December 28, 2020
By News Director Jared Atha
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister has named 97 Oklahoma high school students to her 2021 Student Advisory Council.
Four of the 97 are from Beckham County.
Those four are Sara Coffey from Elk City, Cooper Coffman from Sayre, Jamie Peffer and Joshlyn Tomlin, both from Merritt.
According to a statement from Hofmeister, this is the sixth consecutive year the group has been convened to assist the State Superintendent and the Oklahoma State Department of Education in matters of policy.
Other area students named to the council include Opal Giblet from Cordell, Abigail Harmon of Hobart, and Connor Williams of Clinton.
The 2020 Student Advisory Council last met virtually in June, where students voiced their challenges about learning amid a global pandemic. Other past discussion topics have included the importance of personal financial literacy, increased awareness of student mental health needs, and how trauma can impede student success. Feedback 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 the ACT or SAT, and pilot Individual Career Academic Planning.
Recommended by their district superintendents, the students hail from across Oklahoma and represent rural, urban and suburban schools of all sizes. Forty-four, including Tomlin and Williams, are returning members who have served on the council in previous years.
The first virtual meeting of the Student Advisory Council is scheduled for Jan. 26.
