Jordan Howard wanted to have a voice, and as a A.R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet School junior, his voice is being heard — for a second time.
Howard was recently named to the 2022-23 State Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council, similar to a body he also served on as a middle schooler.
“I know there’s a lot of things we could fix here, even at the school level,” he said. “So, I wanted to be a voice for people.”
Howard said he believes this time he will have more of a voice in this year’s council than before.
When he was a younger, he said he felt as though his voice was not heard or used as much as it is now. He hopes at the end of the year, through student collaboration and efforts, the state will implement some beneficial and long-lasting community projects.
One of his priorities is transportation. Crowded buses, limited seating, impatient drivers and long routes home are among the problems he sees. Howard said he will be focusing on improving transportation across the county by pursuing an increase in buses and bus seats.
“They try to fit 40 people on a small transit bus. Some people have to stand, and sometimes there’s nowhere to sit down,” he said. “[Students] from multiple schools feel the same way.”
It’s not just a problem in Richmond County, he said. It is an issue across the entire state of Georgia.
Talking from his own experiences riding on the bus, Howard said the transportation problem within school systems can induce stress and even become claustrophobic for some students.
“Transportation is a big issue for everybody, so I feel like I can have a voice in that,” he said.
With students from across the state, Howard will meet with the State Superintendent four times throughout the academic year and help lead a local project to better the educational experience.
After talking with other students and friends across the county’s different high schools, Howard realized his project’s focus could greatly boost student morale.
Through great representation and enthusiasm, Howard said he hopes his community will be proud of him and his efforts for striving to help fix the transportation issues.
Although he hopes it will cause state level changes, Howard still believes, if all else fails, he at least did his part in trying to make it better.
“Even if it doesn’t happen on the state level, I know that I can still serve on councils [in Richmond County] and that will still make my voice heard,” he said. “And even if it doesn’t result in bigger buses, a voice being heard is still a step in the right direction.”
Howard said he believes the State Superintendent should have a student advisory council because students are the ones who not only see the problems but who also live through them in their day-to-day lives.
“Parents only see what they hear from their kids or from board meetings … they work a 9 to 5 and only hear what their kids say about school, if they even say anything at all,” he said. “Us kids see what happens throughout the whole day – we see different areas … from all different periods of the day.”
Rather than just letting adults handle everything, Howard said a collaborative system between students sharing information to higher ups, and then working together to solve identified problems can lead to a better learning environment for all.
With meetings heavily discussion-based, Howard said he thinks contributing to the council and working with other students will teach him how to be more professional and collaborate long term.
By gathering students of all different backgrounds from the entire state, Howard said he believes it gives the state superintendent many different perspectives about the problems within various school systems.
“It may not just be an African American kid; it may be a Hispanic kid or an Asian kid. You get to look through a lot of different lenses, and I think that was the state’s goal,” he said.
While Howard loves the traveling perks and student connections, his favorite part of the advisory council is knowing he is actively working towards an improved system for those within his district by voicing real student concerns.
Following high school, Howard plans on pursuing a degree in pre-law and currently considering Kennesaw State University.
