LHS Students Semifinalists for MDE

State Board Selects Semifinalists for State Board Student Representative Program
Posted on 04/20/2023

JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi State Board of Education (SBE) has selected 10 semifinalists to serve as the SBE junior student representative in the 2023-24 school year.

The SBE student representative program includes one high school junior and one high school senior who serve as non-voting SBE members and provide input on policy decisions that affect Mississippi public schools. The current junior SBE representative, Charlie Frugé of Oxford High School, will serve as the senior representative in 2023-24.

The eligible applicant pool for the rising junior representative included 28 students.

Student representatives are responsible for attending monthly SBE meetings and any standing committees or subcommittees to which they are assigned. Student representatives are excused from school to attend SBE meetings as official school business.

The SBE adopted a policy in 2018 outlining the criteria for adding student representatives to the State Board. 

Semifinalists will be interviewed and up to four finalists will be named. The SBE will interview the finalists and appoint one rising junior.

The 10 semifinalists are as follows:

Name

District

School

Mafati Bah

Tate County School District

Strayhorn High School

Kenadi Carpenter

Rankin County School District

Brandon High School

Yaerim Choi

Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District

Starkville High School

Mennah Ibrahim

Oxford School District

Oxford High School

Jackson Pearce

Gulfport School District

Gulfport High School

Kate Riddle

Lafayette County School District

Lafayette High School

Alexandra Ritchie

Oxford School District

Oxford High School

Hannah Smith-Phillips

Rankin County School District

Northwest Rankin High School

Grace Taylor

Rankin County School District

Northwest Rankin High School

 

Addison Winburn

Lafayette County School District

Lafayette High School