Only a select group of middle and high school students in Georgia are chosen to serve on the state school superintendent’s Student Advisory Council.

Isabella Martinez, an eighth-grader at Richmond Hill Middle School, has been selected for the second year in a row.

“We at RHMS are very proud of Isabella,” Principal William McGrath said, adding that she is “a very special student.”

Martinez is one of 110 students chosen by State School Superintendent Richard Woods to serve on his 2015-16 Student Advisory Council, according to a news release from the Georgia Department of Education.

Throughout the school year, the middle and high school students will meet with Woods to discuss the impact of state policies in the classroom. Student Advisory Council members also will discuss other issues related to education and will serve as the superintendent’s ambassadors to their respective schools.

“Students feel the impact of our decisions every day,” Woods said. “If we are going to develop child-focused, classroom-centered policies, we must hear directly from students. We can only improve their educational experience by bringing them to the table.”

Martinez was selected from a pool of more than 1,500 students who applied to serve on the council.

Students were chosen based on the strength of their essay answers, which focused on their ideas for public education and ways their own educational experience could be improved. The advisory council members represent charter, virtual and traditional public schools in every RESA district in Georgia.

“It was refreshing and valuable to hear feedback from these students, as well as their ideas for education in Georgia,” Woods said. “This is a great group of students with smart, varied ideas for the future of our educational system. I look forward to working with them and I’d like to thank every student who took the time to apply and share his or her thoughts.”

The middle school members of the Student Advisory Council had their first meeting Monday and also will meet Nov. 9 and March 28 at the Georgia Department of Education’s offices in Atlanta. The council also will hold two virtual meetings.