For the first time in The Bishop’s School’s history, this year’s 2026 ASB elections expanded voting privileges beyond just the student body. Now all adults working on campus will be able to as well. 

In an all-school meeting on December 2, current ASB president Charlie Ahn (‘26), announced that this policy change, signed in by past ASB councils, would come into effect this 2026 election. The change, they said, was rooted in a simple reason: ASB members already work closely with teachers, faculty, and other adults on campus, yet those adults previously had no representation in the voting process. Now, teachers will have a more active role in the selection process. 

On February 26, the Bishop’s School held its annual ASB election speeches. Then, on March 1, after voting closed at 3pm, ASB sent out election results naming Ryan O’Donovan president, Alex Yang Vice President, Isabelle Banaie Secretary, Jojo Perham Spirit Representative, Sophie Gratry Arts Representative, Nolan Ameriks Community Service Representative, and finally Matthew LaBrucherie as Dungeon Representative. How exactly did teachers being able to vote play a role in the election results this year, and what does our community have to say about it?

Zachary Haubenstock (‘28) had mixed feelings about the change. On the one hand, he believed that teachers could make more of a mature choice on who to vote for. Zachary said, “Teachers would be able to consider how each candidate is qualified and would contribute in ASB meetings, not just who is the most popular or the flashiest.” At the same time, he questioned the purpose of having teachers represent a supposedly student-run platform like ASB. “To me, ASB is a way that students represent other students at Bishop’s, not students and teachers,” he continued. “Teachers being able to vote in something that is grounded in the concept of students representing students seems to dilute the concept of ASB to me.” 

World Languages Teacher Dr. David Banta believed that the purpose of adding teachers to the voting process was to balance the students who vote on popularity or who has the funniest comment in their speech. Dr. Banta said, “I do believe it is to counteract the voting that some students have when they don’t focus on who will really make the best leader or person for the role, but I guess technically that does weaken the student body representation that ASB says it is for.” 

Other teachers and students saw the purpose behind adding teachers to the election process. Science Teacher Ms. Kristina Norrgard said, “Teachers who work with the students want to work with students that are accountable and responsible.” Even though she is not one of the faculty working with ASB, she saw the value in voting for students who will take the role seriously, and maybe students may not see that the way teachers do.

Similar to Ms. Norrgard, Julia Pawl (‘27) believed it could have a positive impact on the community. She pointed out that teachers have to work with the ASB students in a different way than the rest of the student body. “Their opinions should be accounted for because their votes can reflect if they are responsible or not,” Julia said.

Many students aired concerns about teachers being able to vote against policies that are specifically of interest for students. Ashali Rastogi (‘28) said, “I think that teachers might have a biased perspective on things that students really care about. Like for instance, lots of kids really want a policy change on open-grade books, but then some teachers really want to maintain a closed grade book.” She worried that if some candidates aired these policies they hoped to change in their speech and platform, then teachers wouldn’t vote for them to not implement them in their class. She added, “It’s really unfair and rids the whole purpose of having a body of students that represent the goals and hopes for the student body.”

Together, Math Teacher Ms. Dolores Williamson, and World Language Teacher Ms. Nicole Uhland outlined their hopes of making this decision as the teacher leaders of ASB. Ms. Williamson said, “In the past, recommendations from teachers for students to be part of ASB have always been disregarded because the student vote is most powerful. This change allows for a small percentage of teachers who chose to vote to have a say.” They believe that teachers will vote responsibly, and if they don’t know a candidate well enough they will abstain from voting.

For example, Dr. Banta has been clear to his students that he did not vote due to the fact he believes he isn’t knowledgeable enough about the students running to make a proper decision. He believes the role of faculty is to make a decision that will benefit the students and if he or some other teacher isn’t informed enough, then it wouldn’t be helpful to vote.

Jojo Perham (‘28), next year’s Spirit Representative, said she was excited to see how the new voting process will play out next year. She said, “ASB decisions not only impact students, but also faculty. Considering they work closely together, it is important to make sure that the candidate is good for everyone.”

In addition to teachers voting in elections, a role that isn’t always used every year but is being filled again 2026-2027, is Chief of Staff. Yina Shate (‘26) currently holds this position. It is a position appointed by Ms. Uhland and Ms. Williamson to a student they believe will be responsible, passionate, and willing to do the hard work that comes with ASB. In addition, the Chief of Staff, along with the President and Vice President, regularly meets with Mr. Kim to discuss matters. Edward Baek (‘28), current 10th grade class president, is the chosen candidate for this upcoming school year. Edward said, “I am really glad that they trust me for this position next year, and I’m grateful for the opportunity.”