The Poway Unified Student Superintendent Advisory Committee (SSAC) was awarded a Golden Bell award for the committee’s current and past work promoting student health and wellness through the many programs they have devised. The organizations eligible for this award are generally top-level cabinets or committees in California school districts.
Because of its roles in connecting the district to students and creating interschool relationships, as well as their annual projects, the SSAC won the Social/Emotional Health/Wellness category of the award.
The SSAC is comprised of four students from every school in the district:  two seniors and two juniors from each of the Poway Unified high schools. Additionally, student board member Nirja Trivedi (12) is on the SSAC, as well as representatives from the district’s Poway to Palomar College program.
Josh Yang (12) is a member of the SSAC and has helped organize some of the events, like the Pursuing Passion, Not Perfection program offered last April. Every year, the SSAC chooses a topic or problem that they see in schools and creates an event to help.
Last year, to address student burnout and class schedule overloads, the SSAC decided to create a workshop for incoming high-schoolers.
“We started an event for eighth-graders so they can have a bit of foreshadowing for what they can expect in high school and how to work around potential stressors like a super-heavy course load,” Yang said. “[We advised] them to choose things based on their aspiration or career hopes.”
The SSAC was founded to help better connect the district office employees with students, those whom the district serves.
“[Superintendent Dr. Marian Kim Phelps] wanted to make [the SSAC] as a way to work with students and get a direct opinion and also to work with students to get [ feedback] back to their schools,,”  Yang said.
One such survey the SSAC was involved in was the LCAP survey, a funding survey for the district. According to Yang, Dr. Phelps brought in committees of students to discuss their respective schools.
“At the last meeting, [Dr. Phelps] brought in a team, the Inclusivity Diversity and Equity Committee, and asked us questions about things at our school,” Yang said. “They asked about small things that could help at our school, some of those things being the anti-discriminatory clauses and pride flags.[a]”
The students got to ask Phelps questions. One of the things Yang asked for was urinal dividers.
“After an SSAC meeting, I went up to Dr. Phelps,” Yang said. “It was really helpful because she got [the request] to the top person of logistics and work orders. That went through, and now [the dividers] are in.”
Kailyn Donnelly (11), another Westview representative, said that an additional benefit of having the SSAC was being able to network with students from other schools.
“My favorite part of the [committee] is that we’re able to meet students from other schools,” Donnelly said. “You get new perspectives and are able to learn about people’s lives [and] what about their schools they like or dislike.”
The Golden Bell award recognizes the SSAC’s hard work, and their commitment to bettering the district.
“I was excited,” Yang said, “knowing that our work was being recognized and had a greater impact on the community.