Katherin Xicara takes the oath of office given by Associate Superintendent Dr. Summer Stephens as the new student representative on the Grand Island Public Schools Board of Education. This occurred at the Sept. 11 Board of Education meeting, (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND – Katherin Xicara is a newcomer to the Grand Island Public Schools Board of Education as the student representative.
Ironically, she said she also completed the Newcomers Program in the school district.
Ramos took the oath of office Sept. 11 at the Board of Education meeting. Xicara said she was interested in being the student representative because “I want to give back to my community.”
She said the school district has helped her “to become the person I am.” Xicara said she wants to welcome other students who are newcomers to the school district because she completed the Newcomers Program.
“I would like to be a role model for them,” she said. “I want them to realize they can do as much as I can.”
The Newcomers Program helps students who are not proficient in English, such as newcomers to the United States, gain English language skills to transition into a traditional classroom.
One of the duties of the student representative is to give a report toward the end of the Board meeting. In the report, Xicara summarized results in student activities and events at the high school. She also continued a tradition of giving a “staff shoutout” to identify a staff member she knows in the school district who should be recognized for their work.
Mitch Roush, Director of Communications and Marketing for Grand Island Public Schools, said Xicara is a senior at Grand Island Senior High School. She’s involved in National Honor Society, an officer for GlamourGals club, a member of the high school’s Student Council, and is a member of the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council. Xicara is a student in the Academy of Engineering and Technology. She also has an Engineering internship with JEO.
During his report to the Board of Education, Superintendent Matt Fisher recognized Xicara for her involvement in GlamourGals.
GlamourGals is a national organization that helps teenagers make connections with residents at retirement homes and assisted living facilities by giving manicures and having conversations with residents. The club started last school year at the high school.
The incoming Senior class votes to select the student representative, Roush said in a news release. The school district has had a student representative on the Board of Education since 2007. The student representative does not vote on Board of Education agenda items but actively participates in Board of Education activities. She sits along with Board of Education members during meetings at the front of the Board of Education meeting room.
In another agenda item, Kevin Butters and Kay Niebuhr, science curriculum coordinators for the school district, gave a report to the Board about the revised Nebraska Career and College Ready Science Standards that were approved by the state of Nebraska in September 2024.
The district’s science standards are 3D. That means they focus on what students do, know, and how they think.
“We really have seen our students have incredible growth” in science, Niebuhr said.
Butters and Niebuhr had Board of Education members participate in a science activity. Groups of Board members were given two unknown powders and one liquid. The situation was that the items were involved in a chemical spill, and analysis was needed to know how to respond to the chemical spill.
“This is the kind of science we like students to do,” Butters said.
Board members poured the liquid into one part of a ziplock bag, then put the powders into a separate part of the bag. After closing the bag, the Board members squeezed the bag multiple times to combine the components inside. What resulted was the bag feeling warm, and a sulfur smell when the bag was opened.
Dr. Summer Stephens, Associate Superintendent, gave a report about the 2024-25 climate/culture and social/emotional learning surveys given in the school district.
The social/emotional learning surveys involve five standards: having supportive relationships, self-management, social awareness, positive feelings, and challenging feelings. Parents are given the choice to have student opt out of taking a survey. Stephens said there has been a significant decrease in the number of parents having their children opt out of taking a survey.
Stephens said the school district started in 2022 giving surveys over the five standards.
She said there hasn’t been a significant amount of change in student responses during that time.
School district officials follow up on responses made in the surveys. Stephens gave an example of concerns being expressed about the conditions in a school for which janitorial staff are responsible. After reading the responses, the school’s janitorial staff addressed the concerns made in the surveys.
Stephens said that students take the surveys after identifying themselves at the start of the survey. The students are not approached by school district staff after completing the surveys unless a response is of concern and needs to be addressed by school staff members such as counselors or school social workers.
In another matter, Wood River Senior High School made a request to join Grand Island Senior High School’s cooperative bowling team. Superintendent Matt Fisher said the other school that is currently participating with Grand Island Senior High School is Grand Island Lutheran High School. The Board voted 7-0 to approve having students from the Wood River school participate on the team. Board members Josh Hawley and Eric Garcia-Mendez were absent from the Sept. 11 meeting.
The Board of Education voted 7-0 to adopt the revised Nebraska Career and College Ready Science Standards. They also voted 7-0 to approve Policy 6334 concerning Staff Leave of Absence without Pay. They voted 7-0 to delete Policy 6335 regarding Injury Leave because the topic is included in another school district policy. In his report to the Board, Fisher said the school district has an enrollment of 9,769 students.
Katherin Xicara is the new student representative on the Grand Island Public Schools Board of Education.
