Berlin Central School District is proud to introduce BHS Junior Isabella Ovitt as the 2025-2026 Student Ex-Officio Board Member on the BCSD Board of Education. Isabella will be Berlin CSD’s fifth student representative; she follows the excellent leadership of alumni Madison Bell, Elizabeth Hunt, Sadie Giumarra, and Jordanne Brazie.
The Berlin CSD Board of Education has been ahead of the curve and has valued these representatives’ insight and voice on the board for the last four school years.
The district was excited to have this role in place already when on September 12, the Governor of New York signed into law a bill that will require every school district and BOCES board in the state to have at least one ex-officio student representative. This bill means there will be more opportunities for training and support for Isabella and future ex officio members from the New York State Education Department and the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) to help ex-officio student board members thrive in their new position.
On September 17, Isabella, BHS Teacher and Student Council Advisor Mrs. Hayes, BMHS Principal Mr. Bernsley, and BCSD Superintendent of Schools Mr. Rizzo joined a statewide hybrid webinar of Student Ex-Officio Board Members from around the region. Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Bernsley and Mr. Rizzo look forward to supporting Isabella, making sure she feels prepared and confident in her important new role as a student representative.
This webinar included a wide reaching group of guest speakers: NYSSBA Executive Director Mr. Robert Schneider, NY Senator Ms. Shelley Maye, NY Assembly Member Ms. Carrie Woerner, NY Regents Chancellor Mr. Lester Young, NY Education Commissioner Ms. Betty Rosa, NYSSBA President Ms. Sandra Ruffo, Mr. Jay Worona, and two former Student Ex Officio Board Members.
During the webinar, there were first-hand experiences and inspirational welcome messages, as well as introductions to the role of a board member and the roles of ex-officio student board members, and reflections on the role by previous ex-officio student board members from districts around New York.
The webinar concluded with a question-and-answer session. There will be more opportunities for Isabella throughout the school year for training and collaboration. This was an exciting launch into her new role on the board.
Please learn more about Isabella’s take on the webinar and the vision she holds for her role this school year.
2025–26 BCSD Student Ex-Officio Board Member
BHS Junior Isabella Ovitt
Hi, I’m Isabella Ovitt. I am a Junior at BHS and have been selected to be the ex-officio student representative to the Board of Education for the 2025-2026 school year. I am excited to not just observe, but to be a voice for the Mountaineer student body. I have the advantage of being among my peers every day, and as student representative I am easily available to discuss school culture. I feel honored to have this responsibility and I look forward to creating safe spaces for students to share their feedback and ideas. My position as student representative will be a channel for the student voice to be shared with our school community, and I will encourage that voice to be valued in the decision-making of our school.
In today’s initial training for student representatives I received a lot of advice from multiple stakeholders in education, and that’s just the start. I look forward to learning more about the school community and helping Berlin grow!