Student representatives on the school board facilitate communication between administrators and students. School boards, which are designed to support the student body through their oversight and policy-making, approach the role in many different ways.
Hershey High School’s school board has three student representatives, all from the senior class. This year’s representatives are Julia Aluquin, Anna Ardire, and Shaunak Dalal, who present reports on the student body to the school board at their meetings. Reports can include information on student attendance at school-hosted events, students of the month, and student achievements.
“One of my favorite things about being a School Board Student Representative is having the opportunity to be involved in the community on another level,” said Aluquin. All the Hershey High School student representatives are deeply involved in activities, ranging from playing in the orchestra to participating in Mini-THON to running the Random Acts of Kindness club.
Margaret Leaman is one of two student representatives to the Elizabethtown Area school board, which started the student representative program last year. Elizabethtown’s school board invites a student from both the junior and senior classes to hold this role.
“This position has provided me with so many experiences and skills that I genuinely believe that I could get in very few other places,” said Leaman. The role marked several firsts for her, including reading a written statement to the board outside of public comment and being referenced in a Lancaster Newspaper headline.
Gabriel Rossi Gross has been a student representative on the Phoenixville Area School Board since the beginning of his junior year. In his role, he attends monthly school board meetings and connects with board members in between meetings to keep the board in touch with student body priorities.
“School boards have a lot of interesting procedures and responsibilities, and they have a lot of influence over the success of a school. I was surprised that the school board had near-unilateral authority over the school district,” said Rossi Gross. He believed that media coverage often overlooks state and local government despite their significant control over schools.
Last year, when the Phoenixville school board debated a phone ban policy, Rossi Gross and another student representative raised concerns about sealed magnetic pouches causing problems during emergencies. After hearing their input, the board decided to ban phones only in classrooms and bathrooms with strong consequences, using regular pouches instead of sealed ones.
“It seems that sometimes monumental changes can happen in a minute, but small changes will sometimes take months,” said Leaman. Leaman works alongside a senior representative in a two-year rotation designed to build institutional knowledge. Her senior counterpart has helped her understand board members’ positions, meeting procedures, and the inner dynamics of voting.
Leaman and Rossi Gross both highlighted the educational value of being student representatives. To gather student input, Leaman has visited homerooms sorted randomly by last name and grade, which helps eliminate bias. Students have also reached out directly with concerns.
“Alongside our reports, we’re able to see the process of approving clubs and updates on construction projects,” said Aluquin. She emphasized her commitment to staying connected with board members to ensure student voices are heard in those processes.
“I really enjoy being able to connect with policymakers,” said Rossi Gross, “and give them my opinions and the opinions of my peers.”
