Quantcast
Giving youth a voice – Metro US

Giving youth a voice

David Cloutier strives to provide a voice for Calgary students.

He’s been meeting regularly with Calgary Board of Education Chief Superintendent Naomi Johnson to address issues ranging from nutrition and wellness to student-teacher interaction.

Cloutier’s also launched a survey to gain feedback from students at Henry Wise Wood High School.

The most impressive part of all? He’s only in Grade 11.

“(It’s) making sure our feedback and our fellow students’ feedback shapes this system and makes it the best possible system for students to come,” said Cloutier, a member of the newly formed Chief Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council.

After weekly meetings, he and 18 fellow student representatives take the feedback they receive and spread it around at their respective schools. This is all part of a new initiative by the CBE to enhance student engagement.

“When we picked the kids, we didn’t want only the highest achievers,” Johnson said of creating the council. “We wanted a cross-section to hear what their voices were … in lots of the schools there were five or six that went through the application process.

Parents and students can find out more about the council by consulting with their respective school principal.