Metuchen hosts a broad variety of student-led organizations, clubs, and other activities that people from all grades can participate or assist in. Within them, the Student Advisory Committee is an important, unique, and rather unknown organization that spans across the elementary, middle, and high schools. Starting in third grade, the committee’s members help to bridge the student body and faculty in being one of the key points of communication regarding issues, ideas, and other events going on within the school. The committee itself has a variety of responsibilities and jobs that usually go under the radar as well.
Primarily the Student Advisory Committee meets monthly to discuss the status of each of the schools within the Metuchen School District, as well as to acknowledge the suggestions of both the Committee members and their peers. The meetings are headed by Dr. Caputo and Mrs. Taylor, who ask the Committee, “Who is doing great? What’s working? And what isn’t working?” These meetings give students the ability to share their own as well as their peers’ opinions about the state of the schools and praise staff members they believe are doing exceptionally well. Ultimately, the Student Advisory Committee is an organization that allows students to express their concerns, criticisms, and what they are happy with and are points of reference for the faculty to make their decisions from.
At the end of the year, the two senior representatives will put together a presentation to demonstrate all that was accomplished as a result of the committee’s actions. These presentations help compile all of the positive and negative that changes or existing policies have had on the student body. Thanks to this input, the Student Advisory Committee and its’ representatives can help create positive change in the district for the current year and years to come..
The Student Advisory Committee itself has representatives from the third to twelfth grade. Each grade has one representative who shares the feedback of their grade with the Committee, with the exception of grades eleven and twelve, who both have two representatives. This wide grade range assists in obtaining opinions from all school districts, rather than limiting the feedback received to a smaller grade range, such as only high school.
“My favorite part of the committee is getting the opportunity to speak out and be a representative of the student’s voices. We all really appreciate that Dr. Caputo takes time out of his busy schedule to meet with us and really listen to what we have to say as students, and actually put changes into effect.” - Hannah Mindler, Class of 2025 Senior Representative.
In order to join the Student Advisory Committee, a student must be selected either in first grade or eleventh grade. The committee selects individuals who are both involved in the schools as well as confident in talking to peers and relaying information back to the board during meetings. Current senior Danny Galligan, for example, has been a member of the Committee since attending Campbell School. Allowing them to give feedback to the committee from their peers and themself throughout a majority of their career as a student in the Metuchen School District.
Overall, the committee is a very unique and rewarding program that allows students to change the school positively. The ability to garner the opinions of such a wide range of students and grade levels throughout the district is a key part of the Student Advisory Committee that brings change to benefit all students as a whole, a trait that makes the Student Advisory Committee as influential and unique within the District’s wide variety of student organizations.
Authored by Asher Greenbaum and Barnav Mitra
*Special thanks to Hannah Mindler, Class of 2025; Interviewee regarding the Student Advisory Board
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