At the Oct. 19, 2021 meeting of the ISD 279 School Board, Superintendent Cory McIntyre introduced the district’s first Student School Board Representatives. The four high school representatives had to meet specific eligibility criteria and participate in an application and interview process before they were selected to serve in this leadership role.
Student School Board Representatives will attend regular meetings of the school board and be invited to share updates from their schools and perspectives on relevant agenda items.
The 2021-2022 Student School Board Representatives, pictured left to right: Cal Thorson, Maple Grove Senior High School; Nadiyah Abdullah, Osseo Area Learning Center; Faith Suah, Osseo Senior High School; Haniyah Dabney, Park Center Senior High School.
Here’s what the newest members of the school board are most looking forward to during their time on the board:
Cal Thorson, Maple Grove Senior High School: “I’m excited to learn and experience school board meetings because I know a lot of students don’t get this experience, so being there and being able to represent my whole school is pretty cool.”
Nadiyah Abdullah, Osseo Area Learning Center: “I am looking forward to actually being a voice for the students at the OALC. I do go to a small school, but I believe we do a lot more and focus on more of the students and what they need to graduate.”
Faith Suah, Osseo Senior High School: “I would just like to see change. I know it’s not going to be the biggest, drastic change, but some sort of change is better than no change at all, so I would just like to see the change and hear from the student point of view, the people that walk the halls every day, and ride the buses, and hear the conversations from other students.”
Haniyah Dabney, Park Center Senior High School: “I’m most looking forward to being able to put my student input inside the school board; let them know what’s going on inside of Park Center from a student perspective so that it could possibly help them to decide further decisions. I’m just really excited. Not a lot of students get this opportunity, so it will be really nice to experience it. And it will help for further careers.”
