The first USD #116 Board of Education Student Ambassadors took their oaths of office at the Nov. 16 meeting. 

Sophomore Parker Schroeder and Freshman Mycal Turner will serve as the official Student Ambassadors until June 21, 2022. Sophomore Achly Ramos Rivera will serve as an alternate.

All three of the students already have ideas on ways to improve their school and the District. Achly Ramos Rivera has already spoken up about having the BOE agendas translated into Spanish going forward; something Dr. Ivory-Tatum agreed with her on. “It’s probably something that we should have done a long time ago,” Ivory-Tatum said. 

There were nine students who applied for the position. The other applicants will be invited to participate in a Superintendent advisory group led by these three students and the Superintendent.

The Student Ambassador Program started as part of the Board of Education’s effort to engage and be responsive to all District stakeholders; this includes learning about opinions, issues and concerns related to student experiences in District schools.

The student ambassadors will be responsible for the following:

1. Attending all regular meetings of the Board of Education
2. Meeting with a variety of students and student groups in order to gain a broad understanding of student interests, concerns, and needs.
3. Share information received from the Board of Education meetings with the student body.
4. Representing all students.
5. Communicating student viewpoints on issues before the Board
6. Answering Board questions and concerns from a student perspective.
7. Reviewing the Board meeting packet and student-generated discussion items with their Principal prior to each Board meeting.

The Student Ambassadors will attend Board meetings, but will not have voting privileges and may not participate in closed executive sessions of the Board.

In future years, the application process will open in April for the following year and the students will be seated in September.