Each year, the Bromfield student body elects five representatives to serve on the student advisory council, a group of students who relay Bromfield happenings and student opinions to the School Committee. The representatives attend biweekly School Committee meetings, as well as monthly student government meetings at Bromfield. This year, the representatives are freshman Gavin Arnold, sophomores Mitchell Williams and Caroline Mazzola, and juniors Ryan Holmes and Molly O’Rourke-Friel, who serves as chairperson of the council.

According to Keith Cheveralls, who was elected chairman of the School Committee in May, the Massachusetts General Law (chapter 71, section 38M) “specifically allows for student representation on every School Committee in the commonwealth.”

O’Rourke-Friel, who has served on the advisory council for two consecutive years, believes this representation is crucial. “It’s definitely a good idea to have students on the School Committee,” she says. “I think that you get a lot of adults on a committee for kids, and the kids are the ones who are being affected the most by far, so they really should have a spot.” Holmes adds, “It’s important for the School Committee to know what the kids are thinking.”

Cheveralls agrees. “It is hard for me to define a specific goal per se,” he says, “but to me the benefits are many-fold. Some examples would include such things as to ensure we, as elected officials of the town responsible for the governance of our schools, always have access to firsthand information from the people we most impact—our students.”

For the representatives, it was the mere prospect of town and school involvement that inspired their desire for the position. “I have always been interested in school committees,” Arnold says. “I wanted to be a rep so I could be a part of the student government and go to the School Committee meetings.” Likewise, Holmes adds, “It’s interesting to see what is going on in the town and see what the superintendent thinks on issues, versus the School Committee.” For O’Rourke-Friel, it was the democratic environment that drove her back into the council. “I’m really fascinated [by what the committee does]—it’s the democratic process at work. These are the members who make all the decisions.”

Although O’Rourke-Friel remains a constant at all meetings and sits at the table with committee members, the other four representatives rotate attendance each week, participating only during the designated student report time.

“One week I’ll go with Mitchell [Williams],” Holmes says, “and the next week Gavin [Arnold] and Caroline [Mazzola] will go.”

The position includes more than simply reporting the field hockey team’s undefeated record, or the arrival of progress reports in the school. On the contrary, one main goal of the advisory council is to act as the liaison between Bromfield’s student government and the School Committee.

“We go to the [School Committee] meetings,” O’Rourke-Friel explains, “and we bring [what happened there] back to the student council…If the student council has an issue, we bring that back to the School Committee.”

The role of the advisory council has not always been as significant as it is today, however. Up until three years ago, a student chair did not sit and vote with the committee. Although today the student representative’s vote does not count, O’Rourke-Friel does give valued input.

“We have quite frequently, in the midst of debate, sought comment from the student representative to help us in our deliberations,” Cheveralls explains.

In addition to the previous absence of a student representative, meetings between the advisory council and student government also did not exist before last year. “There were a lot of issues going on last year,” says O’Rourke-Friel. “It was important for [the advisory council] to come in [to the student government meetings]. I think we are realizing that the bond between the School Committee and the student council and the elementary school council are actually really important.”

Public benefits aside, advisory council representatives feel that personal benefits accompany the position as well. O’Rourke-Friel says, “I feel like I always know how to present myself; I’m much more confident in my ideas, so it’s great.”

Cheveralls believes the students can benefit as well as the committee. “It is an outstanding way for students to gain firsthand experience on how local government works,” he comments, “and to listen to the debate and witness the voting process.”

For the representatives, their position provides a sense of fulfillment. “I’d definitely want to be on it again,” Holmes says.