Six Kentucky public high school students have been named to the Next-Generation Student Advisory Council, a group that provides input to Kentucky Commissioner of Education Terry Holliday.

The newly-selected members will serve for one year. They include:

  • Nolan Calhoun — 10th grade, Grant County High School
  • Zachary Creekmore — 11th grade, Whitley County High School
  • Jiahui Hu — 12th grade, DuPont Manual High School, Jefferson County
  • Karson Johnson — 10th grade, Marshall County High School
  • Deanie Pedigo — 10th grade, Barren County High School
  • Quincy Penn — 11th grade, Frankfort High School, Frankfort Independent

The students were selected for the council based on their responses to application questions. A committee of department staff reviewed the applications and scored them on how well each student expressed his or her ideas and goals.

The six new members join five  returning members on the council:

  • Vincent Cao — 12th grade, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Fayette County
  • Morgan Castro — 12th grade, Russell High School, Russell Independent
  • David Hormell — 12th grade, Martha Layne Collins High School, Shelby County
  • Tiffany Parham — 12th grade, Murray High School, Murray Independent
  • Guyron Spalding — 12th grade, Bardstown High School, Bardstown Independent

The purpose of the council is to provide valuable feedback from Kentucky students and to engage student leaders in learning by doing. This  group will meet with the commissioner and Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) staff, both in person and virtually, to discuss how decisions made at the state level are affecting public school students throughout Kentucky and will provide feedback — from a student perspective — on critical issues impacting Kentucky students and schools. The group’s first meeting will be in Frankfort on Oct. 30.

The Next-Generation Student Council is a year-long program for Kentucky public school students in grades 10-12. The council is composed of a diverse group of students with ideas and insight into how publish schools and student achievement can be improved.