Pictured in front of the Sacramento State Capitol building on Nov. 8, 2023, Miramonte students (L-R) Leo Ding, Calla Garrett, Charley Matthews and George Balan (being held), were among 75 high school delegates from throughout California who gathered at the Student Advisory Board on Education.
The Sacramento Downtown Holiday Inn emitted a different energy than its usual, quiet presence. The vibrancy was the result of a group of inspiring and dedicated student leaders from every corner of the state, working together to improve California’s education system.
As a sophomore at Miramonte High School, I attended the Student Advisory Board on Education (SABE), Nov. 5-8, 2023 with Miramonte sophomores George Balan and Calla Garett, as well as senior Leo Ding.
SABE is a four-day intensive program hosted by the California Association of Student Councils (CASC) that gathers 75 high-school-student delegates to create proposals for the State Board of Education (SBE) to consider.
As the governing body for the California Department of Education, the SBE influences over six million students, and SABE is a unique opportunity for students to speak directly to the board. Past SABE proposals have successfully been implemented, and delegates work throughout the year to implement new ones.
Upon arrival, I worked with the delegates to narrow down prevalent issues in our education system and joined one of six groups to brainstorm solutions.
Within a couple of hours, delegates transformed from strangers to friends and began discussions for specific proposals. As a whole, SABE is a race against time, with the constant passionate chatter of motivated high schoolers.
As part of our lobbying efforts, I led my group of delegates to California’s assembly offices. There we met with legislative aides and directors for feedback, resulting in a stronger proposal and a better
presentation.
Seeing the interest of our state board, asking questions, providing helpful feedback and talking about implementation made me feel optimistic, knowing our substantial work was time well spent.
In the end, two of the six proposals were presented by Miramonte students to the State Board.
Balan presented an idea to tie current events into history-class frameworks.
“By connecting World and U.S. History with the global present, our proposal helps fight against the growing apathy toward others, ensuring that Californian students are informed of global events from yesterday and today at a time in which we often simply aren’t,” said Balan.
Miramonte Board Representative for the Acalanes Union High School District Board (AUHSD) and speaker for the mental health proposal, Ding worked to add a metric to districts’ accountability plans, allowing them to create targeted programs and initiatives to address mental health.
“Leading up to my speech, I was extremely nervous and was praying it wouldn’t show,” said Ding. “But once I stood at the podium, the adrenaline allowed me to focus, and I ended up gaining more confidence throughout the speech.”
Currently, Ding and I are working on the implementation of all six proposals created at SABE through the Legislative Policy Committee through CASC, meeting monthly with a larger team along with our assembly members and senators.
SABE has offered me the experience to pursue my passions with like-minded peers and apply my teamwork and public-speaking skills in a real-life setting. I’m excited to return next year with even more students from Miramonte.
If you’re a student looking to get involved in education policy, please reach out to me for opportunities and ways to get involved! You can also visit casc.net.
