Jack Stillwagon

Students and teachers at the town hall passionately spoke about issues that were brought up, such as the retake policy, the 70/30 split between summative and formative grades, and academic dishonesty. “Every single month, we go to something called the Superintendent Advisory Council meetings that address county-wide issues, for example, the 70/30 split with the summatives and formatives that’s going on right now as well as other [issues] you all have,” senior SGA secretary Jaydon Son said.

On Friday, March 21st, the Student Government Association (SGA) hosted a town hall meeting during 8th periods, in order to answer questions that the student body had about topics such as cheating, retakes and teachers. The town hall had multiple speakers of various positions, including SGA members in varying grade levels and teachers.

“I thought overall, [The town hall] was pretty productive. It was interesting to hear the complaints of the students and especially what the teachers were bringing up as answers to our questions,” freshman Kevin Kosumi said.

Overall, public opinion about the town hall was very positive. With students discussing how the town hall was a powerful outlet to share their opinions about issues closest to them and for them to hear about each individual’s personal experiences with these issues.

“It was very interesting to see a discourse between people who occupy different roles in the school environment,” freshman Steven Wines said.

In recent years, the SGA has been trying to improve the link between students and teachers by providing opportunities such as this town hall for those in the school community to connect with each other and share their opinions.

“The first [goal of the SGA] is to advocate for the students. In terms of advocacy, there [are] a lot of different ways we help out a lot behind the scenes and a lot at the forefront,” senior SGA secretary Jaydon Sun said. “I guess one of the main events is (here right now), at the town hall, you can come in, talk to the division leads for any class or subject, and voice any concerns.”

Many Jefferson students have noticed this improved communication. However, students still hold some concerns about class-specific issues and other topics that have not been addressed by the SGA or the even Jefferson administration.

“I definitely think [student representation] has gotten better. It’s definitely progress, and it’s definitely good to represent students in matters that affect them,” Wines said. “However], I’d like to see more freshman representation, being a freshman.”

Part of being a member of the SGA is speaking publicly to students and going up on stage during events such as town halls. However, speaking to dozens of your peers and adults can be very nerve-wracking.

“I would say [speakers at the SGA town hall] may be slightly nervous, but I think it really depends on how many people you’re talking to and what you’re talking about,” Son said. “I think it comes with practice, the more you get up there, and the more you talk with people, the more you realize, it’s pretty easy to talk about what’s on your mind. As long as people listen, you’ll be willing to talk.”