NAESP Honors 2023 Student Council Schools of Excellence

Alexandria, VA—July 17, 2023—The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) is pleased to announce the 2023 recipients of the American Student Council Association (ASCA) Student Council School of Excellence Award. These 16 student councils completed projects during the 2022-2023 school year that focused on community service, student leadership, citizenship, and school spirit.

“Knowing that no student is too young to make a difference, NAESP has long supported schools as they cultivate student leaders,” said NAESP Executive Director L. Earl Franks, Ed.D., CAE. “The American Student Council Association offers resources and support so schools can boost their efforts to promote student voice and leadership, and it’s an honor to recognize this year’s 16 student councils as Student Council Schools of Excellence. Congratulations to these deserving students for serving as positive role models in their schools and communities.”

The 2023 ASCA Student Council School of Excellence recipients are:

• Bear Valley Elementary School – Anchorage, Alaska: The student council honored a staff member’s child and raised awareness for childhood cancers with a John Deere Day and generated community awareness by supporting the Food Bank of Alaska with their Filling the Cans food drive.
• Curtistene S. McCowan Middle School – Glenn Heights, Texas: The student council led multiple service projects, including sewing 50 dresses for orphanages in Africa, produced a video of appreciation for their school board, honored the 75th birthday of their school’s namesake by raising money for a local foodbank, and increased school spirit and student engagement with a homecoming float for the high school’s parade.
• Elgin Elementary School – Elgin, Texas: The student council achieved its community service goal with a donation drive for the Austin Humane Society with its Kibbles for a Cause project and their citizenship goal by compiling a time capsule for Elgin’s 150th anniversary celebration.
• Fred Roberts Middle School – Houston, Texas: The student council welcomed new students with school tours and welcome bags, served their community with a Giving Tree to meet the holiday needs of school families, promoted digital citizenship and internet safety with DigCit Week, and hosted Penny Wars to raise funds for school spirit items.
• Garden Ridge Elementary School – Flower Mound, Texas: The student council hosted a Giving Tree, decorated with cold weather gear to be donated to those in need, and held two fundraising events—Valentine’s Day candygrams and Hat Day—to support their local chapter of the Salvation Army.
• Hanalani Schools – Mililani, Hawaii: The student council committed to citizenship and servant leadership by holding a Pokai Bay Beach Cleanup to strive to keep their Aina (land) clean and to collect at least 2022 items for a canned food drive to benefit the houseless people of Oahu.
• Kihei Elementary School – Kihei, Hawaii: The student council led a Pennies for Polio Project, a community service fundraising contest to collect funds for Rotary International’s End Polio Now campaign, and implemented a Student Council Suggestion Box to give students an opportunity to become more involved in school activities.
• Little Cypress Intermediate School – Orange, Texas: The student council took on total planning of the school’s Veterans Day program for the school, family members, and invited guests from the armed forces, as well as Isla’s Faith Project, a fundraiser for a third-grade student in a neighboring school district who has a rare medical disorder.
• Lulu M. Ross Elementary School – Milford, Delaware: This student council created a positive and inclusive environment for students and staff with their YOU MATTER Door Decorating Contest and provided Thanksgiving dinners to needy families with a Ross Cat Family Food Drive.
• Mauriceville Elementary School – Orange, Texas: The student council provided assistance to the community with a Purple Santa fundraiser, with money raised used to purchase toys and clothes for local children, and promoted school spirit with positive affirmations and suckers distributed to staff and students for their MVE CARES Valentines project.
• Model Laboratory School – Richmond, Kentucky: The student council had a busy year with many projects including a partnership with the local Chick-fil-A to sell chicken minis each week to raise funds for school events, stuffing holiday stockings for the elderly, holding a book drive for Kentucky schools and libraries destroyed in floods and tornadoes, and sponsoring the annual Student Council Winter Semi-Formal.
• Nancy Young Elementary School – Aurora, Illinois: The student council partnered with the PTA to host a movie night to promote school spirit and volunteered in their community with Feed My Starving Children to pack meals for children around the world.
• Quentin STEM Academy – Avondale, Arizona: The student council raised school spirit by hosting a Valentine’s Day Dance, brought cultural awareness to their halls with a Cultural Door Decorating Contest, raised funds by selling snack packs during testing time, and collected over 100 pounds of canned food for a local food bank.
• STEM Academy at Donald Elementary School – Flower Mound, Texas: The student council raised $1,700 for a student battling cancer by selling Pumpkin Grams to staff and students and hosting a Pay It Forward Pajama Day. In December, they collected cards and gifts to bring holiday cheer to a local assisted living center. They delivered the holiday cheer while caroling and made a special stop at the home of the ill student.
• Taylor Ray Elementary School – Rosenberg, Texas: In collaboration with the Character Counts trait of kindness, student council members hosted a Val-O-Gram of Kindness fundraiser and delivered the Val-O-Grams, making students and staff feeling loved all over the school. The council also partnered with HEB to challenge the community to recycle plastic bags in honor of Earth Day. Taylor Ray staff, students, and community were able to donate almost 5,000 bags to HEB to be used for recycling.
• Teague Elementary School – Pasadena, Texas: The student council implemented weekly Tiger Spirit Awards to elevate school spirit and promoted civic responsibility with a Jars for Joy project, raising $3,000 for Project Joy & Hope.

Student councils help teach skills outside of the academic curriculum such as leadership, civic responsibility, and organization and planning. ASCA members are positive role models for all students in their school by leading school spirit events, fundraisers, and community engagement.

For more information on ASCA and the Student Council School of Excellence Award, email Nikki Sparks, NAESP Assistant Executive Director, Executive Services and Recognition Programs, at nsparks@naesp.org, or visit naesp.org/ASCA.