Sept. 30, 2022 

Rossi Gutierrez, a senior at Streamwood High School, has been selected to serve on the Illinois State Board of Education’s Student Advisory Council for the 2022-23 school year. Only 25 students are chosen for the council from across the state, and they have all demonstrated the ability to advocate for educational equity on behalf of all Illinois public school students. 

Rossi has served for the past two years on the Student Advisory Council for U-46 Superintendent Dr. Tony Sanders. She is also part of Streamwood Principal Dr. Jennifer Van Deusen’s advisory board. 

Rossi said she applied for the role because “I wanted to be the voice of the kids who never speak up. Getting this position gives me a voice not only for me but also for the thousands of kids in the District.”

Principal Van Deusen said she’s glad Rossi applied for the position and was selected. 

“Rossi is very approachable and a great listener -- that is why I know she will be great in this role, as her peers really trust and appreciate her and her advocacy,” Principal Van Deusen said. “Rossi wants students to have the best high school experience, so her efforts are always with student's interest in mind.”

As a member of the ISBE Student Advisory Council (SAC), students get to see policy-making in action. Each year the SAC identifies areas of focus and collaborates with ​legislators, educational leaders, and ISBE staff to provide the Board of Education with recommendations on how to rethink and enhance current education initiatives.​

“I am the only person in my family to ever be able to do something big like this,” Rossi said. 

Much of the SAC work is done virtually because the students are spread across the state of Illinois. But Rossi got to meet Illinois State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carmen Ayala in person on Sept. 27 when Dr. Ayala visited two elementary schools in U-46.