Nate Tinbite, a rising senior at John F. Kennedy High School in Wheaton, was sworn in Monday as the 42nd student member of the Montgomery County Board of Education.
He will serve a one-year term after he secured 74% of the votes cast in an April student election in which 85% of middle and high school students cast ballots.
Tinbite based his candidacy on achieving equity among all student groups, expanding mental health resources and improving technology in schools.
Also on Tinbite’s agenda is increasing career pathways for students by expanding the Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success (ACES) program to all schools. ACES, now available at 14 of the county’s 25 public high schools, provides intervention and support to help low-income students enroll in and complete college.
“Every student deserves a quality education, regardless of their ZIP Code or background,” Tinbite said during Monday’s ceremony. “The voices and stories of our students will ground my priorities in the year to come.”
The student representative on the eight-member school board has full voting rights including on issues such as the school system’s budget and personnel matters. During Thursday’s school board meeting, members are expected to appoint Tinbite to the board’s strategic planning and policy management committees.
Tinbite previously served as president of the Montgomery Student Government Association and is co-founder of the student activist group Montgomery County Students for Change.
The student member of the Board of Education is not paid, but receives a $5,000 college scholarship and one honors-level high school social studies class credit.
Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@moco360.media
