Students across the Palos Verdes Peninsula School District (PVPUSD) are shaping the future of their schools.
From participating in district board meetings to being a part of the Superintendent Advisory Committee, students play a vital role in representing the student population at the district.
As the PVHS representative of the PVPUSD student board, junior Malia Tamilin helps represent Palos Verdes High School at meetings.
She is one out of three students from across the district chosen to represent their respective high school at PVPUSD board meetings.
The position is competitive and requires a rigorous application process, and prospective candidates started the application process as early as the last school year.
Applicants had to go through an interview process, then give a speech on Live From 205. From there, the entire school got to vote on the candidate they wanted.
Other high schools across the district also have their own student representatives.
“Malia is super organized, I’ve had her in English class and Be the Change and she pays close attention to detail,’’ English teacher and BTC advisor Karen Kostrencich said.
As a student representative, she reports on events that are happening at school.
“Every single board meeting I have three minutes to report on what happens at PV High, as well as any of the agenda items that we talk about. So for example, we talked about AP scores, and I got to put my input in on that,” Tamilin said.
Tamilin’s involvement in these meetings are heavily motivated by her love for the school.
“I really like being a Sea King. It’s just something I’m very proud of. I want to show the board how great we are doing as a school as well as being able to work with fellow students and staff members to improve PV High,” said Tamilin.
In addition to student board representatives, several PVPUSD students also contribute to the Superintendent Advisory Committee (SAC). Students discuss different topics about both the district and the school at monthly meetings.
The SAC consists of a group of juniors and seniors from both PV High and Peninsula High School.
“So far, we’ve talked about the caps on APs and the upsides and downsides to it. We also mentioned if it was beneficial or not to adopt Precalc AP to the curriculum,” junior Paige Tydlaska and SAC member said.
Tydlaska was inspired to join the SAC after her experience at Capital Convoy last year, where she got to be around the superintendent and see the behind the scenes of the district.
“I wanted to give back in any way, and [this was] a great way to collaborate with my peers to fix any problems,” Tydlaska said.
Representatives from across the district play an important role in accurately representing the student body. They speak about many specific issues and address any changes that might benefit the schools.
Student representatives play a crucial role in helping the district understand all of the students’ needs.