Site base council is an organization on campus meant to bring people from all sides of the community together to discuss school issues. It is comprised of 17 members: 4 parents, 8 school staff members, and 5 students.
“Site base council is about getting involved with what’s happening at the school,” senior Mira Theilman said.
Students already in site base council can elect to stay there for more than one year. If a student drops out, teachers can nominate students they believe would be able to handle being in site base council.
“It really depends on how much involvement you have [at school,]” Theilman said. “Only the most involved students end up in that room.”
Participants in site base council handle problems such as scheduling standardized tests, distribution of money, and handling school policies. Recently, they’ve awarded Maribeth Sublette’s AVID students the money to take a tour of NAU.
“I think [site base council] is important because we have staff, students and parents together to make decisions,” records specialist Mary Ruth Mori said. “It’s not just the administrators making decisions for the entire school, it’s everyone coming together.”
Normally, students that are involved in clubs, sports, or other extracurricular are nominated. If students wish to nominate themselves, they should talk to principal Derek Hoffland.
“One of the great benefits is the experience you gain by being a part of site base council,” Hoffland said. “It’s the type of experience a student can’t get in any other way.”
Law requires all public schools to have a site base council to incorporate the opinions of all stakeholders in decision-making.
“It is never my expectation that a student’s perspective is representative of their entire class,” Hoffland said. “It is my expectation to gain the perspective of a single student.”
Hoffland and the site team especially enjoy the feedback from the students.
“Our biggest goal is to improve involvement along all tracks at the school: regular, honors, AP—everything,” Theilman said.
Those interested should contact Hoffland’s office for consideration to serve on next year’s team.