Cobb County School District is proud to announce that two exceptional students from Pope High School, Ansley Bruder (11th grade) and Felipe Zimelewicz Pires (12th grade), have been selected to serve on the 2024-2025 State School Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council. 

They are among 74 students chosen from a pool of 1,550 applicants statewide to represent their peers and provide direct feedback to State Superintendent Richard Woods on the impact of state policies in classrooms. 

Throughout the school year, Ansley and Felipe, along with other council members, will have the opportunity to meet with Superintendent Woods, discuss other education-related issues, serve as the Superintendent’s ambassadors to their respective schools, and participate in service projects to benefit schools and students. 

“I am thrilled to welcome this new group of students to our 2024-2025 Student Advisory Council," Superintendent Woods said. "These young leaders represent the future of Georgia, and their voices are crucial as we continue to shape the direction of education in our state. I look forward to hearing their ideas, insights, and perspectives as we work together to ensure every student has the opportunity to succeed." 

Each year, any student in grades 10-12 attending a Georgia public school (including charter schools) may fill out an application to be considered for the Student Advisory Council. The application includes short essay prompts that allow students to share their ideas for public education. 

This year, students selected for the council wrote essays addressing a wide variety of issues in education, including curriculum and graduation requirements; the impact of federal- and state-mandated assessments in the classroom; the importance of teacher recruitment and retention efforts to students’ classroom experience; and access to opportunities and resources for students in rural areas. 

The council includes students from every Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) region in Georgia; students represent rural, suburban, and urban schools. Because GaDOE works to ensure the council is representative of students in all areas of the state and selects students based on the strength of their essay answers, multiple students from a district may be selected in some cases. 

Ansley and Felipe will attend their first council meeting in November at the Georgia Department of Education’s offices.