Cordell High School senior Gabby Giblet got her first taste of life on the state’s Student Advisory Council.
High school students across Oklahoma, including Giblet, met virtually with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister last week to offer insight on how their learning experiences have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, urging greater support for mental health and more resources for teachers.
The 97 students are part of her 2021 Student Advisory Council to suggest how public education can recover from learning loss and others issues emerging over the past year.
The first meeting was informative and interesting, Giblet said.
“It was impressive to see other students not unlike myself but also really different recognize the concerns we all have with our school systems,” she said. “They all had unique viewpoints that helped make our discussion that much more involved. It was also relieving to see that our viewpoint is valued not only by our peers, but by the adults who are overseeing our education, too.”
Many students expressed concern about the stress the pandemic has put on them and their teachers.
“The meeting on Tuesday was very informative,” Hinton senior Luke Spady said. “It was interesting to hear from other students how the virus is impacting schools across the state. There was a good conversation about distance learning, in particular. Students are concerned about how being distant or isolated from peers negatively affects mental health, in addition to issues related to the quality of online schooling.”
Other students agreed.
“It has been really hard to keep up with all my classes. If it weren’t for teachers who said, ‘It’s going to be OK. We can get through this,’ I probably wouldn’t have gotten a lot of my stuff done,” said Aaron Dodd, Broken Arrow senior. “We definitely need to help the teachers in any way we can because they’re helping us so much.”
Hofmeister emphasized the importance of communication of school leaders to ensure stability of school operations. She also said it is critical to prioritize mental health supports for students.
“I want to see mental health support in every school building. It will help our younger kids who are going through great trauma and stress at home. They then act out in school but can’t express why,” Hofmeister said. “We know there are many kids in middle school and high school desperate for a meaningful, trusting relationship with an adult, and sometimes that’s in school. It could be their teacher or their counselor – that person they can connect with and get resources that they need – then refocus on academics. If we don’t think about the whole child, we’re not going to see our kids reach their full potential.”