Mesa students tell board Activate events boosted confidence and shaped testing strategies

Students and staff told the Mesa Unified District Governing Board that a district‑run "Activate/Hackivate" program gave hundreds of secondary students opportunities to lead, collaborate and offer practical ideas for improving assessment experiences.

Jennese Montes, who identified herself as the district principal coach and executive director of the Dobson learning community, described how the district has expanded a City of Mesa two‑day model into a multi‑day district event that now includes junior highs, high schools and parent focus groups. "We were able to bring together both our junior high and our high school students into a multi‑day event this year," Montes said, explaining that student advisory work was folded into Activate so young people could advise on district issues.

Students gave board members concrete examples of classroom and school changes driven by Activate. "It helped me be able to help my confidence in speaking," said Woodro, a Red Mountain student. Tanner of Dobson said the program taught public speaking, group work and real‑life problem solving: "If you're good at public speaking, you'll be a lot of other things as well." Lauren, a Dobson junior, said teams worked outside school hours to plan a presentation about testing and then implemented a game‑based test‑prep activity at her campus.

Students also cited measurable local results. Stella said one English non‑honors class ended up with 15 of 21 students above grade level after a classroom intervention; another honors class showed 17 of 20 students above grade level. Students described using surveys and assemblies to educate peers and parents about the purpose of state assessments and to create stress‑reduction practices on testing days.

Parents and family‑literacy ambassadors described parallel work with adults. A parent representative said families completed a six‑session parent leadership training and will attend a district focus group on April 8 to reimagine assessments and discuss attendance and support for testing.

Board members praised the presentations and asked students how the district might scale participation. Board member Hutchinson said the board appreciated hearing that "adults wanted to listen" and encouraged students to keep refining ideas. The board and staff invited the public to see student presentations April 30 in the boardroom, and staff said they will continue to collect student and parent feedback to guide testing‑related changes.

The board took no formal action on program items during the study session; the presentations were informational and staff requested continued input and follow‑up.