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Student representatives and staff return from NSBA conference with takeaways on engagement, AI and school safety
Summary
Student reps and district staff reported on sessions at the National School Boards Association meeting covering student leadership programs, AI use in classrooms, attendance strategies, and layered approaches to school safety including lanyard alert systems.
Student representatives and several district staff presented a recap of the National School Boards Association conference and highlighted session findings the district may pursue.
Superintendent Brez introduced the report and said he was "really proud" of the student reps' participation. The district's student representatives—Miles, Liliana (sometimes recorded as Lily), and Will—shared session summaries and examples they observed, while staff member Amy Suarez, Marisa and others described governance and safety sessions.
Key takeaways included: an emphasis on student leadership and structured selection processes (the conference example showed formal interviews and training for student leaders); classroom strategies to reengage students using a "3 R's" framework (reengage, restore, reward) and localized pilot incentives; use of AI as a classroom tool with an "AI modifier" model where teachers and students co-create and annotate AI-generated work; and attendance strategies that rely on relationship-building—one presenter cited a statistic that in February 2023 "1 in 3 kids were absent." Student reps urged adapting approaches to reengage students after spring breaks and other attendance dips.
On technology and safety, staff described sessions about increasing cybersecurity protections for schools and an example of layered safety systems that include wearable lanyards with a panic-button function that can trigger law enforcement alerts and pinpoint a staff member's location. Amy Suarez said the district would explore the cost implications and grant opportunities for such systems and follow up with the board in coming months.
Student presenters also described classroom examples using AI tools to support English learners; one student described an Artesia High School program that uses Chromebooks and AI tools for writing support and organization. Another student read a prepared statement describing how technology and AI helped accelerate English development and academic skills.
Board members praised the students' reports and asked staff to return with proposals for safety technologies and ideas to better support the student representatives' projects. The superintendent said staff had captured links to potential grants and resources for follow-up.
No formal decisions were made; the presentations were informational and staff committed to follow-up work on safety options and student rep opportunities.
