On Thursday, February 26, Ayala’s leadership superintendent board, consisting of Juniors Lucas Liu and Don Kumar, Sophomore Sophia Horan, and Freshman Charlotte Chen, went to the San Bernardino Superintendent Office Building to participate and represent Ayala in the Youth Advisory Panel. This student board suggests education-related legislation to the elected officials present.
“The point of the field trip was to give our input on not just school issues but district, or county-wide, issues,” Liu said.
This excursion was the fourth and final one of its kind, with the other three outings occurring on January 22, February 5, and February 19. Though the Youth Advisory Panel program has been around for 13 years, this year was the first time that Ayala’s leadership class has gone to present their ideas.
“These field trips really upheld leadership’s responsibility to participate in civic leadership and proposing good on behalf of Ayala,” Horan said.
In attendance were not only the Superintendent and the Superintendent board, but students from almost all of the Eastern districts of San Bernardino. There were several other high schools present, including Upland, Excelsior, and Redlands. This created an enriching, engaging environment for students to share their proposed policies.
“We were able to meet the different schools, and it gave us a new perspective on how other schools might see the things that we see,” Chen said. “Their ideas benefited us for our presentations, and we were able to help benefit other students with their presentations.”
The students of Ayala were dedicated to sharing their numerous legislations with all those present, hoping that their presentations could make a true impact for students across the county. The topics discussed ranged from education to finances.
“We presented a piece of legislation that had more economic grounds, and the whole purpose of it was to promote equality within extracurriculars,” Kumar said.
Kumar focused on providing legislation that would generate grants, sponsored by the district, which students could access in order to fund their student-led initiatives. Students could apply through the district in order to receive these grants, essentially making extracurriculars more accessible to the masses and helping underdeveloped programs prosper through proper funding.
“Another piece of legislation was on scholarships that are specialized and track the progression of individuals rather than just merit,” Liu said.
Liu also proposed a measure to have more accessible audits on California colleges in order to increase the transparency of college finances, as well as holding these institutions accountable. Liu hoped that his plan would also rebuild the trust and relationships between families, colleges, and the government.
Previously, Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) school board decisions have resulted in a lack of funding allocated towards student priorities, such as student enrichment programs or achieving long-held goals like college readiness and a positive school climate. These leadership students hope that by sharing input with the district, it will encourage and motivate the CVUSD district officials to make policies that better benefit the Ayala student body.
“It is critical that we give our own input because these district decisions directly impact us,” Horan said.
