Students from across Tennessee lend their insights to issues facing public education
3/17/2011
Students from across Tennessee lend their insights to issues facing public education
Chattanooga, TN -- Twenty-six students from the Hamilton County Department of Education joined approximately 400 of their high school peers in Nashville on March 11 to express their views on public education at the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) Student Congress on Policies in Education (SCOPE). The event took place on the Avon Williams Campus of Tennessee State University.
Oran Dixson, a Junior at East Ridge High School, was also elected 2012 SCOPE president at the conference.
SCOPE is designed to give students a voice where public education issues are concerned and to involve young people in finding solutions to the topics that are discussed. Attendees participated in mock school board sessions, where they assumed the roles of school board members, school officials, parents, students and concerned citizens. Those sessions were led by actual school board members and superintendents from across the state.
Students then chose speakers to represent each of their 16 small groups who went on to take part in full-scale debates on current education issues. This year’s four debate topics were:
- Homeschoolers shall be allowed to participate in public school extracurricular activities.
- Virtual Classes/Distance Learning shall only be offered for Advanced Placement and Elective courses.
- All textbooks shall be provided electronically.
- Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, shall be used as a resource in the classroom.
Following the debates, participants voted to support or oppose the debate issues and other relevant topics. The results of that student input will be shared with school board members, key legislators, and Tennessee Department of Education officials.
SCOPE delegates then elected 2012 SCOPE officers from those underclassmen that took part in the debates. The 2012 SCOPE officers are:
- President: Oran Dixson, Hamilton County, East Ridge High School
- 1st Vice President: Reed Perryman, Bedford County, Shelbyville Central High School
- 2nd Vice President: Joseph Nance, Anderson County, Anderson County High School
During the past 29 years, the student congress has addressed a variety of topics including the use of cell phones during school, alternative calendars, random drug testing, funding of the arts, student discipline, crime and violence in schools, curriculum, social problems, and academic and behavioral standards.
SCOPE participants were chosen by their local school systems, and many are active in student government. Hamilton County’s participants are members of the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council.