Students are speaking up. And schools are listening.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — What began as a leadership program with 24 students — selected from 12 area schools and spanning grades eight through 12 — has grown into something more. Nearly a school year into the inaugural Gratiot-Isabella RESD Student Leadership Community program, both students and administrators say the group’s monthly meetings have become the best day of the month.

“I know from firsthand experience that the SLC is an amazing group of young adults in our region. It’s the highlight of my month when I’m able to attend,” shares Paul K. Hungerford, Gratiot-Isabella RESD superintendent and Title IX coordinator.

“There are moments I just get goosebumps,” agrees Tracey Galgoci, behavioral health coordinator at Gratiot-Isabella RESD, who leads the group, “because I’m not sure that some of these kids would have had this opportunity. And this opportunity is showing them and empowering them—they have a voice. Their thoughts and opinions matter. They don’t have to be the class president to lead.”

With the goal of elevating everyday student voices and to hear their unique ideas, perspectives, and perceptions to make positive change in their schools, Galgoci spent all last year planning Gratiot-Isabella RESD’s Student Leadership Community—including researching other similar programs in the state, such as Kent ISD’s program in Grand Rapids. 

“I was blown away by the impact that those kids had and the conversations they were having,” she recalls. “And I was like, ‘Oh, we definitely need to do this.’”

“All of our districts were pretty excited about it. I had each district nominate two students,” Galgoci explains, noting she requested nominations of kids who weren’t already involved in leadership positions at their schools. “I wanted the opportunity for leadership to be available to all of our kids. Our districts did an amazing job of sending us such a diverse group of kids.” 

Once the students were selected, the Student Leadership Community started meeting in fall 2025, and have met almost monthly ever since. Each meeting lasts for three hours, with the staff catering food in for the students to fuel their discussions. 

As for what they discuss in these meetings, the topics have evolved since the group’s inception, as lately conversations have had a strong focus on the theme of “reimagining school.” 

“Some of the other work that our instructional team at the RESD is doing is around how do we innovate and transform education so that kids are more engaged, and teachers are more engaged and excited,” she says. “We’re building the skills that we kind of see lacking in some of our younger kids.”

“And so when we started talking about that with students, they got really excited about what school could be,” she explains. 

Since then, when talking about “reimagining school,” conversations about stress management, mental health, and belonging have happened. They’ve also shared ideas on how to improve their individual schools. 

“Once they were able to do that, we moved to more communication skills, like, how do you communicate your perspective in a professional, respectful way to your stakeholders; so to your school boards, to your principals, that kind of thing,” she describes. “We’ve had them doing mock presentations where my team has been the school board. It’s been super fun.

“This last meeting, we moved to asking, ‘What do we want to create, and how do we want to send our message? What are the platforms we can use to elevate your perspective and your voice?’ And so we’re kind of looking at creating a couple podcast sessions, some videos, and some slides for presentations.”

“They have big picture thoughts about what they need and what is possible,” she says. “They want learning to be more engaging. They want to have more say in their learning. They want to have more of a voice in what happens in the buildings that they’re in all day.”

“They are much more capable than we give them credit for,” she continues. “I think as adults, we’ve learned we have to let go a little bit, and we have to give them a little bit more independence and freedom to make some mistakes, but to really be able to share their thoughts.”

“I think if we work towards education being more collaborative between the adults and the kids, we’re going to transform learning into something that’s probably more fun for everybody.

Gratiot-Isabella RESD Student Leadership Community Participants

Alma Public Schools: Claire Bloss & Mateo Castillo
Ashley Community Schools: Jazmyne Good & Riley Wilson
Beal City Public Schools: Blake Sanders & Ella Pastotnik
Breckenridge Community Schools: Ellee Cochran & Sienna Frye
Fulton Schools: Lilly Morrison & Nolan Kirkpatrick
Ithaca Public Schools: Gibson Weburg & Sage Lamey
Morey FlexTech: Audrey Combs & Daniel Devantier
Mt. Pleasant Public Schools: Brayden Trombley & Jordan Nottingham
Renaissance Academy: Brya Hanus & Jon Koutz
Sacred Heart Academy: Andrew Telfor & Landyn Wilson
Shepherd Public Schools: Brianna Holmes & Jakin Whitney
St. Louis Public Schools: Vincent Reed & Cole Grollimun