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Friday, November 20, 2009

13-year-old Oroville girl presents students' school discipline proposal to California Board of Education - Chico Enterprise Record


13-year-old Oroville girl presents students' school discipline proposal to California Board of Education - Chico Enterprise Record:

"OROVILLE -- Tatum Duckett may or may not realize her dream of becoming an astronaut, but she is carving a niche for herself as a budding leader.

Duckett, 13, is student council president at Central Middle School in Oroville. She was one of five teens selected by peers at a conference to speak Wednesday before the California Board of Education in Sacramento.

Addressing the board was the culmination of a five-day conference hosted by the California Association of Student Councils in Sacramento."

Duckett was chosen to represent Central at the conference after speaking with an adviser, filling out an application and submitting an essay.

Duckett was the only student from north of Sacramento who went to the conference, and only one of 12 from a middle school.

Once at the conference, the students were divided into five groups, each with a proposal topic to make to the board.

Duckett's group's topic was discipline and policy. They researched the problem, came up with a solution and drafted a proposal. The long hours each day -- until midnight -- was exhausting, she said, but well worth it.