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Student representatives describe lessons from CASB conference and plan outreach to middle schools
Summary
Student leaders told the Board of Education about takeaways from the Colorado Association of School Boards conference — including discussions on school funding, four‑day weeks and cell‑phone policies — and proposed a district outreach effort to engage uninvolved middle and elementary school students.
GREELEY, Colo. — Members of the Council of Student Representatives (CSR) told the Greeley Evans School District 6 Board of Education on Monday about what they learned at the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) leadership conference and outlined plans to expand student engagement in the district.
“Through a good plan, hard work, outreach, and execution, we all have the power to make change within our communities,” CSR President Timothy Longacre told the board after summarizing the conference experience for delegates who attended Dec. 5–7 in Colorado Springs.
Why the story matters: Student representatives said the conference reinforced how varied and complex district issues are across Colorado and gave them concrete ideas to strengthen student voice and outreach in District 6.
Several student delegates recapped conference sessions and the issues they discussed. Edwin Power said the convention encouraged students to examine topics such as school funding, four‑day school weeks and cell‑phone policy from multiple perspectives. “There truly is no simple solution to these problems,” Power said.
Aliyah Medina told the board the conference emphasized collaboration and viewing issues from multiple perspectives; Sarah Venegas said leadership training stressed community connection and listening to diverse district voices. Longacre and other student officers proposed a semester plan to visit middle and elementary schools to reach students who appear “uninvolved” or disconnected from extracurriculars and class participation.
In his remarks, Longacre described the outreach goal this way: visiting feeder schools to inform younger students about activities and pathways so they discover options earlier and feel more engaged as they enter high school. “What I wanna do is start going back to those middle schools, elementary schools with these officers and many people that represent and just start motivating these students,” he said.
Principal Aaron Allen, who joined the CSR presentation, told the board the officers have already begun planning visits and that the message is most effective when it comes from high school peers.
The CSR report concluded with students saying they plan to implement specific strategies learned at CASB, including improved student‑board communication and programs to boost participation among students who are not already engaged in activities.
