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| Madison Bonhert and Derrick Allen |
Most students do not put much thought into the difficulties of the operation of a school, considering that this task is primarily left up to elected school board members who make important policy decisions for our school community. Among the members of the school board this year, however, are John I. Burton High School's own Derrick Allen, (senior) and Madison Bonhert, (junior) as student representatives on the school board.
The two attend the school board meetings and assist in making decisions for Norton City Schools. Although they are not permitted to vote as representatives, they are allowed to express their perspective on issues. "Our board has been very supportive of the representatives and have welcomed their input on policy, school morale, and suggestions for improvements within the schools," said Norton City Schools Superintendent, Dr. Gina Wohlford.
The student representative position is fairly new to the Norton City School Board. "We initiated the representatives in January of last year," said Dr. Gina Wohlford, school superintendent. "I wanted representatives to have a voice for our students and a perspective from their viewpoint. It is important to value their thoughts and input. Their insight comes from within the school walls and they are living the decisions made in many cases."
One junior and one senior from John I. Burton are chosen by the school administration based on their academic success and responsibility. The students who are chosen as a junior can hold this position through their senior year if they wish. Allen is now in his second year as a school representative, and Bonhert, who was newly elected this year, plans to continue through her senior year.
They do not receive pay for holding this position, but they do have an opportunity to apply for a scholarship offered by the Virginia School Board Association. "The scholarship is the best part," said Bonhert.
Student representatives have an important role at school board meetings. They provide the school board members a student perspective on the issues being discussed, "I'm always on duty receiving information and opinions from students," said Allen.
Board meetings are held once a month on Monday evenings, and normally last three hours, "The meetings are very time-consuming," said Allen. Allen and Bonhert alternate who attends the meetings; If both of the representatives have school activities and are unable to come, they must decide which one will have to sacrifice an activity in order to attend.
Both representatives have already had involvement in making important school policy decisions. Bonhert recently helped the school board come to a decision on how suspension affects student grades. The school board originally planned to give suspended students zeroes, but Bonhert gave them her standpoint as a student. She pointed out to them that sometimes even very good students may get caught up in a situation, even if they did not start the problem that caused the suspension.
Ultimately, the board decided that students will have a chance to earn a fifty as a grade for assignments missed while they are suspended.
In another situation, Allen assisted in making a decision about make-up work concerning how many days a student is given to complete missed work and how many points can be taken off. "They were seeing it from an adult standpoint - the point of view of what they would want to do with their kids - but I was able to think about what I would want as a student."
Along with contributing to decision making, Allen and Bonhert have acquired new knowledge about the school system from attending the meetings. "I've learned that there is a lot more to running a school than what a typical student would think," Allen said.
"I found out that Norton City Schools has around eight hundred students, and has been continuing to go up in the past few years. I believe this is amazing, since this helps with our income," added Bonhert.
Neither of the student representatives plan on having a future in local government, but both agree that being a student representative has been a great experience for them. "I plan on going into the medical field, but I think it's a good experience to have," stated Bonhert.
"I'll at least know I have the background. This community is really good to work with," said Allen.
Both representatives value their opportunity to influence the school board and the decisions made for Norton City Schools. "I just want to improve the school and everybody's well-being here and help advocate for students," Allen said.