop action steps before releasing the material more widely.

The board did not take formal action; members asked staff to return with proposals for how SAC input can be integrated into policy reviews and strategic-plan work.