Student named interim chair of Kentucky United We Learn Council

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Audrey Gilbert is a Frankfort Excessive College senior and scholar advocate and researcher targeted on evaluation and accountability coverage and faculty local weather. 

“I’ve a giant household of educators. All people’s concerned by some means, whether or not they have been lecturers or working amenities superintendents, merely attended college themselves. Everyone seems to be concerned in schooling in my household, so I’ve grown up surrounded by schooling,” mentioned Gilbert. 

The Kentucky Scholar Voice member believes college students know greatest what they want in schooling. 

The Kentucky Division of Schooling’s United We Be taught Council is ensuring their voices are heard. 

“After I first began highschool, issues like this weren’t occurring. We have been preventing on our personal to do issues. It was one thing simply present in our personal silo,” mentioned Gilbert. “It’s actually empowering to know that we’re valued that a lot that we now have that many seats on the desk and that we’re being taken significantly.”

Gilbert has been named the chair of the council of 70. The council is a mixture of lecturers, college students, group members, and enterprise leaders invested in schooling success. The council’s objectives embrace creating vibrant studying experiences for each scholar, encouraging innovation in evaluation and accountability, and collaborating carefully with communities. 

“Our college students are a lot extra succesful and competent than we frequently give them credit score for therefore it’s a possibility to showcase that college students’ expertise but in addition to represent or maintain forth that placing the scholars on the heart is the main focus of our work,” mentioned Kentucky Commissioner of Schooling Dr. Jason Glass. 

Dr. Glass says the council is fulfilling a promise to listen to each voice from each nook of the Commonwealth. 

“We needed to make this council consultant of Kentucky, geographically, demographically and from completely different roles and views. We heard in our listening excursions that too typically selections about schooling are made by a small group of individuals with energy in an remoted setting and we actually wanted to work on ensuring that we have been listening to from all views in our group,” mentioned Glass. 

The council is displaying KDE’s dedication to creating college students the middle of change.  

“College students may be in management positions. College students don’t simply should be a token seat on the desk. They are often there. They are often main conversations with adults. You don’t should have a grasp’s diploma. You don’t should undertake a bachelor’s diploma. You’ll be able to simply merely be a highschool scholar, dwelling and utilizing your lived experiences to affect essential conversations,” defined Gilbert. 

She has a brand new outlet to talk up about college students’ most essential points.

The United We Be taught Council will meet quarterly transferring ahead.