Towards the beginning of the 2025-26 school year, State High’s Student Council and Student Senate decided to combine their efforts to help strengthen the school-student relationship. In the past, the Student Senate has focused more on fundraising and organizing dances, while the Student Council, formerly called Leadership Council, has focused more on board policy and worked more closely with State High staff.
Student Council advisor Jennifer Evans explained how State High’s principal, Laura Tobias, wants to switch around how things are done with student leadership groups. Historically, Tobias would meet with council officers once a month to communicate and discuss school issues, though that left out the Student Senates.
“She [Tobias] is creating what’s called a principal’s advisory, and that will be the president and vice president of 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th, as well as the president and vice president of the Student Council. And so we will all meet, and she will get a better understanding of all the grades in the building,” Evans said.
During a Student Council meeting on Nov. 20, the council showed a chart of the different groups, outlining the change in flow of communication. Evans explained that it is not a hierarchy, but rather an explanation for what students should expect in terms of communication between people and groups.
“Ideas come from Mrs. Tobias, they go through the leadership council, then elected officers, and then to all classes, the student body, and to all clubs. And we have a new position this year where we have clubs and an activity manager. And so we have a bunch of newly hired folks, and it was an opportunity to make some improvements,” Evans said.
Student Council parliamentarian Yidi Zhang explained more about the communication between the Student Council and the Student Senate.
“We [the Student Council] are meeting with the Senate, but we also have our own separate meetings that are open to everyone, and then what we’re trying to do is to get the Senate to come to our Student Council meetings, because I think it’s really important that we get Senate representation as well,” Zhang said.
The combination of the Student Council and Student Senate is designed to help tackle students’ desires and quickly communicate event planning, issue resolutions, and what is going on at the school.
“It’s definitely a change of just making students feel more morale throughout the school. And obviously, that’s more important for their classes, and their council is for everyone,” Zhang said.
Student Council secretary, Dasha Nekrutenko, explained how the Student Senates will greatly benefit the Student Council, as will the Council for the Senates.
“This year, we are getting Student Senate more involved in the policy aspect, because due to the fact that Senate is grade-based, they can represent their own grade out of greater accuracy, and when it comes to making policies that benefit everyone, it’s really important that we have their input as well,” Nekrutenko said.
Nekrutenko shared that all of this change will soon make sense, and that it is a great way to hear everybody and understand the school community.
“The main goal, I would say, of this whole reconstructing is to make sure that we can get everyone’s voice represented, in some way, shape, or form,” Nekrutenko said.
This change has already begun and will soon become the new norm for State High’s school community. The Student Council and Student Senate combination will strive to build strength and community between students, student leadership, and staff. If anybody in the State High community is interested in keeping up with what’s going on in State High, the Student Council invites them to get involved and come to meetings.
