Urban students who serve on school boards will take center stage at the Council of the Great City Schools’ national town hall meeting, scheduled Oct. 22. 

The town hall will be moderated by Ray Suarez, award-winning journalist, author, and The John J. McCloy Visiting Professor of American Studies at Amherst College. Best known as a broadcast journalist for NPR and PBS NewsHour, Suarez has covered news stories across the country and around the world, reporting on a range of issues including race, immigration and demographic shifts.

The 90-minute town hall meeting is being held in conjunction with the Council’s virtual 65^th Annual Fall Conference, Oct. 19-23.

Students who will participate on the panel are:

Breana Fowler, a senior at North Meck High School, is the student adviser to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. She is in the National Honor Society, president-elect of the National Technical Honor Society, a member of the Key Club, an International Baccalaureate ambassador and the founder and leader of the Viking Student Newsletter. She founded and is president of a peer mediation program at North Meck to reduce suspension rates.

Mary Ghebremeskal, a junior at South High School, is the student board representative for Minneapolis Public Schools’ Board of Education. She has a passion for science, technology, engineering, arts, and math and for serving her community, including at the Brian Coyle Teen Tech Center and on the Cedar Riverside Covid Response Team. With a solid pulse on the hardships that face youth during the pandemic, she wants to bring this perspective to the school board.

Abenezer Haile, a junior at Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet, is a student board of education member for Metro Nashville Public Schools. Originally from Ethiopia, Haile was motivated to apply for the student school board position because he wanted to serve the community that has given him so much by using his communication skill set and creating a strong partnership between the student body and the board.

Ezra Horwitz, a junior at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, is a student commissioner for  Baltimore City Public Schools. In her position, she will push for better funding, and improved treatment of and overall functioning of students and faculty. This work encompasses several things, including more diverse green clubs, an increase in conversation about mental health subjects, making sure schools discuss LGBTQ+ content in health and more.

Kyla Musso, a senior at Radford High School, was selected as the Board of Education Student Representative for the State of Hawai‘i, where she will be representing 165,000 public school students across the islands. She has been involved in student government since the 4th grade and previously served as class vice president and was recognized as a Questbridge College Prep Scholar. 

Armando Ortez, a senior at Northeast High School, is a student board representative for the School District of  Philadelphia’s Board of Education. A first-generation Honduran American, Ortez plans to reach out to immigrant students and represent silenced voices in his role as a student board representative. Interested in politics and advocating for social justice, Ortez would like to ensure there are safe, comfortable spaces for students who lack a home or family.

Jackson Weinberg, a senior at Cleveland High School, is the student representative to the Portland Public Schools' Board of Education. In this role he has served on the Policy, Audit, School Improvement, and Community Budget Review Committees. Weinberg also serves as student advisor to the Oregon State Board of Education and is the Co-Executive Director of Policy, Research, and Operations for Oregon Student Voice, a state-wide non-profit that empowers all students to be authentic partners with education stakeholders in making decisions that affect their K-12 learning experiences.