The campaign season is over for Sophie D’Elena, a Decatur High senior who beat out the competition to win the first student seat on the City Schools of Decatur board of education.
After an email announced the opportunity to 10th and 11th graders last year, D’Elena made campaign videos, put up fliers and posted on social media sites to garner support for her platform.
“A lot of my concerns and reasons for running came from the disconnect between the board and the students,” said the 17-year-old. “To be honest, I didn’t really know much about the board of education, and I figured if I didn’t know what it did or what its role was, how was the rest of the student body to know?”
That promise to be the bridge between the city’s 5,800 students and the board won D’Elena the nonvoting seat that she took at the first meeting this school year. Before that, she had attended a board retreat and a conference hosted by the Georgia Schools Board association.
“Those were my first experiences learning about boards,” she said. “Seeing boards from different schools made me realize how important a board is and how much of what they do impacts the system.”
A major take-away for D’Elena was the value of being transparent. “That was a big thing they talked about — getting information to the community in a clear way and being honest with the community and students.”
Since taking her seat, D’Elena said she’s been introduced to new and different vocabulary, concepts and ideas.
“I’ve been doing a lot of listening and learning as they talk about policy, budget, staff and data from schools,” she said. “It’s very complicated, and there’s a lot to catch up on before I can start giving input.”
Board Chair James Herndon said D’Elena has already started asking good logistical and logical questions.
“So much of being a board member is onboarding,” said Herndon, who is in his second year as chair and sixth on the board. “Because of that, the students also elected a junior as her stand-in so we won’t have to go through that next year.”
The position includes 3.5 hours each week for D’Elena to research and study board issues as part of an independent study for which she earns credit. She’s also working on a handbook for her successor and spending time speaking to her peers. Among the concerns she’s heard are making learning more engaging and cutting down on absenteeism.
“But I get to act as a voice for all the schools in the district, so I plan on going to middle and elementary schools as well to bring their ideas back to the board,” she said.
The position has also changed D’Elena’s college plans. “It has opened my eyes to governing and will definitely influence the classes I take in college. Meanwhile, it’s a lot of work, but it’s also very rewarding, and I’m very thankful to have the position.”
Information about City Schools of Decatur is online at csdecatur.net.
MAKING THE GRADE
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