A diverse panel of educational leaders spoke with BYU students about how local involvement in education can lead to meaningful civic impact.
Five leaders from across Utah’s education system gathered to advocate for why public education matters and how citizen engagement at every level strengthens communities at a recent “Engaging in Public Education” panel hosted by the Office of Civic Engagement at Brigham Young University.
The panel featured Jennifer Partridge, president of the Provo City School District Board of Education; Britney Wood, a PTA region 9 support committee chair; Graham Cottrell, principal of Canyon View Junior High School in Orem, Utah; Katie Willardson, an English teacher at Canyon View Junior High School; and Trish Joshua, a senior research analyst at the Utah State Board of Education and former history teacher.
Together, they offered a compelling case for public education as a shared civic responsibility and a reminder that when we invest in education, we invest in a brighter future.
The Heart of Education
While panelists represented different roles within education, they shared a common consensus: education works best when it centers on students as people, not just as learners. Policies, curriculum, and standards matter but relationships are what give education its lasting impact. One educator reflected that subject matter alone is never what sustains a career in teaching.
“I ended up falling in love with the students more than the content…that’s when I knew I was in the right profession,” Willardson shares. “I try to help these students see — you matter, we matter, I matter."
When students feel seen and valued, they are more likely to see themselves as capable contributors to their schools, their communities, and eventually, their civic institutions.
Where Civic Life Becomes Real
The panelists also emphasized that civic engagement is not something students suddenly acquire as adults. It has to be cultivated early through experience. Schools are often the first-place students encounter systems of authority and collective responsibility.
Willardson challenges students to recognize how deeply civic structures shape their everyday lives teaching them that “politics decided the classroom you’re sitting in, the teacher that’s in front of you, and what you’re learning.”
Understanding that connection, panelists argued, helps students move from being uninterested in civic engagement to adopting a sense of awareness for the topic. Just as important, public schools bring together students who might otherwise never interact.
“Public education is one of the few places where you’re going to interact with people who are different than you — and that’s becoming more and more rare,” Cotterell states.
In that diversity, students learn the skills needed to participate in a pluralistic society.
Stewardship Requires Both Advocacy and Listening
Having leadership in education, the panelists noted, carries weight because decisions affect thousands of students and educators at once. For Partridge, serving on the school board is less about authority and more about stewardship.
“I feel a responsibility to make their education and their work experience the best it can be. I also feel a responsibility to involve our community in understanding that they are stewards as well,” Partridge says.
But speaking up is only half the work of having a conversation. While the panelists encouraged students and community members to engage with education thoughtfully, they reiterated the importance of balancing advocacy with an awareness of broader needs.
“Have a voice — but also have a listening ear,” Wood states.
Education Demands Everyone’s Attention
Education is not just the concern of educators and parents; it belongs to everyone.
“Even if you never have children, you’re paying taxes to education. You should know what’s going on,” Joshua says.
More broadly, education reflects the tensions, innovations, and values shaping society at large.
“Every issue you care about is being played out in education. It’s a microcosm of the world,” Joshua continues. “Nobody loses when everyone’s educated. We all win.”
From technology and ethics to equity and civic discourse, schools are where these questions are first tested and where future leaders begin forming their understanding of them.
Among the panel’s attendees was sophomore Ava Romney, pre-special education major from Tallahassee, Florida. For Romney, the panel was more than a class extracurricular, it was a chance to better understand the real-world responsibilities she hopes to take on. The panel taught her that teaching children, their parents, and communities how to be civically engaged really matters.
“I really wanted more practical advice to prepare for teaching,” she says. “There’s so much theory in classes, but experiences like this help you understand what the job actually looks like.”
For Romney, the panel’s focus on civic learning stood out the most, reminding her of the importance of teaching children about their responsibility for civic participation.
“Even when things feel bad now, the kids we’re teaching are our hope and our future,” Romney says.
A Shared Commitment to the Future
Public education cannot be sustained by policy alone; it depends on people who choose to care about what happens in their local schools. The panelists emphasized that meaningful civic engagement in education does not require holding office or working in a classroom, it begins with attention and involvement at the local level.
Explore upcoming events hosted by the Office of Civic Engagement here.