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Well, folks, the votes have been counted, and the results are in.
No, I’m not talking about the presidential election.
No, I’m not even talking about the multimillion-dollar school bonds on the ballot in four regional school districts (more on that later).
I’m talking about the race for student advisor on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education.
The student advisor is a non-voting member of the school board, representing the CMS student body on the board. They’re a young person who’s invited to ask tough questions and try to make sure their peers’ voices are being heard in district-wide discussions.
This isn’t all that common — a 2021 survey from the National School Board Association found that only 67 of the 495 largest school districts in the country had students serving as board members. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools says here, it’s a result of a partnership with the group GenerationNation.
Lucy Silverstein, a junior at Providence High School, won after being named one of 10 finalists by a district panel, in an election with a record student-body voter turnout (50% higher than last year, per CMS). A little about Silverstein:
She’s busy! In addition to her schoolwork at Providence, Silverstein is involved in local theater productions around Charlotte, and volunteers with both South Charlotte Dog Rescue and a Jewish organization that promotes Jewish cultural understanding at area schools. She wants to be a cardiovascular surgeon one day — she admitted to me that might be inspired by “watching too much ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’” Regardless, she hopes to do something that puts her in a position to help people.
I talked with Silverstein about the role and her priorities.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
How did it feel when you found out that you won?
Silverstein: It was so surreal. I have a video of myself. I just started screaming out of nowhere. I was finally getting recognized for something that I can actually help my community. It was, like, the best experience of my whole life. There were tears streaming down my face.
Tell me a little bit about what made you want to run for student advisor on the school board.
Silverstein: When I was in middle school, none of my learning needs were really addressed. So, like, my grades, they suffered big time. I want to make sure no student ever has to go through that again, because I feel like my personal experiences have shown me how important it is to address the different needs of different students. Whether that's through your learning resources, school safety, or just overall having someone approachable to go up to and ask questions to.
I want to create a real connection with the board where our ideas and concerns won't just sit there on a page, but I want to be able to lead them to an action. I want to build a school environment where everyone feels empowered to succeed and have fun on the way – not everything so serious all the time. But overall, really just making sure everyone is heard, represented and supported like I know I wasn't when I was younger.
What are you hoping to accomplish in this position? When you’re settled into it, what’s going to be on your agenda?
Silverstein: I plan to create regular opportunities for students to be able to share their feedback, either through surveys or forums. I know I was once scared that my voice would be called, or my ideas would be called stupid, or no one would listen to me. If it's just typing it in a survey that could be completely anonymous, I want to make sure every single person feels like they're heard. And I want to ultimately be able to empower students to feel confident in shaping their own school experiences, making sure that they know that their opinions do genuinely matter.
What do you think are some of the issues that students care about the most? Where do you think students have the greatest needs?
Silverstein: Everyone learns differently. So just making sure that every single person has those learning styles to have the fair opportunity to succeed like everyone else can. I mean, mental health is essential. I know we already have great staff. There’s an overall stigma of asking for help, and I want to eliminate that. Making sure everyone feels confident, and there are programs in place to help manage your stress and anxiety. School safety is something that I deeply care about, especially with everything going on in our world right now. I want to see schools not just focus on your physical safety, but also creating a culture of respect and awareness.
Why is this position on the school board so important?
Silverstein: We have our Board of Education, but I mean, they're not sitting in the classroom every single day learning, seeing the problems firsthand that are happening in CMS. Students will be able to feel comfortable and come up to, for example, me, or their fellow students, and share their issues. It streamlines open communication between the board by having a middle person.
