The Brunswick School Department this year re-established the Superintendent’s Student Leadership Advisory Council. Comprising 12-15 students in grades 9-12 at Brunswick High School, the council gives students the opportunity to interact with school district leadership, including the superintendent, building administration, and central office administration. Perhaps most important, the leadership gets to hear directly from students.

Phillip Potenziano is superintendent of Brunswick schools.

Because the students are selected to represent academic, socioeconomic and cultural diversity, they bring varying experiences to the table. Therefore, they offer different perspectives on issues within our district and viable, student-led solutions. In short, they represent the student voice in the district. The council focuses on topics that are important to our students. This year they will tackle issues from social media use to school safety, from mental health to the often-tough transition from eighth to ninth grade.

Being part of the program is a commitment. Students apply by submitting an application, which includes an outline of responsibilities and a series of questions that require serious thought: Why do you want to be on this council? What do you think are the district’s greatest strengths and successes? What are the needs? Share an experience of success or personal growth as a student in the Brunswick School Department. If selected, they obligate themselves to monthly meetings and commit to keeping an open mind, getting to know the other students, practicing respectful listening and asking questions.

Why have a council like this? Research and experience show us that giving students space to express their opinions and concerns and allowing them to be really heard fosters a substantially more engaged student body. In addition, giving student groups real authority is shown to improve the school climate, empower students and create opportunities for students to influence change.

I’d like to take credit for this brilliant idea, but schools all over the country are establishing such councils. According to District Administrator, a newsletter for school leadership, superintendents “across the nation are launching advisory councils to listen to students’ concerns and give them a role in district decision-making.”

The results are palpable: All research proves that students involved in these councils care more, they think, they solve, they create change, they feel included, they know they have a voice, and they gain new perspectives. These are all lessons we teach in the classroom, but the council provides a conduit for application in a real-world scenario.

The New York City Department of Education puts it succinctly: “Student Advisory Councils engage students as partners to foster youth leadership, community involvement, and democratic school and district governance.” The council opens our eyes to the needs, the perceptions, and the thought-processes of our students. At the same time, students get a glimpse of how decisions are made at the highest levels and how every potential change affects students, staff, and even parents.

I have lots of meetings every month, and they are all important, but these council meetings are professionally fulfilling in a way that no others are. They remind me of why I became an educator and why I love being a superintendent of schools. They encourage me about today’s students, and they inspire me to find more ways to empower students.

I’m sure you can understand why this is my favorite meeting each month.