This post is written by Amy Tomuta

The Chicago Public Schools Student Advisory Council has been working all summer on the framing question of how to allocate and distribute resources to impact all CPS youth. Using on-site research, explorative research and interviews the students were able to create five recommendations based around the CPS vision of academic progress, financial stability and integrity.

There were a total of five recommendations that were presented at the Meeting with Janice Jackson, Chief Education Office of Chicago Public Schools, on Thursday, August, 10th, 2017. The students got to the Weinberg gallery and claimed that space as their own; preparing any last minute items for their meeting.

Once the guests arrived, Janice Jackson, Emily Giglio, Michelle Morales, Cristina Salgado, and Steven Rosado, our hosts, Uriel and Kate, started off the meeting with a daily check-in talking about our favorite moments from the summer. This opened up the space making the students and adults feel comfortable. Then started the presentation of the recommendations, below are the recommendations.

All the guests were engaged and De. Jackson gave an overall yes to all the recommendations – saying that each one of them is on the right track.

“Having student voice involved is critical in doing things right” –Janice Jackson, Chief Education Officer of Chicago  Public Schools

This leaves it up to the council to choose which recommendation it is that they want to work on throughout the year. In the next couple days, the students will choose which of the recommendations they want to work on, which will further youth voice in the community.