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Student Leadership Council urges peer mentoring, changes to counselor and social-worker job descriptions
Summary
High school students told the Hamilton County Board of Education that their student leadership council developed recommendations including peer mentoring at the secondary level, revised counselor and social‑worker descriptions, and continued support for the district’s leadership program.
Freddie Collins, a junior at Red Bank High School, told the Hamilton County Board of Education that the student leadership council exists “to empower student voices” and to inform county leaders about student experiences.
The council presented recommendations calling for district support for peer mentoring at the secondary level, revisions to counselor and social‑worker job descriptions to reflect distinct roles, and continued backing for the student leadership council itself.
The students said the council used a multi‑step design process across the school year: identifying issues in December, soliciting peer feedback in January, developing a districtwide plan, re‑evaluating in March, reviewing counselor and social‑worker job descriptions in April and finalizing a presentation in May. Carly Lewis, a junior at Soul Creek, summarized the approach: the group “identified the key issues facing students” and refined proposals through peer feedback.
Members described the council’s final priorities as student‑to‑student mentorship and stronger student–educator relationships. Harinzia Alonso Serrano, a senior at East Ridge High School, said that “peer mentoring fosters connection and belonging” and that it helps new students integrate. Several students, including Tanika Bittman of Hickson High School, explained local models: Hickson runs an optional program where juniors and seniors meet two to three times a week with freshmen to provide guidance and “real life experiences.”
Students also reported that they reviewed and revised job descriptions: Hannah Gleason, a senior at Salida Z High School, said the council sought to “distinguish between the jobs that counselors do and the jobs that social workers do,” recommending that counselors focus primarily on academic support while social workers focus on crisis intervention and wraparound needs. Beau Cooper, a junior at Sun Mountain Middle High School, said the student‑drafted social‑worker description emphasized accessibility, advocacy and relationship building.
The presentation included outside experiences: Charlie Stebbing, a senior from the Center for Creative Arts, described participation in SCOPE (Student Congress on Policies in Education) at Belmont University, where students learned how other districts run board meetings and policy discussions.
No formal board action was taken; the presentation was delivered during the board’s public delegations portion and followed by informal thanks from staff. The board had temporarily suspended its usual speaker order to let the student delegation present first; that procedural change was made by motion and carried without recorded roll call for the work session.
