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Submitted By: Dr. Kyra Caldwell Templeton, Program Director of Student Engagement and Co-Advisor of the Student Advisory Council (SAC)

On April 29, the Atlanta Public Schools Student Advisory Council (SAC) gathered the superintendent, district leaders, and board members for its annual End-of-Year Recommendations and Celebration — an evening that made one thing unmistakably clear: when students are given a real seat at the table, the results are transformative.

More than a culminating presentation, the event was a space for reflection, honest dialogue, and forward momentum. It capped a year defined by deep student engagement and offered a concrete roadmap for how APS can continue to improve through genuine partnership with the young people it serves.

A Year of Leadership and Reach

The 2025–2026 SAC cohort brought together 30 student delegates from 15 schools across the district. Over the course of the year, they met monthly to surface the concerns, ideas, and lived experiences of their peers, and to develop their own capacity as leaders. Their work extended well beyond their meeting room. Students participated in Breakfast with the Board, Student Office Hours with the Superintendent, the Student Leader Symposium, and Day in the Life experiences. They showed up civically too through SAC Day at the Capitol and the MLK Day of Service.

This breadth of involvement reflects SAC’s core purpose: not just ensuring students are heard, but ensuring they are meaningfully engaged in shaping the systems that shape them.

What Students Are Saying

Through monthly meetings and an expanded Breakfast with the Board, which reached hundreds of students across the district, SAC identified seven recurring themes that consistently affect student experience:

• Academic pathways & rigorous options
• Student support & resources 
• School culture, safety, environment 
• Advocacy, communication, & student voice
• Financial barriers & access
• Communication effectiveness 
• Systems alignment & equity

These themes weren’t pulled from surveys alone. They were drawn from students’ own experiences, and they carry the weight of that authenticity.

From Insight to Action: Key Recommendations

SAC’s recommendations across five standing committees were specific, organized, and actionable.

In academics, students called for structured advisement paired with mentorship, equitable access to SAT and ACT preparation, and a district-wide opportunities fair to surface pathways that too many students never learn exist.

On budget and performance, they advocated for increased arts funding to eliminate participation barriers, expanded travel and experiential learning, equitable technology across all schools, and a standardized student ID system to improve safety and consistency.

In equity and social Jjustice, recommendations included expanding cross-cultural and study abroad opportunities, ensuring transparency and follow-through on student feedback, strengthening anti-discrimination policies, and protecting culturally relevant curriculum.

For operations, students zeroed in on maintaining safe, clean, and functional school environments; improving transportation reliability; and deepening student awareness of safety systems.

For schools, they pushed for better support around dual enrollment, stronger teacher preparation for advanced coursework, expanded career exposure, and more consistent in-school engagement from district leadership.

From Feedback to Partnership

The evening’s most powerful moment may have been its collaborative work session, where students and district leaders sat side by side to analyze recommendations and sort them by cost and feasibility. It was a small but significant shift — from students presenting to adults, to students and adults solving problems together.

That shift matters. Student voice is only as powerful as the structures that support it. When students are positioned as partners in implementation, not just sources of input, the resulting solutions are more relevant, more equitable, and more likely to last.

Celebrating the People Behind the Work

The night closed with a celebration of the delegates themselves — their dedication, growth, and willingness to carry the concerns of hundreds of peers into rooms where decisions are made. Seniors were especially honored, with recognition of their post-graduation plans and the lasting impact they have made on the district through their leadership. It was a powerful moment that underscored not only what they have contributed, but what they will continue to bring into the next chapter of their journeys.

Special awards recognized an individual and team who have gone above and beyond to ensure that student voice is not just heard, but acted upon. The individual SAC MVP Award was presented to board member Alfred “Shivy” Brooks, a leader whose actions have fundamentally shifted how students engage in district governance. Through his leadership, students now have a seat on the Policy Committee, ensuring their voices are included in conversations that shape district policy. In addition, student representatives now regularly participate in ABOE work sessions, creating consistent opportunities for students to speak, ask questions, and engage in meaningful dialogue with decision-makers. This recognition highlighted what real support for student voice looks like, moving beyond words to sustained structures that position students as active contributors in leadership spaces.

The SAC Special MVP Award was presented to the APS Office of Equity + Social Justice, a team recognized for their unwavering commitment to centering students in both visible and behind-the-scenes work. Their impact spans the district, from creating platforms that celebrate student voice, such as the Student Authors event, to expanding opportunities for entrepreneurship and student showcases, to investing time and energy into student leadership development through the Student Leader Symposium. They have also played a critical role in elevating student presence at major district and community events, including organizing APS participation in the Atlanta Pride Parade, and consistently attending SAC meetings to gather feedback, share insights, and remain connected to the student experience. Their partnership in supporting the strategic use of student engagement grant funds further demonstrates their commitment to ensuring resources directly benefit students.

What made these recognitions especially meaningful was the consistency behind the impact. Both the individual and team honored have demonstrated that supporting student voice requires more than intention—it requires action, presence, and follow-through. Meaningful student engagement does not happen without students who are willing to show up and lead, and adults who are equally committed to listening, investing, and turning student ideas into tangible outcomes.

What Comes Next

The SAC End-of-Year event was not a conclusion, it was a call to action. It marked the handoff from student insight to system action. The recommendations presented were not theoretical; they were grounded in lived experiences and shaped through intentional collaboration between students and district leaders.

This moment presents a clear opportunity for Atlanta Public Schools to deepen its commitment to student voice as a driver of continuous improvement. Aligning these recommendations with the APS Strategic Plan—particularly the priorities of fostering strong relationships, improving school culture and climate, and expanding access to rigorous and engaging learning experiences—positions the district to move from listening to implementation in meaningful ways.

Student voice is not a standalone initiative or a moment of engagement, it is a strategy. When embedded into the way systems operate, it strengthens decision-making, increases relevance, and advances equity. The next phase of this work will be defined by how effectively these student-informed recommendations are translated into action, ensuring that the vision outlined by students leads to tangible, system-wide impact.