Tuloso-Midway Middle School student elected to National Student Council
Olivia GarrettTuloso-Midway Middle School student Isabella Schmit has been elected to the National Student Council.
Schmit, who just completed seventh grade, is the council's junior vice president of membership.
The National Student Council is a new initiative from the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
"It's a combination of high school and middle school students, and we're all going to work together to be one huge student council from all over the U.S.," Schmit said.
Ten students were elected from schools around the country to earn a seat on the council, which aims to amplify the voice of students and advocate for them at the federal level.
"Too often, the voices of those most impacted by education policies — the students themselves — are overlooked in the decision-making process," NASSP CEO Ronn Nozoe said in a news release. "By collaborating directly with these student representatives, and with our network of principals and educators across NASSP, we can ensure that student insights drive meaningful reforms that truly address their needs and priorities."
One challenge students face today is mental health, which can impact grades and attendance, Schmit said. Schmit said that to help improve attendance in her school, students suggested Friday snack incentives for students who came to school all week.
"That tremendously helped us this year," Schmit said.
Schmit was in third grade when the pandemic began. She switched to online school, only returning to in-person classes in sixth grade in Tuloso-Midway ISD.
"I know a lot of kids did (online school) due to COVID and that definitely made some kids suffer from mental health due to not being able to socialize as much," Schmit said. "And a lot of teachers also suffered from that. One thing that I really want to do as part of the NSC is help with communication between students and teachers."
She joined her school's student council in sixth grade hoping to meet new people.
"I ended up actually really liking student council," Schmit said. "I found student council really fun and figured I could be a great leader for it."
Next year, she hopes her school student council will do more community service and teacher appreciation.
In a campaign video for National Student Council, Schmit said she wants to get more kids involved in student council, improve campus culture, help students feel happy and safe in school and help kids be more kind.
"Surprisingly, a lot of high schools are involved with (the National Association of Student Councils) and have their own student councils, but a lot of middle schools don't," Schmit said.
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