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Students lead civility project; board members sign student-drafted civility pledge
Summary
A student-run civility night organized by AP Government students and the student advisory council presented a civility pledge at the Dec. 16 meeting; board members and more than a dozen local officials attended the student-led event and several trustees signed the pledge at the meeting.
Students from Bloomfield Hills High School presented the board with a civility pledge Dec. 16 and the board agreed to add a brief agenda item so a student advisory council member could present the pledge and request signatures from trustees who had not attended the event.
Katie Tedesci, a student advisory council member, told the board the civility project grew from AP Government classes and student interest in strengthening community engagement and constructive public discourse. "This kind of correlates to the board's student board program's points of pride," Tedesci said while introducing the pledge and asking trustees who were not present at the student event to sign. The pledge emphasizes listening, honesty, respect, seeking common ground, repairing damaged relationships and accepting discomfort when addressing difficult topics.
Principal Dan Hartley and multiple trustees praised the student organizers and noted the event drew a strong community turnout. Dan Hartley said the civility night was intended to "help all of us as community members reflect on the quality of our own behavior to work to engage in each other in even more productive ways." Trustees present thanked students and said the pledge would be made available to other district stakeholders.
Separately, representatives of Conant Elementary's No Place for Hate program presented a poster project and asked the board to recognize their chapter's pledge and school-wide activities promoting kindness and inclusion. Third- through fifth-grade students described assembling a collaborative poster and inviting peers and staff to sign a pledge against bullying.
Why it matters
The board's acceptance of the students' civility pledge is symbolic but part of a broader effort to encourage constructive public discourse and student civic engagement. Trustees said student leadership on these issues is an example of the district's emphasis on community engagement and civic education.
What's next
Trustee action added the civility pledge presentation to the meeting agenda and student organizers left copies for board members who had not attended the earlier event. The board said it would make the pledge available to families and community organizations.
Ending
Board members publicly thanked the students and invited parents and community members to attend student events and future civility-related programming.
