Kamloops-area students are asking School District 73 for clearer rules around artificial intelligence, more consistent grading practices and better access to mental-health supports.
The District Student Advisory Council identified a greater need for consistency and clarity in instructional practices as a priority issue in a report that went to SD73's board of education last month.
SD73 assistant superintendent of secondary education Rick Kienlein said a key recommendation from the students was greater collaboration between departments, clear assignment expectations and structured post-assessment feedback.
Other priorities included addressing bullying, improving access to counselling services and providing clearer information about mental-health supports and academic advising.
Students also recommended offering post-secondary planning courses earlier in Grade 12 and adopting more consistent grading frameworks across schools.
“Artificial intelligence and learning, which was another major question, one of the recommendations was implement a structure approach with clear expectations, defined limits and guided student learning,” Kienlein said.
“They understood that there are frameworks being developed and put in place, but they were talking about some consistency with clear expectations within each classroom."
The students also discussed how the council could be redesigned to maximize student impact.
Kienlein said feedback and recommendations around broader curriculum development are shared with school principals to address the students’ concerns.
“The principals will take that back to their respective staffs and work with teachers to ensure that they also understand the perspectives of students,” he said.
“But I will say a lot of teachers know this already and are working toward addressing it.”
Trustee Shelley Sim said she was struck by the honesty of the students’ feedback and recommendations.
“They wanted consistent standards, they want to know when can we use AI and when can’t we — we don’t want any gotcha moments — we want to understand how this is going to influence us and what the rules are, so please help us,” Sim said.
Trustee Kathleen Karpuk said many of the recommendations and topics identified by the student council rang true to what she’s hearing, as well.
“Many of these conversations that I see in this report I have had with my kids around our dining room table,” she said.
“I think that just from what I'm hearing in my little echo chamber with my kids and other teenagers that I talk to, this is very much on students' minds.”
Superintendent Mike St. John told Castanet he felt much of the priorities identified by the students aligned with the priorities SD73 considered during its budgeting process earlier this year, particularly around counselling supports.
“Their report, I felt, not only was aligned with what our budget looked like to a large extent, but also instructive about our next steps,” he said.
Chair Heather Grieve echoed St. John’s sentiment and said hearing from students directly is critical feedback for the board of education. She floated an idea that would see the students present their report to the board directly.
Secretary-treasurer Kim Morris called students “the recipient of the service” and the council “a powerful voice that we need to harness.”
“It's important that we hear from them in terms of their experience,” Morris said.
“I think sometimes we also need to close the loop for them, in terms of reporting back to them on things that have been actioned, so that they know what they're providing is making a difference to the decision-making.”
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