Panel offers student perspectives to administration

Photo by Timothy Leung and Pooja Manapat

One topic the Principal Student Advisory Panel has considered is the school theme. 

During the 2020-21 school year, principal Greg Louie created the Principal Student Advisory Panel to help him grasp student perspectives on topics such as school climate and the logistics of being in-person or staying home. 

This year, an expanded panel includes six students from each grade level — some new, others returning — who meet in the campus community room once a month during lunch. Along with Louie, chair junior Lisa Fung and vice chair junior Shaan Sridhar guide meetings to create a dialogue between students and the administration. 

In addition to Fung and Sridhar, the panel includes freshman Nathan Lee, Timothy Leung, Lilianna Liu, Aneri Shah, Anthony Shen and Kathy Wang; sophomores Simarya Ahuja, Zeyneb Kaya, Cameron Nguyen, Vidur Sanghi, Varun Sreedhara and Aiden Ye; juniors Samika Agarwal, Lucas Dennis, Channie Hong and Kayla Steele; and seniors Benjamin Bray, Macey Hartmann, Caroline Keogh, Marcus Kuo, Pooja Manapat and Anouk Yeh.

“The panel is very much a conversation,” Leung said. “There is a lot of back and forth and student-led presentations.”

So far, the panel has discussed the debate over aligning classes and policies between SHS and Los Gatos , the new bell schedule and academic integrity. Additionally, the panel reviewed the school theme of “TOGA-ther We Can,” with Leung and Manapat creating artwork for the logo.

Louie said the panel is a place for both immediate feedback and concerns that need to be followed up on, such as about advisories taking away tutorial times and the school plan for student achievement. 

Applications to be on the Principal Student Advisory Panel were opened through a Google Form starting last spring. The form asked students to explain why they were applying, what campus groups they represented and how they could contribute to the panel. As such, many panel members are students who participate in multiple school activities. 

“I wanted to see more of what went behind running the school and Mr. Louie’s and the school’s processes for making policy decisions,” Kuo said. “I felt I could provide valuable input on the student perspective from my involvement in orchestra, athletics and various clubs.”

Members of the Principal Student Advisory panel hope to ensure student voices are heard in order to ensure better school policies.

“I wanted to be on the Principal Student Advisory panel to help make positive change to Saratoga High School,” Hartmann said. “And that’s by discussing important topics with representatives from different grades, who all bring in various viewpoints.”