A Grade 11 student at Roseau Valley School in Dominion City will serve on the 2022-23 Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning Student Advisory Council.
Brianne Judson explains why she got involved.
"It actually started in about Grade 7, when I was homeschooled," she says. "I knew I wanted to get a diploma, so I had to pick a high school, and that's when I first started discussing with my mom how I wanted my education to look. I actually wanted to do two different schools at the same time. This is something that I started planning out throughout my Grade 7, Grade 8 year and actually went to school divisions and asked and it never panned out. That's when I realized, once I saw this council in my Grade 10 year, I realized that this is an opportunity for me to change education so people could get the education they wanted."
Judson talks about what she'll bring to the table.
"I'm hoping that with my experiences in French immersion, I was in French immersion for five and a half years, that I can help to improve French immersion and bring equal opportunities to rural [areas]. I find that in our rural communities, we get less course selection, we get less French immersion access and all of that. I'm also hoping to improve the online high school for French students as there aren't as many courses for us to access."
The Student Advisory Council reports directly to the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Learning, and provides insights and advice on current and emerging issues and topics affecting kindergarten to Grade 12 students.
This year’s council will be made up of 30 Manitoba youth ages 14 to 18 from across the province. Council members for 2022-23 will serve a 12-month term starting in September 2022 and ending in August 2023.