The Orchard Park Central School District has come a long way in the past 5 years when it comes to student input and involvement in the very important decisions made that directly impact us. Whether it’s having a voice on the school board or having a say in the administrators who will be our leaders, the District is actively creating new opportunities for students to have a say in our education.
It is worth mentioning that the District has emphasized student voices and involvement in the search for building and district-level administrators. In the spring and summer of 2023, I had the honor of sitting on the student committees for hiring the high school Building Principal and the search for House 3 Principal. There also have also been other searches, like the search for the District Superintendent a few years back, that also had a student committee.
After students at STAP Comm raised concerns about lacking a voice in District decision-making committees, we agreed that student voices are important and should be included. DCIP and District Tech, for example, are both decision-making bodies that now welcome student representatives who give their peers a voice on the important issues these committees undertake.
In 2023, the District also made a serious commitment to amplifying student voices by adding a student to the school board. We see this all around the country, and although not every district has a student voice to represent their peers, the number of student school board members is growing, and we are proud that Orchard Park now has a student voice representing the thoughts, ideas, and points of view of the student body. Moreover, the community showed their receptiveness to this move by the District when, as per New York State law, the community voted to include the student seat on the board, supporting the ballot proposition to add the Student Ex-Officio Member by a 3-1 margin with more than 75% of the vote.
Although there is always room to increase the involvement of students and amplify student voices, it is extremely important to recognize the changes made and the progress that has occurred within our district over the past few years. From here, we hope to move forward continuing to see a district that fully supports and listens to student voices.
