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Middle school students tell board Hearts United, Student Reps worked on relationships, safety and discipline initiatives
Summary
TRMS students described youth‑led projects including a positivity post office, a behavior chart tied to core values, and an outreach club called Hearts United. Students asked the board to help spread the program to elementary schools and suggested board members attend meetings.
Middle school students from Timberlane Regional Middle School presented student‑led work to the Timberlane school board on Thursday, describing projects intended to improve school climate, safety and relationships.
Student representatives — who said they formed their house of representatives in fall 2023 and worked with staff on youth participatory action research — told the board they surveyed parents, students and staff, analyzed the results and chose three priority areas: building relationships, safety and discipline.
Student presenters described several concrete projects. They created a “positivity post office,” where students and teachers can drop positive notes; a poster campaign reminding students that words have the power to harm or uplift; and a grade‑level suggestion box. Students reported the positivity post office had distributed more than 763 letters so far. Members of a related club, Hearts United, described work to lower racism and bullying, spread kindness and celebrate diversity, including displays for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and a “Tigers around the World” map showing students’ home countries.
Students asked the board to help expand the work. Suggestions included connecting Hearts United with elementary school student councils so younger children can build the same habits earlier and asking board members to visit TRMS or attend a meeting once a month to stay on the group’s radar. Board members responded that several nearby districts have been watching Timberlane’s student‑led work and that the board would explore appointing a school board member to attend future student meetings.
Board chair Jack Krieger and other members praised the students’ work and described plans to have a school board ad‑hoc member attend student meetings. Krieger said district leaders have shared the students’ presentation with administrators in at least four surrounding districts that are considering similar programs.
Students also asked for a small amount of funding to bring in guest speakers and for support on cross‑grade projects and monthly kindness raffles. Several board members and administrators offered to help connect students with resources and to put the students’ requests on the board’s agenda for follow‑up.
The board took no formal vote on the presentation; members thanked students for their time and encouraged continued work.
