Meet the Madison schools' Student Liaison

[1]Libby Scholz

When school’s out, the Doyle Administration Building in downtown Madison is not a destination for most students. But West High School senior Libby Scholz will be there when the Madison Metropolitan School District’s Board of Education is meeting.

The 18-year-old is the Board’s eighth member. As student liaison, Scholz has represented the student voice in the group of adults since her term started in July 2012.

“The respect and the attention I get from the Board members – and by ‘attention’ I mean they value what I have to say – is really unique and a bit amazing that they care so much about what a student or students think about a particular issue and really how it impacts students,” she said.

Back in ninth grade, Scholz became part of Student Senate [2], which she describes as the student advisory body to the Board. At the time, her neighbor was the student liaison and a member of Student Senate, one reason she got involved in the first place.

From there, she explains: “I got hooked on knowing what was going on in the district and actually having an explanation for why decisions are being made, how things work, and that had always been something that interested me.”

She wanted more responsibility for her senior year. No one was running for the position so she ran.

Now on the Board, Scholz's vote is only advisory and does not carry the weight of other members. She points to her knowledge of students’ perspectives as her most important contribution.

This information comes to her through social media, and face to face interactions with her peers in high schools throughout Madison and other members of the Student Senate. She also runs a blog [3] to keep her peers up to date on decisions most directly affecting them.

But the first time Scholz sat on the Board in July 2012 she was not quite as comfortable contributing as she is today.

“It’s terrifying,” she said. “What if I say the wrong thing? I mean, these meetings are televised. These are adults who are incredibly qualified, elected officials, and I’m a student. I was, at the time, 17 years old. What if I’m not as good as the previous liaison? What if they completely disagree with what I say?”

These nerves have eased with time, though. Scholz says she ultimately realized her approach to the position differs from her predecessors’ because of the unique issues they have each faced. Previous student liaisons dealt with questions about changes in collective bargaining, the political climate and understanding the achievement gap. Her role has been more devoted to evaluating plans already in place from the perspective of students.

Overall, her experience has broadened her perception of her fellow students, while opening her eyes to both the idiosyncrasies and similarities of the district’s schools. 

“I've just learned a lot more about all the different schools and programs in our district -- for instance, really amazing groups like AVID [4]and Youth Court that I wasn't a part of, but think are such good ideas and interesting programs. It's broadened my perception, because I've met students from all over the district, be it elementary schoolers in Dual Language Immersion or High Schoolers from Shabazz and LaFollette,” she wrote in an email.

When her term ends in June of this year, Scholz will be headed either to the UW-Madison or Stanford University, where she might study education. Two candidates are currently running to fill her position for next year, she said.