Royal Oak High School students were given the opportunity to be a part of the Royal Oak Board of Education, a group that makes decisions for the school district and deals with many issues that concern school life. Five students joined the Board earlier this year, contributing to discussions on agenda items and offering brief reports at monthly meetings. 

This year’s appointed student members include seniors Bridget Simonsen and Carina Lopiccolo, and juniors Ava Burke, Cecilia Irwin, and Megan Haun.  The students were inducted as members of the School Board by Judge Derek Meinecke in January, and expressed eagerness about the new opportunity.

 “[I’m] interested to learn about what goes on behind what we see at school, and see how the Board works,” said Irwin.

Burke is eager to have student voices heard in School Board meetings.  

“It’s a “really good opportunity for me to try something new,” she said. 

The appointed students completed an application process, followed by a series of interviews. Students submitted their applications to ROHS Principal  Sharida Lewis. From there, they were interviewed by Lewis, Superintendent Mary Beth Fitzpatrick, and Trustee Tim Ciechorski, who proposed the idea of students being on the board after “thinking of ways to get the opinion and thoughts of the students.” 

Including students on the School Board will give the Board an idea as to what is happening at Royal Oak High School. The voices of the students will weigh in on decisions that the Board makes when discussing school operations. Applications for the 2023-2024 school year will soon be available, and the hope is that more students will show interest in contributing their voices by serving on the Royal Oak Board of Education.

Ciechorski said that he believes that “as far as students’ voice- it will be invaluable.”