This year, The MPS Board of Education is adding a new position that will provide a student voice that can influence decision making. The selected student representative will serve a one year term starting February 2015, and will attend the first board meeting on February 10th.  The representative will be selected by their peers at a meeting of the High School City Wide Student Government on January 27th at the Davis Center.

The student representative role will be as an “ex-officio” member, which means they will be able to influence decisions, but not actually vote on any.

The goal of the student representative, according to the MPS website, is to “give input on issues that affect all students and work together with the school board to improve the quality of Minneapolis Public Schools.”

Aspiring student representatives had to fill out an application that included 5 short writing prompts. Any Minneapolis public high school student involved with City Wide Student Government and is a sophomore or junior was able to apply.

The chosen student representative will have to fill many commitments throughout their term, including preparing for and attending monthly board meetings. They will have the responsibility of speaking for students of Minneapolis Public Schools.

The original selection committee for the student representative was made up of two directors of the Board of Education, two executive members of City Wide Student Government, and the Student Engagement Coordinator. However, the board members changed the selection process because of their belief in having students elect their own representative. Now, students from the City Wide Student Government will be able to choose the representative.