Lockport District 205 adds 4 students to school board, committees

Four students at Lockport Township High School District 205 now are representing their peers in official ways.

On Aug. 21, District 205′s school board approved Chelsea Osei, a senior at Lockport Township High School, and Victoria DalPonte, also a senior at Lockport Township High School, as District 205′s first-ever board student board members, according to a news release from District 205 announcing the approval.

In addition, District 205′s school board also approved Akash Patel, a senior at Lockport Township High School, as a student board member on the board’s finance and facilities committee, District 205 said.

McKenna Orrico was approved as student board member on the board’s curriculum committee, District 205 said.

“As a board, every decision we make affects our students in some manner, yet they seldom have a say in those decisions,” Ann Lopez-Caneva, District 205 board president said in a news release. “We are always asking ourselves, ‘How does this impact our students or how do the students feel about this?’ We wanted connectivity to students. I wanted a liaison between all LTHS students and the school board. We wanted them to represent their peers’ interests.”

Although they may not vote, student board members will sit with the board during its formal monthly meetings and at special meetings and workshops to provide insights on student life, District 205 said.

District 205 Superintendent Robert McBride said in the release that he is “proud and impressed that our Board of Education has put student voices at the table for all of their meetings.”

“It is a vocal and visible reminder that we are here to serve students and understanding their perspectives is critical to the best decision making,” McBride said in the release.

For more information about the student board members, visit the district’s website.