On December 30, 2019, Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmesister announced her 2020 Student Advisory Council. Bray-Doyle Junior, Rylie Pass was named to this council and on Jan 29, Pass went to the State Capitol to join 103 other high school students to assist Hofmeister.

“I wanted to be a part of helping out our schools,” Pass said. “I filled out the application to be a part of the council and was accepted.”

Pass said her duties with the council are to meet with other 103 students and discuss some of the issues that are going on in their schools.

According to a press release from the Oklahoma State Department of Education some of the themes discussed with last year’s Student Advisory Council were the importance of personal financial literacy, increased awareness of student mental health needs, and how trauma affects chronic absenteeism and 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 ACT or SAT, and pilot Individual Career Academic Planning (ICAP).

The students selected to be a part of the council, range from urban, rural, and suburban schools across the state. Pass said being from a small school was a big reason why she wanted to be a part of the council.

“I wanted to give our small school and other small schools a voice,” Pass said. “I wanted us to be heard among even the larger schools.”