Superintendent's Student Senate gives Gilbert district input

 The Superintendent's Student Senate offers high school students in Gilbert Public Schools the opportunity to represent their schools, share their perspectives and provide direct input on decisions that impact the entire district.

Every year, a group of 13 student senators work to ensure that student perspectives are an active and valued part of shaping the educational community at GPS.

The Senate includes representatives from every high school who make a two-year commitment: a new junior and a returning senior.

The students meet every month with GPS Superintendent Shane McCord, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Marcie Taylor and Director of Career and Technical Education Doug Daley.

While the first meeting was hosted at the district office, senators from each high school will have the opportunity to host one of the next seven meetings on their own campuses, where they will introduce their principal, provide a tour of their campus and present information about what makes their school special.

The main purpose of these monthly meetings is to provide an opportunity for district leaders to hear student perspectives. The student senators help ensure student voices are considered in decisions that will impact their educational experience.

One of the Superintendent’s Student Senate’s most significant impacts can be seen in the technology found in GPS classrooms.

When the district was in the process of selecting new Chromebooks for student use, the GPS Technology Services Department turned to the Superintendent’s Student Senate for its input.

The students were given a variety of laptops to try out and test, eventually coming together to choose the model of Chromebooks used by every GPS student.

Another important reason the Superintendent’s Student Senate meets at each high school campus is to allow student senators to meet people from other schools and gather ideas to take back to their own campuses.

Additionally, student senators attend at least one GPS Governing Board meeting or a GEF Business Leaders Breakfast each semester to widen their scope of what the district does.

The members of the Superintendent's Student Senate are:

• Wyatt Rauch, Campo Verde High;
• Emma Watkins, Campo Verde High;
• Riley Lipton, Canyon Valley School;
• Scymone Wilcots, Desert Ridge High;
• Elena Warwick, Desert Ridge High;
• Mary Maguire, Gilbert Classical Academy;
• Carter Carmichael, Gilbert Classical Academy;
• Holli Fox, Gilbert High;
• Jaxsen Thompson, Gilbert High;
• Maizy Pulsipher, Highland High;
• Luke Young, Highland High;
• Johnna Smith, Mesquite High;
• Tino Hernandez, Mesquite High.