Glen Lake Schools Principal, Student Selected for State Advisory Committees

Glen Lake Community Schools will have some say in two new state advisory committees geared toward education.

Their secondary school principal and an eighth grader have been selected to committees on socio-emotional learning and anti-racism.

“Both of us are incredibly honored to represent Glen Lake and our school family,” said secondary school principal Dina Rocheleau.

Rocheleau was selected to the state’s new socio-emotional learning committee with 20 other educators and non-educators. Their goal is to systemically teach pre-K through 12th graders topics such as time management, self awareness, and decision making.

“Really looking at that systemic approach from pre-K through twelfth grade so we’re not fragmenting our children and that we’re really representing the same values and understanding from class to class, grade to grade, and school to school,” Rocheleau said.

Eighth grader Zinnia Dungjen was also selected for a state committee geared toward middle schoolers addressing racism in schools.

“The goal is to make every student, every staff member in the schools in Michigan to feel safe,” Dungjen said. “Their school is a place that they can be where they can be themselves and be their own personalities.”

Dungjen said she was thrilled to be chosen for this committee, as this is a topic she’s passionate about.

“I want people to be treated equally,” Dungjen said. “I don’t want somebody to be afraid in their own school, that they’re going to be treated differently by their classmates.”

Both Dungjen and Rocheleau want to make an impact in schools across the state.

“I think that Zinnia and I representing Glen Lake on these state committees is just another way of representing change,” Rocheleau said. “How do we create a safe and inclusive environment for all students and for all families and for all educators? The more we can have conversations around that, the better off we’re all going to be.”