Like all schools, my school has committees. And, like all schools, my school has a student government. But, unlike other schools, our student government is a single body: the Student Senate, comprised of one representative from each advisory. This year, the Student Senate split into subcommittees to align themselves with the faculty standing committees. I’m on the Academics Committee – the group charged with looking at curriculum & standards and how they are aligned. On Monday, we met with the Senate subcommittee during lunch to discuss different ways that students can demonstrate what they’ve learned. We talked about the possibility of students creating portfolios and presenting their portfolios to teachers in a particular learning area to have them assess which standards the student has met, and to what level. So, while the teachers keep working on tightening up our standards & curriculum (we’re halfway through year three), our students are developing a portfolio review process.
rawsonmath 
That’s freak’n awesomse! I love the portfolio idea because it so much more than performing, rather, giving value to students learning.
Pamela that is awesome – sounds like a very interesting way to open communication between staff and students.
Students working alongside faculty (rather than simply for faculty) is a great idea. Giving them a voice and a sense of ownership for their learning environment is critical to their success. I would love to hear more about what the students come up with for the portfolio review process!
Thank you for the kind words. I’m interested to see what the students come up with, too.