Student advisors tackle education issues on Salem-Keizer school board – Statesman Journal
This is part of a weekly series introducing readers to individuals who are passionate about our Mid-Valley community.
Salem-Keizer Public Schools’ two new student advisors to the school board hope to bridge a divide they see between the board and the students it serves.
Since 2021, board members have appointed a student annually to serve in an advisory, non-voting capacity. The student must have at least one year of experience on the district-led student equity committee/student advisory committee to apply.
This year was the first time the board approved two co-advisors — Raylin Brennan, a senior at Sprague High School, and Isaac McDonald, a senior at West Salem High School.
Brennan and McDonald both have big issues they want to advocate for in their new roles. But more than anything, they’re passionate about ensuring student voices and perspectives are heard and considered as the board makes districtwide decisions.
“I’m not gonna lie. It looks good on a resume,” Brennan said. “And my other reason, well, … I’m queer and whatnot, and throughout my entire high school experience, I’ve been advocating for LGBTQ students.”
Brennan, 17, uses the nonbinary pronouns zhe/zer/zheir. Zhe said serving in this role provides more representation in Salem-Keizer leadership for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning community.
“There is only so much I could do in the positions I was in previously,” Brennan said. “And so I thought if I was a student advisor that would give me more power to do more things to help more students.”
McDonald, 17, ran for the position, in part, to give back to the community he’s grown up in his whole life. But he also has experience from West Salem and district advisory groups that have helped him better connect students with district leadership.
He hopes their presence on the board will help focus discussions on students.
“If I had been watching (our) first meeting, I would have been surprised because it seems like the school board (is) fairly detached from … the reality of students,” McDonald said. Bringing the co-advisors onto the board, he said, is “really bringing somebody who knows the live status of the schools.”
“We’re here for our students,” he said, “and we bring them to the table.”
Using student voices to solve a district ‘disconnect’
Brennan said it’s surprising how many students don’t know who Superintendent Christy Perry is or what the school board does.
“Between the school board and the actual district, there’s a disconnect,” zhe said, adding student advisors on the school board are critical since the board makes major decisions that impact them, but the vast majority of students aren’t old enough to vote for these elected leaders.
Brennan and McDonald agreed there are also misconceptions about students.
Brennan said people, including children, will listen more when you talk to them as equals. Zhe also said the notion that some students are not as hard-working as others often isn’t true.
“Those students are working just as hard as everybody else, even though they may not have the same grades,” zhe said. “We need to recognize their hard work.”
McDonald agreed, saying a lot of the things coming from students are a reflection of their lives outside school.
“It can be really easy to blame certain students for certain things,” he said. “But remember that there are a lot of students who have a lot of trauma or many other things … connected to things outside the district.”
McDonald also said parent involvement is important, but their input doesn’t always represent the views of all students.
“Every student’s situation, every student’s path forward looks very different,” he said.
Tackling the next year and beyond
Brennan is still learning how to best participate. Zhe and McDonald were officially sworn in this summer and will serve through June.
The co-advisors hope to meet with student leaders from each Salem-Keizer high school to hear about their individual needs.
In addition to their district-wide roles, both students are heavily involved in their schools and community.
Brennan is part of speech and debate, theater and several student clubs. Zhe has dabbled in sports over the years as well and holds a district internship this year. After high school, Brennan hopes to enroll at Chemeketa Community College before transferring to Western Oregon University in Monmouth to double major in theater and political science and minor in art.
“My future goal of what I want to do with my life is kind of all over the board,” Brennan said. “Part of me wants to go into politics and run for office. But then I also want to be a professor at a college and either teach theater or art.”
McDonald is president of West Salem’s environmental club, a participant in Youth & Government and part of the Spanish National Honor Society. He’s played soccer for three years and recently joined cross country and track.
After high school, he hopes to attend a four-year university in the northeastern United States. McDonald is passionate about psychology and interested in pursuing something in the realm of sociology or neuroscience, but he said he “hasn’t ruled anything out yet.”
If you have an idea for someone we should profile for this series, please email Statesman Journal senior news editor Alia Beard Rau at arau@gannett.com
Stay up-to-date with the Salem-Keizer school board and its student advisors at salkeiz.k12.or.us/schoolboard.
Natalie Pate covers education for the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips to her at npate@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6745. Follow her on Twitter @NataliePateGwin.