Scott Simpson, who will be a senior at Hammond High School this fall, headed back to Hammond during his summer vacation last week with an eye toward improving the school.

Last week, 65 Hammond students, including Simpson, gave up a day of their summer vacation to help propose solutions to the school's problems at its second annual Teen Summit for School Improvement.

The purpose of the day-long, June 23 summit was to gather student ideas for solving some of the problems at the east Columbia school, such as student tardiness and inappropriate dancing at school dances, Hammond principal Sterlind Burke Sr., said.

The summit allows students to play an integral role in improving the school, Simpson said.

"The students sometimes come up with the easiest ideas that do make a difference that the administration doesn't think of," he said.

Burke said he held the first summit last year as a way to get ideas from the people who would be most affected by the decisions -- the students.

"Whatever way we educators can hear from teenagers and then act on what they want or need, that creates a more positive school climate," Burke said.

Ira Blossom, who will be a senior next year at Hammond, said participating in the summit made him feel "pretty important."

"We have a big role in improving the school," Blossom said of the students who participated in the summit.

Clocks wanted for hallways

At last year's summit, students proposed new lockers that better fit their needs and extended hours after school for computer labs, so students who had limited computer access at home could complete assignments.

Both wishes were granted, Burke said.

This year, students proposed putting clocks in the hallways of the school to help combat tardiness -- a simple solution to a common problem at the school, Burke said. Currently, there are no clocks in the hallways of Hammond High.

The students also proposed after-school dance lessons to teach students such dances as salsa and swing. The lessons could help to combat the inappropriate dance moves that are often spotted on the dance floor at school-sponsored dances, Burke said.

Casey Morris, who graduated from the school in June and was an attendee of the summit last week, said she believes the lessons will help to fix a problem that has been present at Hammond "for years."

"I stopped going to dances," she said. "It's disgusting."

Burke said he was impressed by the effective yet simple solutions the students offered.

"It's like, 'Duh!'" he said. "These are doable things. ... Those kind of ideas don't always come from adults' heads. They have more validity when they come from the kids."

After last summer's summit, Burke started a principal's advisory council, consisting of about 20 students, that meets regularly throughout the school year to listen to student ideas about how to improve Hammond, Burke said, adding that the group tackles problems at the school regularly.

"There's no filter between the students and me," Burke said. ". . . They're doing something right and they're doing something that will make our school a better school."

Last year's summit and the ongoing council have resulted in many positive changes at the school, Morris said, adding that she was happy to be involved.

"I felt like I was making a difference in the school," she said. "Nobody ever asked us before."

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