Table of contents

Overview

Students are important partners in our education system and Alberta's government believes student voices should play a role in shaping it.

The Minister's Youth Council gives students opportunities to share input and perspectives on provincial programs and initiatives.

Student engagement initiatives:

  • empower students as leaders of their learning
  • provide opportunities to build positive working relationships with education partners
  • engage students as leaders of change in their communities
  • support leadership development for students at school and community levels
  • honour the capability and capacity of students to engage as authentic education partners
  • Benefits for students
    • Practice and acquire skills for a successful future.
    • Ownership and sense of responsibility for learning and learning environment.
    • Understanding of diverse opinions.
    • Dialogue and negotiation skills.
    • Greater understanding of governance within Alberta’s education system.
    • Increased leadership ability.
    • Role in driving change.
    • New relationships with a diverse group of students and adults.
    • Improved critical thinking, knowledge application and problem solving skills.
    • Develop the skills to become effective participating citizens.
  • Benefits for schools
    • Improved relationships between students, teachers, parents, school leaders and education system leaders.
    • Programming and policies informed by student input.
    • Students take responsibility and ownership of their learning and school community.
    • Supports and promotes a welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environment.
  • Benefits to system and province
    • Collaborative relationships with education partners.
    • Access to valuable input provided by students with a diversity of opinions, ideas and lived experiences.
    • Improved decision making with a better understanding of students’ varied needs.
    • A more responsible education system that reflects greater diversity and inclusiveness.

Minister’s Youth Council

The Minister’s Youth Council consists of about 40 junior and senior high students with diverse interests, identities, backgrounds and perspectives from all regions of Alberta. Students on the council provide their perspectives on a number of education topics.

Students are members of the Minister’s Youth Council for a 10-month term that aligns with the school year. During the school year, the council attends 3 meetings. All COVID-19 precautions will be followed, which may mean virtual meetings.

2021/22 Recruitment

We are now accepting applications for the 2021/22 Minister’s Youth Council.

Promotional materials

Eligibility

The council is open to Alberta junior or senior high school students between the ages of 14 and 19 (as of September 1, 2021) who are passionate about education.

We will recruit at least 32 new members and up to 8 returning members from the 2020/21 council.

How to apply

Step 1. Read the fact sheet

Step 2. Get your parent or guardian’s permission

The application package requires consent from your parent or guardian.

Step 3. Apply online if possible

Apply for the 2021/22 Minister’s Youth Council online.

Create a free account using your email address to apply online. This will allow you to click the “save” button to save your work. We recommend you do this every 15 minutes as the system will timeout after 20 minutes. Once you complete the application, click the “submit” button to send it to us.

You must use the “submit” button for your online application to be eligible for consideration.

If you can’t apply online, download and complete the 2021/22 Minister’s Youth Council application (PDF, 385 KB). Please phone Sarah Spenrath, engagement consultant, at 780-289-1352 to arrange a mail-in option.

Mailed applications must have a postmark date on or before March 24, 2021.

Deadline

The deadline for applications is March 24, 2021.

2020/21 Members

Seham Ahmed
Fort McMurray School Division, Fort McMurray

Ebube Anachebe
The Calgary Roman Catholic Separate School Division, Calgary

Seth Bourke
The Grande Prairie School Division, Grande Prairie

Ariana Boyda
The Wetaskiwin School Division

Linsey Brower
The Prairie Rose School Division, Aden

Katherine Dennis
West Island College Society of Alberta, Calgary

Mikayla Dubois
The Holy Family Catholic Separate School Division, Berwyn

Joey Eddleston
The Buffalo Trail School Division, McLaughlin

Josh Gardner
The Horizon School Division, Taber

Azaad Gill
The Calgary School Division, Calgary

Morgan Gillis
The Lakeland Roman Catholic Separate School Division, Bonnyville

Zahra Hamilton
The Pembina Hills School Division, Edmonton

Erika Heise
The Grande Yellowhead School Division, Edson

Sidney Holt
The Red Deer School Division, Red Deer

Nick Housenga
The Livingstone Range School Division, Fort Macleod

Katherine Karapetrovic
The Edmonton School Division, Edmonton

Napacha (Hymn) Karonsontawong
The Palliser School Division, Calgary

Hasan Khan
The Buffalo Trail School Division, Wainwright

Disen Kottage
The Fort McMurray School Division, Fort McMurray

Sheroog Kubur
The Calgary School Division, Calgary

Jonah Lee
The Palliser School Division, Coaldale

Madison Martell
The Northern Gateway School Division, Whitecourt

Rayna McFeetors
The Edmonton School Division, Edmonton

Melissa Muganga
The Edmonton Catholic Separate School Division, Edmonton

Heyyab Negasi
Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord, Edmonton

Terri Paul
The Red Deer School Division, Red Deer

Sujit Peramanu
The Calgary School Division, Calgary

Sehar Qureshi
The St. Paul School Division, Two Hills

Mika Raber
The Calgary School Division, Calgary

Tacey Robertson
The Parkland School Division, Gainford

Fareedah Sadek
The Fort McMurray School Division, Fort McMurray

Nicholas Samuelson
The Medicine Hat Roman Catholic Separate School Division, Medicine Hat

Tetyana Shelevach
Tempo School, Edmonton

Shayan Siddiqui
Webber Academy Foundation, Calgary

Danielle Simon
The Calgary Roman Catholic Separate School Division, Calgary

Chloe Slupek
Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord, Sherwood Park

Elliot Strawson
The Rocky View School Division, Cochrane

Tiauna Torchia
The Chinook's Edge School Division, Olds

Lachlan Van Egmond
Westmount Charter School Society, Calgary

Lana Van Genderen
The Lethbridge School Division, Lethbridge

Burhanuddin Yamani
The St. Paul School Division, Vilna

District-level councils

Some school authorities have district-level student councils. These are teams of students who represent the student population from elementary to high school. Usually, the councils work with their school authority leadership and board trustees on educational issues and topics that impact students.

Not only is a district-level student council another opportunity for student engagement, the councils provide meaningful input to school authorities and schools.

District-level councils play different roles depending on the level of engagement students have with system leadership, and on desired outcomes. Councils can:

  • serve an advisory role offering advice to school boards or senior leadership on policies or initiatives
  • help create policy or lead design projects at their schools
  • play a collaborative role with their school authorities by participating in decision-making processes

Regardless of the model or role, the intent is that students are able to provide input on initiatives that impact their educational experiences.

Setting up a council is a collaborative effort requiring support from school authority leaders, school leaders, teachers, parents and students.

Contact

Connect with the Student Engagement Team:

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-289-1352
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: [email protected]