Breaking Barriers

By Chloe Johnson

STEM has always wanted to break barriers. Through a new club called the Student Advisory Board, it allows students to directly communicate with the faculty and administration.

Student Advisory Board is led by administrative team members Robin Fisher (far left), Hope Strickland, and Drew Sears.

As I sat in the Inner Conference Room, I was very excited to start this interview. As a member of the Student Advisory Board, I understand why and how the group helps the faculty make decisions. After conducting an interview with Mrs. Fisher, the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of DRSS, I have become completely aware of why the Student Advisory Board was started. Mrs. Fisher is one of the three founders of the group. Mrs. Strickland, the Principal, and Mr. Sears, the Dean of Students, also conduct Student Advisory Board meetings. Mrs. Fisher explained, “The Student Advisory Board is a group of students that are chosen to represent their class in conversations with the administration of the school, so that we can communicate about suggestions, problems, challenges, or ideas they might have to improve the school.” To clarify, students from each grade level were not chosen to be a part of the group; however, anyone who wanted to participate could sign up during their advisories.  

Students of the Student Advisory Board.

“From the beginning of DRSS, the faculty wanted to create a culture where there was a lot of feedback between the students and the staff,” Mrs. Fisher said. When the school had less students, it was easier for the staff to receive immediate feedback. Since DRSS has grown vastly during the years, it is harder for the faculty to obtain feedback from the students. "Last year was the first year the idea about the Student Advisory Board came about," Mrs. Fisher stated. Since STEM is a community of learners, it empowers the faculty to have the students’ voice in their decisions. The entire STEM community can take ownership of what goes on.  

During the summer of 2015, the idea of the Student Advisory Board was refined. Now, Mr. Sears and Mrs. Strickland each take two grades, and  Mrs. Fisher conducts three of the Student Advisory Board meetings. Each Student Advisory Board meeting has a different topic, and are held once a month. For the middle school, the meetings are held in the fishbowl, and the high schoolers have their meetings in the aquarium. (Both of these places are conference rooms.) The meetings are a chance for open dialogue, so whatever is on the students’ minds about the school can be stated. The administrative team members ask questions to receive students’ feedback on certain topics affecting the school. Sometimes, student representatives will bring questions from their advisories when they come to the meetings. All of the responses from the students are typed. After conducting the meetings, the three faculty members meet a week after to talk about their findings. By doing this, it helps the staff come up with ideas of how they can help or improve things around the school. Also, they can find common trends between the students’ responses. In return, the student representatives communicate to their fellow classmates about what the faculty said during the meetings.

The first meeting focused around the students’ decisions to come to STEM and what their potential career paths could be. Some students recommended making clubs for specific careers, having a mentorship program, or connecting students to people who are in the fields they are interested in. Over time, the discussion moved to how the school was doing providing the students with career-based learning. Another topic for discussion is what to do with the space next door. Many ideas have been requested, including a library, media center, agility course, auditorium, or a hangout spot. Another question the admin team members ask the students is what they think is missing from the school’s facility. An additional topic of discussion focused on how the faculty could help change the culture of the school. Two of the students even took part in the meetings to help develop the school's new Strategic Plan. Basically, the Student Advisory Board helps with ongoing decisions.

The faculty always take the students’ responses into consideration. For example, there were concerns about lunches. The faculty took those comments into consideration and talked to the cafeteria workers about changing up the types of lunches that are served. Now, the lunches are diversifying due to the students’ feedback. Another example was when a music program was brought to STEM because of the students’ concerns over not having one. Depending on what the responses are, it can help determine how useful it will be for the faculty’s decisions. Furthermore, the quality of each students’ responses are excellent. No student has a bad idea. Each student has different experiences while attending STEM and have varying perspectives about what they think the school could improve on. Mrs. Fisher concluded, “But each response is super significant because their perspective helps us get a pulse about how everyone is feeling in the building.”

Additionally, Mrs. Fisher has a little secret that she keeps from the wellness teachers at DRSS. She brings snacks such as candy, crackers or pretzels to all of her Student Advisory Board meetings. Before lunch, the juniors and seniors meet with Mrs. Fisher for the meetings. Most of the time, these students are hungry because they have not eaten yet. Also, Mrs. Fisher said, “If you think about, most social events you go to, food is something that brings people together.” By bringing food to the meetings, it makes the environment more comfortable and opens up the doors to sharing ideas. However, not every meeting has snacks. It is just a luxury of being a part of the Student Advisory Board.

In summary, the Student Advisory Board allows open dialogue between the students and faculty members. From the words of Mrs. Fisher, “The reason is so we can maintain a culture where the students have feedback and input on the decisions that are made in the school.” The Student Advisory Board is an open place where no one is judged, and everyone is accepted. It is not an exclusive club. “Student Advisory Board really has to do with direct communication with the administration,” Mrs. Fisher stated. It helps get rid of the conversation barriers. Furthermore, it helps clear up some misconceptions about what the school does. Mrs. Fisher said, “We will continue throughout the year with other topics that we would like the students’ feedback on.” This club is creating amazing ideas while breaking barriers between faculty and student communication.