The February meeting of the Mettawee School Board featured a new twist on the concept of public engagement: The Student Council had the floor.
“We’re constantly exploring ways to get feedback on how our school is performing,” says Mettawee School Board Chair Julie Mach. “Reaching out to parents and taxpayers always comes to mind, but at a recent meeting a new audience was identified. Why don’t we hear directly from our students?”
For the February 12th session, the Board moved the meeting to early afternoon at the Mettawee Community School to accommodate the student’s schedule. Mettawee Student Council members were joined by other student learners interested in talking to the Board. Some 20 students met with the adults.
The meeting was formatted into two sessions. Up first was a student presentation on current projects at school. They showed the Board examples of what they were tackling in biology, social studies, physical science, geography, music, and informational graphics.
One youngster was so animated about describing his work on volcanoes lining the rim of the Pacific Ocean that he went off script. He took his notes that included maps and spread them on the floor of the auditorium to visually describe his project. “Right there is the circle of volcanoes called the Ring of Fire,” he pointed excitedly.
Two other students showcased their learning of how to play the ukulele. They finished by strumming along to a recording of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B Goode” with all their fellow students singing the chorus in unison. The Board members, unprompted, all joined in: “Go, go … Johnny B Goode.”
For the second session three stations were set up, each manned by two Board members. The students were divided into three groups and then rotated through all three tables. Each station posed a basic question for the kids to answer, either individually or as a group:
How has school changed for better or worse since COVID?
What are the best and worst parts of school?
How do you like to learn?
At each table the Board members facilitated animated student discussions with the kids writing their responses on posted notes. The data was collected and will be analyzed and discussed at a future Board meeting.
“All the students were really engaged,” says Mach. “They weren’t afraid to speak up about what they liked and where they were not happy. We definitely will do this again.”
While the final results are not formally tabulated, a few general themes emerged. Learning outdoors gets high marks, with the kids enjoying the land next to the school managed by Merck Forest & Farmland. The JISP winter activity program and field trips are a huge hit. Teachers are popular. The arts, sports, and recess (no surprise) all come up as winners.
Students are comfortable with computers as a learning tool and they enjoy having more use of technology in class, although there were some comments of too much screen time. Many mentioned how much they enjoy working in small groups and learning from each other. At the same time, the kids were not afraid to mention their dislike of any teasing or bullying. They believe it’s important to be able to talk about feelings.
And then there is math. The kids are okay with the new math program, but for some math is simply not fun. The math sentiment was summed up by one student this way, “I would rather be at recess!”
Some things just don’t change.
Mettawee students showcase their skills with informational graphics in their meeting with the Mettawee School Board.
Mettawee student places maps on the floor and points out the "Ring of Fire" volcanoes.