Board receives student feedback

In effort to give students a greater voice, the district board held its annual conference with 18 Saratoga High students on March 16 during lunch in the Staff Lounge.

The students were chosen at random, ranging from freshmen to seniors, and all had the opportunity to voice their opinions about the school and their personal experiences of being in it.

Junior Gabby Crolla said participating in the meeting was a worthwhile experience because it allowed students to give the board a student’s perception of the school.

During the meeting, the board allowed for all the students to introduce themselves and to discuss topics and suggestions regarding the school.

“The board was very friendly,” said Jasmine Tan, a junior. “They gave everyone an equal chance in say.”

The board members and the students discussed topics such as the possible addition of a full-block schedule, the need for more liberal arts classes, the stress level around campus, the school’s new paint colors, favorite staff, the quality of the cafeteria’s food, the decision to hold finals before winter vacation and more.

“We discussed specific things such as adding more electives so that more students would not be discouraged of taking classes,” Crolla said. “Including a regular Spanish 4 class instead of adding the honors credit would be an example.”

The five members of the board are Cynthia Chang, Douglas Ramezane, Rosemary Rossi, Michele H. van Zuiden and Lorrie Wernick.

Chang said that she was especially pleased that the group of selected students came from a variety of backgrounds.“It was a fair representation of the student body,” she said.

Chang said that the meeting had provided a bridge between the students and the board, and that “the board really enjoyed that the students were very polite, respectful and articulate while expressing their viewpoints.”

“Overall, we had very good conversations with [the students] about current issues around their school,” said Chang. “Hopefully they learned something and felt more connected with the board members, who oversee the entire school district.”

Chang said that the meeting was especially helpful in the decision making that takes place during every board meeting.

“The ideas that the students gave us are discussed during the meetings, and we do our best to do what is beneficial to our school, and what meets the needs of our students,” Chang said.

Wernick said the meeting gave the board a clearer view on how the future will look for the district. The board had discussed the issue of a lack of AP humanities classes, as well as the lack of lunch tables.

“Every single one of the students felt connected to [the school],” she said. “It was great to see them engaged and happy to be at the meeting.”