Travis Visits Lewisburg High School

Lewisburg High School Student Council hosted a student town hall today with Travis Gilbert. Students discussed their opinions on the Keystone Exam legislation, nutrition standards, and school environment standards.
Students generally disagreed with the state's initiative on setting school nutrition standards, and encouraged local control on that issue.
Students agreed that bullying has a new definition in 21st century schools, and said teachers had the most power to curve bullying.


Travis will now attend the November meeting of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education at the Bloomsburg School District. Travis will wrap up this week with a student town hall at Danville Area High School.

Join Our Organization!

Submit the information at travisgilbert.com to join our mailing list as we organize the student leaders of Pennsylvania!

Travis to Attend PSBA Student Delegate Program

Travis Gilbert will be attending the 39th Annual PSBA Student Delegate Program in conjunction with the School Leadership Conference on October 14-16. Travis will be floating among the Hot Topic discussion groups, speaking with students around the day, and will give a speech at the School Leadership Banquet on Thursday night at the Hershey Convention Center.

Be sure to speak to Travis about the issues you are about at this conference!

Environment and Wellness Standards

During the September Meeting of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education, the issue of climate and health/wellness standards came up. Climate standards would define what a 'safe school' is and health/wellness Standards would address student's nutrition and exercise.

FOR PA STUDENTS:

Should the state mandate physical education in schools?

Does your school offer enough nutritious foods at lunch?

Do your student clubs/sports sell junk food for fundraisers?

Should their be a clear definition of a 'Safe School?'

Please Post Your Answers to the Blog!

September State Board of Education Meeting: Preview

The next Pennsylvania State Board of Education meeting will take place on September 16 through the 17, 2009 at the Pennsylvania Department of Education Honors Suite. A meeting of the Chapter 4 committee will take place at 9:30 following the Council of Basic Education meeting at 10:45 on Wednesday. The Council of Higher Education will meet following lunch at 1:30, following committee meetings for the Vocational Technical Education Committee and Health and Wellness Committee. On Thursday, the State Board of Vocational Education will meet at 8:30 with the State Board of Education following.

Check out Travis' Facebook and Twitter for updates during the Meetings!

Travis Quoted in Patriot News

Travis Gilbert was quoted by the Patriot News during the discussion about the Keystone Exam proposal during the Thursday meeting of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education.

Link to Article: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2009/08/state_board_oks_graduation_req.html

Statement on Keystone Exams Passage

Statement Keystone ExamsAugust 13, 2009On a 14-2 decision, the Pennsylvania State Board of Education passed the keystone exams this morning. I was against the keystone exams at first, for they added an extra layer of testing onto the students of Pennsylvania, but during the compromise period of the debate, I had changed my mind. When Joe Torsella, chairman of the board, announced that the Keystone exams would replace the PSSA’s and would create an individualized path for students, I quickly grew very fond of the proposal and supported its passage this morning. I was very vocal with my conversations with Mr. Torsella and Secretary of Education Zahorchak, and voiced my total support of the exams at meetings over the past few days. I would like to thank Joe Torsella, all the organizations involved, and the members of the Pennsylvania Board of Education for their continued service to Pennsylvania Students and for passing the Keystone Exams. I am positive that the keystone exams will provide a much better test for students, will decrease testing time, and give some personal meaning behind the test.