Governance Council makes a mark at Carlmont

Who assesses Carlmont’s school-wide policies — the length of our lunchtime, students’ cell phone rules, the homework policy?

Behind the scenes is the Governance Council. Composed of parents, students, teachers, and administrative staff, the council works to gather different perspectives to review the climate of Carlmont.

Founded in 1997, the Governance Council has been around to discuss topics such as the homework load, communication, the number of assessments to give a year, and policies regarding Carlmont.

“We did a lot of mental health surveys for students,” said Julia Smith, a counselor and member of the Governance Council. “During distance-learning, because we were acknowledging that staff was under a lot of pressure and change, [we] collected that feedback and tried to figure out what we’re going to do with it. The respect policy, the bell schedule, putting thought into extracurriculars as well as sleep time, and putting in flex was a huge part of the Governance Council.”

The council holds monthly meetings open for students and staff to communicate problems, which then go onto an agenda of issues to be addressed. Teachers and staff in the council gain feedback from the department chairs, other counselors, and teachers while parents and students network through their other peers for feedback. Meetings are held over Zoom, which are sent out and planned by the Governance Council facilitator. The facilitator creates an agenda of topics or issues to discuss and overall runs and monitors the meeting.

“We always have discussions about ‘Is what we’re doing effective? Is it actually going to help students? Are they going to realize it?’” said Seona Sherman, a senior and active member of the council. “Certain projects take a while because every single time you have it reviewed, there’s always going to be some feedback. So, you have to take it back, and you have to do it until there are no concerns.”

Sherman discovered the Governance Council through a project she was working on. Students have joined the council partly through word of mouth and generally attending meetings if they found an issue concerning. Overall, the Governance Council relies on upper and lowerclassmen looking to get things done.

“If anybody wants to join, all they have to do is show up. At the end of the day, if they just want to pop by one of our rooms or even send an email,” said Daniel Deasy, a teacher at Carlmont and the facilitator of the council. “I think the more student voices we hear, the better things are going to be because how we think probably doesn’t necessarily meet the needs of what students need. We have to listen and find that middle ground that makes it work.”

The Governance Council works to address issues brought up by any student or staff member, coming up with solutions that compromise each perspective.

“This is your school, you attend here, you have to be here every day, so if something is concerning you or there’s something that you really focused all of your attention on, then Governance Council is your place to share that and address that,” Smith said.