Superintendent's Student Council Receives National Recognition

The Yorktown Central School District is proud to announce that its Superintendent’s Student Council has been selected by Character.org as a 2026 Promising Practice, marking the District’s second consecutive recognition and third overall.

Character.org, a leading advocate for character development in schools and communities, certified 290 character-centered Promising Practices this year from schools and organizations across the country and world. The honored programs highlight efforts to strengthen school culture, elevate student voice and leadership, inspire service, and encourage students to do the right thing for intrinsic reasons — all qualities reflected in Yorktown’s Superintendent’s Student Council.

Established in September 2024, the 16-member volunteer council brings together student representatives from each grade level to work directly with the superintendent of schools, Dr. Ron Hattar, on initiatives that improve the student experience.

Council members are encouraged to think beyond individual concerns and focus on issues that affect the broader school community. Senior Lauren Tamburelli explained her motivation for joining the council by saying, “I believe student voices are essential to the growth of our school. I wanted to make Yorktown a better place for every single student.”

That sense of purpose is especially evident among upperclassmen, many of whom dedicate time and energy to projects whose benefits they may never personally experience. Junior Gianna Boucher noted that “from the very beginning, it was clear that this council was something special. It’s not just about discussing what could be changed, but actually making that change real.”

That mindset led to one of the council’s most visible accomplishments: improvements to a town-owned parking lot used by students. What began as a discussion evolved into months of research and collaboration with town officials, resulting in a fully paved and striped lot at no cost to the district.

The council has also taken on projects involving test scheduling, grade weighting, facility improvements, and student mental health. This year, the council is focused on the creation of an outdoor seating area, the development of an AI and financial literacy lab, and a student grant submission process. Involving funds supplied by the district, the grant program would be open to all Yorktown High School students who could submit their applications to the council on a rolling basis.

Junior Alex Altamuro said the goal of the grant process is to broaden participation beyond the council itself. “Students who aren’t on the council have ideas as well, and these could be just as valuable to the school community,” he said. “This could range from getting tissues into more rooms to buying or fixing instruments — literally anything anyone can think of for the betterment of the school.”

The council has no formal student leadership roles, and meetings are facilitated collaboratively. Students brainstorm openly, refine ideas through discussion, and learn to distinguish between what they can influence directly and what falls outside their scope. Over time, they typically identify a small number of projects to pursue and take responsibility for moving them forward. The result has been change that students can see and point to, along with a clearer understanding of how those changes came to be.

“In Yorktown, students don’t just have a voice at the table,” said Dr. Hattar. “They play an active role in shaping change within their school community.”

The Yorktown Central School District was also honored in 2025 for its iGrant initiative, which empowers educators to seek funding for curriculum-driven projects that promote critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration, and in 2020 for ESTEAM, the district’s approach to teaching and learning that places empathy at the forefront of creativity and innovation.