With the end of the school year approaching, the possibility of various changes lingers throughout the halls and in the minds of students. Many students have voiced their opinions on the upcoming schedule adjustments, some in favor of the change and some not. The latest change to the Malden High schedule has been the lunch block, in which students’ lunch time depends on which house their 3rd and 6th period are in.
Even this slight lunch change has raised concerns, encouraging students to speak up about the matter. One group that is in charge of advising the Superintendent and the Mayor on these revisions is the Student Advisory Committee, consisting of sophomores Cam’ron Crawford, Sophia Chen, Cathen Fontanilla, and junior Aldino Talic. This committee, formed at the beginning of the school year, attends meetings at the City Hall with the Mayor and Superintendent at least once a month.
For the majority of these members, a common theme led to them joining the committee: “I joined the board because I hoped to create change in Malden High School, as we often have many issues here that I feel aren’t fully seen,” noted Talic. This commonality leads to a collaborative environment as they “involve multiple takes from different students on different issues,” added Crawford.
Within these meetings, the Superintendent and Mayor are in charge of mentioning topics, while the members address them. Prior to the meetings, the members spend “1 or 2 months gathering information before meeting to discuss,” stated Talic. So far, members have discussed class scheduling, direct studies, advisory, MCAS prep, directed studies, enrichment, bathrooms opening back up, attendance policies, and new world language classes.
Despite the Student Advisory Committee being put into place at the beginning of the year, the role of advocating for students can put a significant amount of pressure on the members. Chen emphasized the point that “being a board member means you are representing the whole student body in Malden High School.” Yet even with this pressure, members pride themselves on advocating for the opinions of all students.
The members of the committee look forward to resolving future issues at MHS with the help of their fellow students. “The board is open to any student feedback regarding issues they would like the Mayor and Superintendent to look into,” Fontanilla concluded.
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