Carlsbad Superintendent Dr. Suzette Lovely is forming a new committee, the Student Advisory Council, in order to help Carlsbad schools excel. Fourteen high school students have the opportunity to meet with Lovely on a regular basis in order to inform her about the issues at their respective campuses.

“The purpose of this committee is for me, as the superintendent, to be able to bring student voices to the table, to hear about some of the issues from students’ perspective and also to get input from students,” Lovely said. “Not just concerns but also input. We are thinking about things as we are moving forward. I want to be able to talk to students about some of the things that are important to them.”

Planning on strengthening the relationship between the student body and district leaders, the council will host six meetings a year during lunch, in which the selected students will discuss an agenda created by both the students and superintendent. The meeting place will rotate between Carlsbad High School, Sage Creek and the district building.

Composed of 12 to 14 representatives, Lovely will accept two students per grade per high school.  To apply for this chance, interested students must fill out the application and possess the ability to express constructive criticism.

“I would like students that are not just in the traditional classroom leadership roles like ASB. I want to expand and go beyond the norm,” Lovely said. “This is only because ASB already has a voice and a venue. There are a lot of kids that may not be involved at a leadership level. I do not want to have the same students because their voices are already getting heard through some other actions.”

The district aims to support the students, so it would like students’ opinions; this remains a perfect opportunity for students to become key stakeholders in their futures and high school experiences. It remains of great importance to Dr. Lovely to receive feedback from the students.

“I have a lot of groups I meet with, but I do not meet formally with any student group, so I thought it would be a great way to broaden that aspect. Every group meets directly with the superintendent, so I would like to involve the students,” Lovely said. “I think it helps me do my job better by picking up the feedback and talking to people.