Rebecca Mestel

Members of the PUSD board of trustees listened closely to student advocates.

On Thursday September 12, multiple clubs from AVHS attended the PUSD School Board meeting to discuss their concerns with the School Board policy 6145. This board policy requires clubs to travel to events and competitions with a certificated teacher or staff member. 

“The district, knowingly or not, is propped up by the successes and efforts of student-led clubs. It would be a mistake to leave board regulation 6145 as it is right now. Not just a mistake. The district would be shooting itself in the foot,” said Parsa Hassanpour Dargah (‘25), president of Amador’s Speech and Debate club.

Board policy 6145 states that “All extracurricular activities conducted under the name of a district, school, or any class or organization of the school, regardless of where the activities are held, shall be under the direct supervision of certificated employees… Any non-certificated person working with students in a district-sponsored extracurricular student activity program shall possess an Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificate”

“We are currently doing some legal research on what kind of flexibility there is,” said Patrick Gannon, PUSD Director of Communications.

The problem with travel

In the past, student clubs had been traveling with parents who had achieved Level 3 clearance. Level 3 clearance means parents have Extended Level Clearance plus Driver. These parents can transport students as a driver for field trips, extra-curricular activities and/or athletic events. Now clubs have found out that this does not meet the PUSD Board requirements.

“In the past, we have relied on dedicated parent co-advisors to supervise us during the week-long event[s]. However, under the current regulation, our teacher advisor, Ms. Barnett-Dreyfuss, is required to attend competition[s],” said AV Botz officer Nikash Ramakrishnan (‘25).

“It is unreasonable to depend on another district employee who would be willing to take a week-long unpaid absence from their home, family, and friends, simply to babysit a group of teenagers, especially when we have parents willing to step up,” said Ramakrishnan. 

Clubs are can not pay teachers to attend conferences and competitions. Some clubs are struggling to find teachers who can attend so many weekend trips. 

“The AV Botz team travels to the international RoboSub competition each summer for a week. That’s a full seven days that I would be away from my family. The suggestion has been made that if I feel I cannot attend, that I just ask another teacher. But they wouldn’t want to go either. Don’t suggest that an administrator go. Amador tends to be a little short-handed on those. So I’m asking the board: which of you would like to go in my place?” said Bree Barnett-Dreyfuss, a physics teacher who also advises three clubs at Amador.

Clubs Affected by the Board’s Decision

Representatives from AVHS award winning clubs like AV Bots, Speech and Debate, Science Bowl showed up for the meeting. The board room was full of teachers, parents, and students alike.

“Yes, this affects me, but it most importantly affects all of our underclassmen, all of the people who haven’t been able to be part of an Amador club. They haven’t had the opportunity to experience not only debate, but all of the other clubs. Let’s not break a system that has always worked in the past. Let’s not sacrifice our students,” shared Jessica Liao (‘25), external vice president of Speech and Debate.

Only a small percentage of Amador’s clubs ever participate in off-campus competitions and events. The clubs affected by the board’s decision are the clubs that travel. The clubs that travel are requesting that the PUSD School Board makes amendments to the policy this year. 

“We are respectfully asking the board to amend regulation 6145 to allow dedicated parent co-advisors to chaperone our club in order to ensure that AVHS students have the opportunity to compete in various different competitions that align with their interests,” said Harshita Keerthipati (‘25), co-president of the Amador Valley Technology Student Association.

Teachers and clubs will be attending the next PUSD School Board meeting to see what decisions the school board has made about potential amendments.