The student Equite Advisory Council, or SEAC for short, is a group of student advocates whose mission is to promote equity and foster inclusivity for all demographics in the school system. The council was created in the winter of 2022 and has been gaining traction ever since. SEAC is active in the Paducah Independent School System, the community, and school systems across the entire state of Kentucky.
Last week, six new members were added to the existing group of 18. The council now consists of Harris Ali (S), Christian Anderson (F), Liam Black (Sr), Sasha Black (F), Chris Cerda Santiago (Sr), Isabela DeLaRosa (F), Madalyn Dochniak (Jr), Teriel Edwards (Jr), Rex Gay (F), Hannah Long (Jr), Bryleigh Heal (Jr), Sophie McMillian (F), Emmett Morehead (F), Mack Patterson (Jr), Jack Ramer (S), Jada Reed (Jr), Terrance Robinson (Jr), Andrew Travis (F), Claire Tucker (F), and Corban Williams (Sr). The officers include President Fiona Caywood (Sr), Vice President Landon Monroe (Sr), and Social Media Coordinator Ellie Farley (Jr).
Next Wednesday, Sept. 13, SEAC will host their first Student Forum of the year from 9:15-11:00 in the Seminar Room in the Hub. The topic of the forum is “School Environment.” This forum will foster discussions and breakout groups discussing topics of school safety, new rules, resources and readiness, student to student relationships, and student to staff relationships. Forums are a great space to use your voice to voice your concerns and opinions in a both safe and accepting environment.
If you are interested in attending the forum, please reach out to Ms. Hollowell (Shonda Burrus on Teams) and tell her that you are interested. The first 50 students to sign up will be selected to attend.
On September 15th, SEAC members Fiona Caywood (Sr), Corban Williams (Sr), Jayda Reed (Jr), Terrance Robinson (Jr), Ellie Farley (Jr), and Claire Tucker (F), will travel to Bowling Green, KY, to present to a DEIB Conference. These students will discuss DEIB from a student’s perspective and use their voices to advocate change in front of hundreds of school administrators from across the state.
In addition to these upcoming events, SEAC has been active all summer and school year so far. This summer, SEAC traveled to St. Louis to attend a 3-day leadership retreat. At the retreat, SEACers formed close bonds, strengthened leadership skills, and most importantly, learned how to use their voices to advocate change and speak their truths.
In early August, SEAC hosted the Equity Institute Convention, which was for all employees of the school system. At the Equity Institute, SEAC gave a presentation about their mission and the importance of their work. They also proposed student- formed solutions to common issues in our schools. Getting to speak directly to the staff in such a setting gave SEAC the platform to effectively advocate for their fellow students and make a true impact.
On August 9th, SEAC members Fiona Caywood (Sr) and Terrance Robinson ( Jr) were invited by Mayor Bray to sit in on and help conduct interviews for applicants for the newly created Diversity Specialist job in City Hall. During the interviews, these students were able to ask the interviewees questions relating to the job and express their opinions on the interviewees in debrief meetings afterwards.
SEAC is for the people. Their mission is to fight to create the change their peers want and need to see. If you have any questions or concerns regarding issues in the school systems, you can contact SEAC by reaching out to any of the members, or sending a DM to the SEAC Instagram account: @pths.seac
