Student Board Member Symposium

Student Board Member Symposium brings together students serving on school boards across the state of California. This one day intensive program focuses mainly on equipping students with the necessary skills to effectively serve their communities. Led by staff with experience as student board members, the workshop passes on a list of best practices and allows students to better understand their role and responsibility.

Check out this article about SBMS from CSBA’s California Schools magazine!

What will be taught?

• Roles and responsibilities of Student Board Members: what their position entails, who they represent, and what kind of interaction they will have with the rest of the board

• Education Policy: the history of education funding in and how the LCAP and LCFF works

• Challenges: problems that students may face and how to respond best to them

• Presentation Skills: how to speak in public and emphasize certain points when interacting with an older audience

• Surveying Student Opinion: how to format and create a survey to gain a wider perspective and learn how to gauge opinion from their community

• Student Rights: the Student Bill of Rights and what powers they hold as representatives on their local school boards

Who can attend?

This conference is primarily focused on instructing current student board members but all are invited to register. In the past, we have had adults from school boards attend as well as administrators and superintendents. Any students or adults who wish to learn more about involving themselves in the community or school district are welcome to attend.

How can I pay for this conference?

Most student board members are sponsored to attend these workshops by the school board they sit on. We consider these workshops an investment in developing stronger leaders and more effective communicators out of the student representatives. We also encourage students who wish to attend to ask their school or ASB to help fund them.

These conferences all occur as a part of the overarching goal of CASC. As we strive to ensure effective student leaders and student councils across the state, we want to raise up the next generation of leaders and equip students to succeed in their endeavors. If you have any questions, please contact the GOALL Director, Julia Schams, at julia.schams@casc.net.

It is highly encouraged that students also look into the other programs that CASC offers. The Student Advisory Board on Education (SABE) and the Student Advisory Board on Legislation on Education (SABLE) deal more in-depth with positive change for education at the state government level. The Youth Action Summit of California (YASC) sheds light on global issues that need attention and encourages students to make a difference in their communities.