Students from Across Tennessee Lend Their Insight To Issues Facing Public Education

Students from Lewis County High School joined over 260 of their high school peers in Nashville on March 7 to express their views on public education in Tennessee at the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) Student Congress on Policies in Education (SCOPE). The event took place on the Belmont University campus.

Attending from LCHS were School Board member Lindsey Himes, LCMS principal Adam Clark, LCHS teacher Dr. Melissa Burney, delegates Zoie Clark and Andalyn Himes, LCHS assistant principal Jason Fite, delegates Cole Spann and Jaxon Fite, and Lewis County School Board member Paula Dyer.

Now in its 40th year, SCOPE is designed to give students a voice where public education issues are concerned and to involve young people in finding solutions to the topics that are discussed. Attendees participated in mock school board sessions, where they assumed the roles of school board members, school officials, parents, students and concerned citizens. School board members and superintendents led the sessions.

Students then chose speakers to represent each of their 16 small groups who went on to take part in full-scale debates on current education issues. This year's four debate topics and results from the poll were:

• The Board shall have two student representatives who serve in a non-voting role.

(Agree: 73%, Disagree: 27%)

• Students shall have the option of substituting club sports for physical education requirements.

(Agree: 23%, Disagree: 77%)

• Submitting electronic threats shall be a zero-tolerance offense.

(Agree: 55%, Disagree: 45%)

• Every student must take a career readiness assessment as part of a local graduation requirement.

(Agree: 22%, Disagree: 78%)

SCOPE delegates elected 2024 SCOPE officers and they are:

President: Kylee Collins, Sullivan East High School, Sullivan County

1st Vice President: Carlie Barber, Shelbyville Central High School, Bedford County

2nd Vice President: Arowyn Casenhiser, Maryville High School, Maryville

The Tennessee School Boards Association was organized in 1939 to provide a united voice in education for local public school boards. In 1953, the State Legislature officially recognized TSBA as the "organization and representative agency of the members of school boards in Tennessee."

The Tennessee School Boards Association is a service organization to all the state's school boards. It serves as an advocate for the interests of Tennessee's public school students and school districts and provides in-service training and assistance for the state's 991 board of education members.