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Part of Education community connections and advisory councils

Student engagement

Alberta students can find meaningful opportunities to be involved in their school communities and shape the education system.

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Education community connections and advisory councils

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 (MYC) 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 three meetings.

2024/25 Recruitment

Recruitment resources:

Are you passionate about education?

Are you in junior or senior high and between the ages of 14 and 19 (as of September 1, 2024)?

Are you able to commit to three weekends during the school year? Meetings will be held either virtually or in Edmonton during the fall, winter and spring.

Apply online today to be a part of the Minister’s Youth Council!

We are looking for approximately 40 youth with diverse interests, identities, backgrounds and perspectives from across Alberta to participate as partners in contributing to our education system.

We will recruit a minimum of 32 new council members and maximum of 8 returning council members for the 2024/25 council.

The deadline for applications is April 30, 2024.

Application Package and Documents

Before applying, please read the Minister’s Youth Council Fact Sheet.

Before starting your application, be aware that the application package requires consent from your parent/guardian.

To apply online, create a free account using your email address. You will be able to complete the application in more than one online session. Click the “save” button to save your responses. Please save your work every 15 minutes as the system will timeout after 20 minutes. Once you complete the application, click the “submit” button to ensure that your application will be received and reviewed by Alberta Education.

Applications that have been saved but not submitted will not be accepted for consideration.

You will be required to fill out basic personal information and answer the following questions:

Community:

Why do you think it is important for youth to contribute to their communities in a positive way? 

How have you worked with and influenced others to take action in your community? 

Please describe your experiences in depth, indicating your contribution and the impact of your actions.

Perspective:

Everyone has a story and/or experiences that have shaped their personal values, beliefs and choices. 

How have your lived experiences contributed to your values?

Please describe an experience that demonstrates your values in depth. 

Leadership:

Leadership is not always positional, it can also be situational. You can demonstrate leadership even if you’re not the leader of a group. 

Provide an example of how you have demonstrated a leadership skill. 

Describe how this leadership skill could positively contribute to the Minister’s Youth Council.

Passion (for youth engagement and advocacy):

In the Kindergarten to Grade 12 education system, what are three issues that are important to you or to your fellow students? 

Choose one of these issues. Explain why you think the issue is important and how your role in the council may be able to positively impact the issue.

2023/24 Members

Addrita Yousuf
The Calgary School Division

Alexander Bilson
Calgary French & International School Society

Audrey Quimper
The Southern Francophone Education Region

Ayah Mohieldein
Tempo School

Bryanna Patipe Nawe 
The Southern Francophone Education Region

Caidyn Purdy
The Wetaskiwin School Division

Clara Langen 
The Calgary School Division

Daisy Nellis
The Grande Prairie School Division

Daniel (Jaegeun) Choi
The Livingstone Range School Division

Desiree Schmidt
The Golden Hills School Division

Ethan Lewis
The Calgary Roman Catholic Separate School Division

Fahd Mohamed
The Red Deer School Division

Grace Zhang
The Edmonton School Division

Hannah Abdo
Edmonton Islamic School Society

Harshita Kamboj
Gobind Marg Charitable Trust Foundation

Jack Atwood
The Westwind School Division

Jay Knopf
Foothills Academy Society

Jazlynn Mochniuk
The Grande Yellowhead Public School Division

Kaiden Nott
The Medicine Hat Roman Catholic Separate School Division

Keaton Xu
The Buffalo Trail School Division

Lauren Gallant
The Fort Vermilion School Division

Lilja Radstaak
The Edmonton School Division

Makayla White
The Northwest Francophone Education Region

Mariam Harran
The Palliser School Division

Morrigan Geleynse
Living Truth Christian School Society

Nathan Zhao
The Edmonton Catholic Separate School Division

Neelesh Sharma
Foundations for the Future Charter Academy Charter School Society

Parnika Manocha
STEM Innovation Academy Society

Salma Elzayat
The Lakeland Roman Catholic Separate School Division

Sarah Tolulope Olaleye
The Elk Island Catholic School Division

Siifan Abazinab
The Rocky View School Division

Sofia Nenshi Nathoo
The Calgary School Division

Solomon Heyes
The Edmonton School Division

Sophia Reyes
The Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Separate School Division

Tanisha Nahachick
KTCEA Kee Tas Kee Now Tribal Council Education Authority

Taylor Martin
The Northern Lights School Division

Valerie Lehar
The Calgary Roman Catholic Separate School Division

Ved Bhowmik
The Fort McMurray School Division

Will Selk
The Westwind School Division

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, but the councils also 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)
Email: [email protected]

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