On April 18, a few days after PUSD’s Student Think Tank and Assembly’s second youth conference, five members of PUSD’s student leadership team, along with PUSD Chief Academic Officer Helen Chan Hill and PUSD Board Member Jennifer Hall Lee, met in Glendale for the Five Star Student Leadership Summit that was hosted at Rosemont Middle School in Glendale. The Five-Star Alliance is made up of superintendents and board members who meet monthly to connect across five districts – Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada, Pasadena, and South Pasadena.
The student gathering was the first of its kind initiated by Glendale Board President Ingrid Gunnell. At the conference, students shared the successes and struggles at their districts.
Allison L., one of the attendees who serves on PUSD’s Student Assembly/Council said: “The Glendale student board member facilitated a panel, and it was a good model for our representatives. Overall, the conference was a great way to meet students from all five districts and make new friends.”
PUSD Student Think Tank member Anais H. said, “What stood out for me was interacting with so many students from different schools and districts. They had us playing games, and activities were related to leadership and how schools at other districts are doing and the ways in which their student agency works and how they put their positions of leadership to use. Most of the students were chosen for being high-achieving. It made me remember that opportunities are limited to students who are already in positions of leadership, and reminded me that we need to reach out to students who have interest but don’t even know how to start getting involved.”
One of the highlights of the gathering was when Glendale Board President Ingrid Gunnell held up PUSD’s newly released The Learning Curve publication and read its back cover to conference attendees.
All PUSD students proudly wore their purple sweatshirts designed and funded by PEF, and they expressed appreciation for the experience. The team is already looking forward to reconnecting with their peers across the district next year.
