Student government is important at any school, but especially at JVA, given the fact that it is online. This is because students need a way to contribute and be heard while still being online. To learn more about an online student government, I interviewed Kassidy Hetzel, a teacher leader in student government.
The first and most obvious question for Ms. Hetzel was How did you get involved student government? She responded with,
“I currently serve JVA as the Instructional Coach for Educators, and through conversations with Mrs. Williams, our principal, and other teachers, we realized that we needed more options for community and belonging, and this is where the idea of Student Government came to light. We set a goal to create a Student Government course so that we could build the structure to begin building more opportunities for students to connect. Since Student Government was a class that had never been offered before, I stepped in to develop a starting curriculum and help launch the course from the ground up. As part of this process, I became certified through CHSAA and have been working with a small group of students to survey JVA students and staff about their needs and wants for our online community.”
I found this really interesting. When I set out to interview Ms. Hetzel, I was unaware that she actually helped start the student government at JVA! Although she had already answered this slightly, I still wanted to ask what she thought the purpose of the student government is here at JVA. She said,
“I believe Student Government should be a place of shared leadership where we focus on listening to the student body of JVA. The students within Student Government are ambassadors for their peers.”
I asked about what the current student government is working on. She explained that
“Currently, our work in Student Government has been grounded in learning about Shared Leadership, the Importance of listening to stakeholders, and surveying students, staff, and community for what type of events and activities. It is our goal to host one in-person event and one online activity for the students at JVA.”
This was really interesting. Being a new student at JVA, one of my main concerns was not being heard, and once she told me that this was a concern that the student government was working to address, I was immensely happy. My last, and favorite question I asked was if the student government fulfilled its purpose, what would that look like? She stated,
“If the Student Government fulfilled its purpose, students in an asynchronous high school would feel connected, heard, and represented. Student voice would meaningfully influence school decisions, while student government members are responsible for planning, marketing, and hosting student-led online and optional in-person events that foster community and reduce isolation. Student government would serve as a bridge between students and staff, building leadership, collaboration, and advocacy skills and transforming the school from a collection of online courses into a connected learning community.”
I thought this was a great answer as it not only shows the student government’s goals, but also what JVA students can look for in the future. This interview was a great opportunity to get to know more about the student government, and I can safely say this power is in the right hands.
