Why and How to Form a Student Advisory Council

By Dr. Barrett Mosbacker

September 08, 2019

I am trying something new this year, and so far it has been wonderful and well received by our school community.

I have formed a Head of School Student Advisory Council. I have also formed a Head of School Pastors Advisory Council and a Senior Leadership Team Diversity Advisory Council.

In this article I will focus on the why and how of establishing a student advisory council. In my case I formed a Head of School Student Government Advisory Council comprised of ninth through twelfth grade officers of the Student Council. An advisory council of this kind can also be established for older elementary and middle school students, not just high school students.

Why

I had three reasons for starting the Head of School Student Advisory Council:

• To give students a voice in developing school policies and to advise me on matters affecting student life.
• To give students an opportunity to exercise genuine leadership.
• To give me an opportunity to mentor students on leadership principles.

Specifically, the purpose statement for the council is to “share input and insight with the Head of School for making the school better and for identifying how the Head of School can best support student leaders.” The verse for the council is fitting and familiar:

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity (1 Timothy 4:12).

It is important that our students’ perspectives and ideas be taken seriously. They are, after all, the ultimate consumers of the service we provide, and they have a keen sense of the desires, perspectives, and concerns of the student body. Giving them a voice encourages them, provides me with greater insight for making better decisions and communicating more effectively, and gives me an opportunity to share what I have learned from many years of leadership.

How

I invited all of the senior class officers and the presidents and vice presidents of the tenth and eleventh grade classes to participate. The council meets with me four times each year — once per quarter — from 8:15 to 9:30 on our late-start Thursday mornings. I deliberately use my conference room for these meetings to reflect the seriousness with which I regard this council. We also provide breakfast during the meeting.

The Experience and Impact

While it is too early to measure the long-term impact, I can say that the first meeting was extraordinary. The student leaders took the occasion seriously. They dressed for the meeting on their own initiative and came prepared with an agenda — also entirely on their own initiative.

Questions the students brought:

• What can Student Council improve upon?
• What do you think Student Council has done well so far?
• How is this school year going from your perspective?
• How do you balance multiple responsibilities and roles?
• How can we best serve you?
• Which areas should we focus on this year?
• How can Student Council reach higher as leaders of the school?
• How have you grown as a leader?
• What have been the biggest challenges? What has been the most rewarding?
• How do you lead effectively when facing criticism?

Topics the students raised for discussion:

• Better communication to students about major policies, changes, special schedules, and community messages.
• A designated space for students to study, work, read, or eat during lunch, given that digital devices are not permitted in the cafeteria.
• Allowing students access to their phones at the close of the school day during Spirit Week so they can take photos with friends and preserve memories of their performances.

I took this meeting and the council’s input seriously. If a head of school does not, a student advisory council has no integrity and its formation is disingenuous. Accordingly, I assigned each of the topics raised to members of my Senior Leadership Team for follow-up.

If you have not already done so, I encourage you to start a student advisory council. How it is structured will depend on the grade levels your school serves. Forming a student advisory council is one more opportunity for life-on-life transformation and for making our schools better.