Students have their say in superintendent search as TSBA seeks input
Sophie Lu, Rena Liu, Alice Tang and Raymond Jin, Knox County Board of Education non-voting youth representative, met in the FHS library with Knox Education Foundation community engagement manager Kori Lautner for about an hour in the first of two meetings held specifically to gather student input.
The Tennessee School Boards Association is overseeing the search to replace retiring Superintendent of Schools Bob Thomas, and facilitated several public input meetings during the early stages of the process.
Initially, student input was not a consideration.
“But after some discussion and realizing students’ voices were not being factored in, the school board decided to add those meetings,” Lautner said.
“This will impact them more than anyone else, and we would like to capture that input,” she added.
Participants in all public meetings — and those who responded online — considered three questions: “What are good things going on in Knox County Schools? What are the challenges? And what are the personal characteristics you would like to see in a superintendent?”
Among the challenges, “(Because of COVID) there were a lot of kids who missed, or did not receive the education they could have otherwise,” Liu said. “Everyone — from teachers to students — is extremely burned out. It is also undeniable that mental health issues are rising, and politics are more and more dividing the student body.
“What I hear a lot from the teachers is they are overwhelmed — especially for teachers who are going the extra mile to help students catch up,” he added.
“Especially seniors, right now, are under so much stress, with college applications. The amount of people I have who are reporting mental health issues to me is shocking, and I don’t think any group of 17-year-olds should be put through that kind of stress.”
In considering characteristics for the new superintendent, “grit” was mentioned, as was “transparency, respect for different groups” and “knowledgeable,” while Jin noted a need for “critical thinking.”
When discussing “positives” in KCS, Tang mentioned school clubs, “especially those that are student-led.”
Diversity and abundance of classes also were listed as positives being sought.
However, when asked if students are being prepared for “what comes next,” Tang said, “Maybe academically? I say (that) with a lot of question marks. But mentally? No. Emotionally? No. … I don’t know if I can envision a future right now. All I can think about is, ‘Make it to the next day.’
“And I don’t think that’s the best thing,” he added.
“So I think that is more of a mental health thing.”
“Individual teachers, I very much appreciate and hope we can retain,” Lu said. “We should focus on teacher retention as much as possible.”
“In all, we had 27 students from six different high schools participate in the student voice sessions, and it was inspiring to hear so many students speak into such an important decision for our district,” Lautner said. “Students at every session were able to offer a perspective that only a student at Knox County Schools could share, and it’s exciting to know that those insights were taken to the School Board as they work toward hiring the next superintendent of schools.
“This was such a great way to showcase the importance of our students’ voices and to highlight just how interested and engaged in the public process our young people are,” she added.
“I was honored to listen to the insight our students shared and to in turn pass those perspectives along to our school board.”
