Introducing: Kyla Patterson our new Membership Manager

Hi everyone! 

While our members have probably already heard from me by now, I’d like to take this time to introduce myself. My name is Kyla Patterson and I am the new Membership Manager here at Smart School Councils. 

I’m originally from the state of Colorado in the U.S. but attended university in Chicago. After I completed my studies I spent a year teaching in the Czech Republic. I was based at a secondary school in a small village called Holice, in Eastern Bohemia. My time in the classroom was something I really cherished. The enthusiasm of my students astounded me, and their ability to convey their ideas in such astute ways in their second language kept me going (even when I had to catch the 6:30am bus every morning).

Following the end of the school year I moved to Dublin, Ireland to pursue my master’s. Still wanting to engage with students, I started working at an English language school as an activity leader for junior students. There I got to help facilitate cultural and language learning outside of the classroom and really engage students in discussions about differences and similarities between their home country and Ireland. Once I finished my master’s, I took on the role of managing the cultural activities programme for the language school, which took me further away from the “frontlines” with students, but gave me great insight into how well-thought out programmes can support student learning and give them a space in which to discover and grow. 

After moving to London this autumn, I learned about SSC and their commitment to giving every pupil a voice. After reading their website and watching a few of the CPD’s on Youtube, I was hooked. I believe that SSC is making big, important change through their programmes. The programmes provides amazing support to teachers and schools to really provide opportunities for students to be heard and enact change. Students get participate in democracy - learning firsthand that democracy isn’t just something that happens, but rather a process that everyone should be involved in. That’s why I’m so excited to be able to be a part of SSC, and get to support the membership in their endeavors. 

When I’m not responding to the membership emails and providing support to our members, I can be found trying to discover the best hiking in the U.K. and making my way through the collections at my local library. 

I look forward to getting to interact with all of our members, and getting to see what amazing things the students lead in their communities!