As the 2021 to 2022 school year comes to an end, many are looking forward to summer while some have started to think about next fall. Many changes were made this year at Glenbard South- ranging from Covid regulations to new district guidelines, and there are many more to come in the upcoming years. Students of the Principal Advisory Board have been taking action for the implementation of immediate changes as well as presenting ideas that will be implemented over the course of multiple months which will help enhance the education and experience of Glenbard South students. 

Lily Guetzow, co leader of the Student Spirit Committee,  said the main proposal that the committee worked on this year was implementing more social events for students. The committee believes that one way to boost school spirit is by bonding with peers, but faculty don’t necessarily know what activities the students would like to participate in. The school spirit board decided to take suggestions directly from the student body and got the idea for a bowling event, which took place on April 10, and an upcoming mini golf event, for which the date is being decided. Next year, the committee plans to work on social event proposals such as a picnic with your dogs, or tailgate before the first football game. Another proposal that the committee aims to devote a great deal of attention to next year is opening a better line of communication with both Westlake and Glen Crest. Something that motivated Guetzow to aim for these changes is the fact that they would benefit the students in a nontraditional way. “Most people like to focus on grades and changing curriculum as a way to improve school morale, but the spirit within a school is an easy and much more effective way to improve the environment as a whole,” said Guetzow. One change Guetzow would like to see is overcoming the stigma against attending school events that the School Spirit Committee organizes. Instead of considering it  “lame” to attend these events, students should simply view these events as opportunities to get together with friends and decompress from a rather rigorous school week. 

The leader of the student educational betterment committee, Zainab Talha, stated that there were several projects in mind that the committee had for this year and upcoming years. However, the biggest focus this year was the committee’s teacher evaluation project. The goal of this project was to alleviate the communication gap between teachers and students in a way where students could give teachers feedback about their teaching styles or what they personally need to succeed in their classes. Recently, with the agreement of several teachers, the committee piloted a survey in a few classrooms. Teachers offered the survey to students in their classes and received constructive feedback that they have the option to implement or not.  The completely anonymous survey is intended to be a really great way to improve the learning and teaching environment for students and faculty.

The committee’s other proposals included making the school more eco-friendly and sustainable and increasing the number of educational field trips for students to enhance learning. These are projects that the committee will be focusing on more next year, as the main project this year was creating the teacher evaluation project- a project students may even see next year. 

According to Zainab, the purpose of Principal’s Advisory Board is for students to take initiative and have the resources to address issues within the school. And as seen with the teacher evaluation project, students have concerns that need to be addressed, but students often find it hard to approach a teacher. The survey that is a part of this project is a way for students to have their concerns addressed anonymously while teachers simultaneously receive constructive feedback. Participation in the Principal’s Advisory Board is a great way to empower students by providing them with  extra real life experience and skills that they can use outside of school. Personally, Talha would like to see Glenbard South “move towards an increasingly Eco-friendly and sustainable environment, it’s something that needs to be pushed forward as if we don’t start in school where else would we start.”

The Projects that have been proposed by the Principal Advisory Board committees are taking the school in a new direction by bringing a student perspective to the table. Principal Santee, who revived the Advisory Board this year, has always aimed to make Glenbard South a safe place where students can truly sprout and recognize their abilities. Principal’s Advisory Board is a way for principal Santee to not only guide student growth but make Glenbard South a much more student-friendly school. Though there are many changes underway with a lot of unknowns, the Board Hopes that the upcoming changes will only prove to improve Glenbard South.