Voice your opinion! That's exactly what students from local school were able to do. On November 18th Superintendent David Buckles brought students from Palatka area schools to do just that. Schools represented were Kelly Smith, Riverbreeze, James A. Long, and Mellon Elementary schools, as well as Beasley, Jenkins, and Palatka High School. Together they discussed issues they believed were important in our schools.

One issue discussed and felt to be a very important, was that school time is being wasted by students and teachers due to their not caring. One example discussed was that when teachers send disruptive students to the office, the student is sent right back to the classroom. This allows that student to continue disrupting the class and prevents the rest of the students from learning. It also makes the teachers' ability to control his or her classroom even more difficult. It was felt that consequences were often unclear and that also caused problems.

Another issue felt to be important was the lack of controlling who is on the school campus. Cadee Brewer from Palatka High School stated "There needs to be someone stopping who comes into the school and not." This was felt to be a significant safety issue. One student said " . . . some people don't feel safe in school . . . "

Some students from Kelly Smith and Palatka High schools thought that block scheduling needed to be evaluated. Students who have trouble paying attention because they can't sit still as long as they need to in these classes are finding this type of class very hard. On the other hand, the students that can easily pay attention say that they get to learn a lot more then they would with shorter classes. It was brought up that teachers like it because " . . . it (block scheduling) makes it easier to get things done . . . but it is hard for students to stay awake . . . "

Other issues discussed included working too much toward the FCAT, the return of after school programs, people don't know their guidance counselors, the lack of African-American Resource Officers and problems between students of different cultural backgrounds.

There are probably many more issues not being said because the representatives from the schools don't know what students think are important in their school. If you have something you wish to discuss, you can tell your school representatives, By doing this, the next time the School Advisory Counsel meets each and every one of you will have personal satisfaction that all the issues are being discussed. Unless you share your thoughts and concerns with the people in charge, the issues can never get fixed!