Bartlesville Radio: The area’s best source for news, weather and sports!

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister has announced that 104 Oklahoma high school students have been named to her 2020 Student Advisory Council.

On the list is Bartlesville’s Stone Yang and Elijah Winters. Yang is a returning member from 2019. Only 24 of the 104 high school students like Yang are returning members.

Other area students on the 2020 Student Advisory Council is Barnsdall's Chance McGilll, Oologah-Talala's Matthew Garrison, and Owasso's Isabel Cevallos. Only McGill is a returner from 2019.

"As we continue to improve public education, it is imperative to gather feedback and insight directly from Oklahoma students," Hofmeister said. "Each year I continue to be touched by the wisdom, hope and compassion of these amazing young people who represent their schools and communities."

Dominant themes voiced by last year's Student Advisory Council were the importance of personal financial literacy, increased awareness of student mental health needs, and how trauma affects chronic absenteeism and student success. Feeback from the Council has been instrumental in state-level initiatives to provide teachers more professional development in trauma-informed instruction, replace end-of-course high school testing with ACT or SAT, and pilot Individual Career Academic Planning (ICAP).

Students, recommended by their district superintendents, hail from across Oklahoma and represent rural, urban and suburban schools of all sizes. This is the fifth consecutive year the group has been convened to assist Hofmeister and the Oklahoma State Department of Education in matters of policy.

The first meeting of the Student Advisory Council is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 29th in Room 535 of the State Capitol.