By Sanner Bennett

     This year, for the first time ever, Tempe Prep has a headmaster’s advisory council. The council is made up of one student from every grade, and the goal of the council is to help improve the school.

     It was started by Dr. Porter and TPA senior Tamsin Hurlbut, both of whom run the council now. Starting something like this has been one of the goals of Dr. Porter ever since he became headmaster.

     As of yet the council has not voted for any of the officers, but they have plans to do so in the future. This year Tamsin is the president, because she started the council, although in future years the president will be voted for by the council.

     All of the members meet on the second and fourth Thursday of every month in room 407 to discuss ways to improve the school. At the start of each meeting Tamsin puts up an agenda and the members spend the meeting discussing those topics. So far, Dr. Porter has been very supportive of everything that the members come up with, but they have not yet gotten to implement any of their ideas.

     Any student is allowed to sit in on a meeting and give their ideas about the topics at hand. If you are interested in observing, email Tamsin or Dr. Porter to find out information about the next meeting.

     The current issue that the council is working on is how to increase the retention rate, because in recent years more and more students have been leaving the school before becoming a senior and they want to know why. 

     Originally, Dr. Porter asked the council to ask their peers about the topic. However, every student is only exposed to a limited number of people and that is why Tamsin suggested that they make a survey to send to every student in the school. 

     Right now the survey is still in the process of being made and, even after it is made, it will have to be shown to the Board of Directors. 

     The only answers that would be useful to the council are those that are thoughtful and honest, so the council came up with a plan to encourage students to give well-thought-out answers. Students who give thorough answers will have their names placed in a raffle, and winners will get a prize such as candy or a gift card. 

     At one meeting the council discussed the possibility of changing the TPA uniform by possibly giving high school students the option to wear a navy blue polo, and possibly changing the skirt, so that it matches the school colors more. As of now, these are only ideas to be discussed and future plans for the uniform are still uncertain.

     If you have any desire to be on the council, make sure to be on the lookout for posters next year.