Three Atlanta Public Schools Students Appointed to the State Superintendent’s 2015-2016 Student Advisory Council

By Taylor Jones

Atlanta Public School (APS) students Robert Beckham, Sutton Middle School; Mouhammed Bah, B.E.S.T. Academy High School; and Elise Nanista, Maynard H. Jackson High School were selected by State Superintendent Robert Woods to serve on the 2015-2016 Student Advisory Council Sept. 11, 2015. Not only will a group of middle and high school students meet with Superintendent Woods to discuss the impact of state policies in the classroom, but these students will also serve as Woods’s ambassadors to their respective schools.

Mouhammed Bah of B.E.S.T. Academy High School, was previously featured as an American Graduate Champion by Atlanta Public Schools during the 2014-2015 school year.

From a pool of 1,500 candidates, students were chosen based on the strength of their application essay, which concentrated on their ideas for public education and ways their own educational experience could be improved. This year, 110 students from charter schools to virtual public schools were chosen to serve on the council.

“Students feel the impact of our decisions every day.” Superintendent Woods said. “If we are going to develop child-focused, classroom-centered policies, we must hear directly from students. We can only improve their educational experience by bringing them to the table.”

Scheduled meetings for the State Student Advisory Council will meet September 28, November 9 and March 28 for middle school students; and October 1, November 12, and March 31 for high school students at the office of the Georgia Department of Education.