This was first published on The Student Voice Forum. There’s only so much prom planning and election campaigning student council members can do before they hunger for something more. But many students feel limited by an archaic model which leaves them with no true representation in school decisions save for the planning of school dances and spirit weeks.  A new system for high school student government is in order, and Fleming County High School, located in Appalachian Kentucky, offers a path forward.  Fleming County High School’s 700 students are scattered across the county, with most living in small, unincorporated communities.

Laney Taylor is a senior studying political science at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. She has served as a Bonner Leader, member of the Prichard Committee Student Voice Team, and higher education legislative intern for Congresswoman Susan Davis (CA-53). As a first-generation college student, she is eager to continue amplifying and elevating the voices of our least-heard students.  I fear that my parents’ sacrifices will be swept away by the raging sea of this pandemic. It is a gift to carry the weight of their dreams and worries onto my college campus, even if it makes it that much harder to

Mable Starks is a consultant with pro-consulting Inc. Previously, she has served as director of North Tulsa YWCA in Oklahoma, Director of Employment and Training for Westhab Inc., Superintendant of Liberty Faith Country Day School in the Poconos, Director of the YouthBuild program for 7 years, and President/CEO of Mississippi Action for Community Education Inc. Mable’s passion for working with young people can be traced back to her pre-professional days.  Whether she was tutoring young men in her neighborhood, providing informal mentorship, or being part of the campus student body at Mississippi Valley State University, Mable has always been on

Sarah Cline Pytalski has more than a decade of experience in rural community advocacy with a strong background in research and writing, project management, evaluation and strategic communications. As Senior Associate at Burness, she supports the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, with a focus on rural, data, and community power-building initiatives. Prior to Burness, Sarah served as Policy Research & Evaluation Manager at the National Congress of American Indians and as Policy Program Manager for Rural Dynamics. She has a Master of Public Policy with a rural policy concentration from Oregon State University and a bachelor’s in international development from McGill