Benteen Elementary School invited the parents of its new Student Government Council members to be a part of the school’s first investiture ceremony, where the newly elected student representatives were sworn into their official roles.
“I take pride in creating memories for students and families,” Principal Gerard Latimore said. “One of the things that students remember is the opportunities that they had a chance to lead in. They’ll be able to go on to middle school and high school knowing that if something’s not right, they have an avenue to advocate for or change something. That’s what we think about when we talk about having productive citizens of the world.”
The students at Benteen wanted to be a part of making their school a better place and went all-in on creating their own student government. They made campaign signs and developed their own speeches that they delivered to the entire student body at the school’s morning meeting.
“The kids wanted to take on a bigger role in our school, and this provided an avenue for kids to really have a voice and agency in what we do here at Benteen,” Latimore said. “We expressed to them that win, lose, or draw, you’re already a winner. Just having the courage to go through this process at a young age is already developing skills within them that are going to set them apart from other people as they continue to grow.”
The school’s International Baccalaureate (IB) coordinator, Kenyanee Releford, said the addition of a student government provides another opportunity for students to develop their strengths. The students elected a council president, vice president, treasurer, director of communications, secretary, and class representatives for each grade level.
“IB is the umbrella of everything single thing that we do,” she said. “This is just one of the elements where students can show up, show that they are risk takers, show that they are balanced, and use their learning profiles and approaches to learning.”
Principal Latimore said the Student Council was excited to get started and had already had some conversations about what they want to do, including adding two additional officers to the council, changes to the playground, and what the students would like to see added to the lunch menu. But the main impact that the new student leaders said they want in their school is more kindness.
“I want to make the school a better place,” Benteen Elementary School fifth-grade student and Student Council President Elle Jones said. “I want to also make the school full of kindness, and I want to make this school fun and make it safe.”