Jacob Garcia, a student board member on the Shasta County Board of Education, is leading an effort to create a county-wide student advisory board. Garcia, who is from Cottonwood, wants to ensure that students from rural areas have access to opportunities. He is working with incoming student board member Deasle Delello to establish the board, which will include one student from every high school in the county.

Goals of the Student Advisory Board

The primary goal of the board will be to work on a single project each year, addressing one of the common issues faced by high schools across the county. Garcia has a few ideas for potential projects, including online safety education and student disengagement. The board will also serve as a platform to educate student board members on how they can get involved with their local school districts.

Delello, who is passionate about getting his peers involved in civics, hopes the board could be a launching pad for students to seek further opportunities in local government. The current plan is to include one student from every high school in the county, including public, private, and charter schools, who will be elected by their student bodies. Garcia also wants to include the voices of homeschooled students and is working with the Shasta County Office of Education to develop a possible outreach strategy.

Next Steps

The project is still in the planning stages, but the council’s creation was approved by the Shasta County Office of Education’s board during a June 23 meeting. Garcia and Delello will spend the summer ironing out the remaining details, including drafting a mission statement, outlining roles, and reaching out to school administrators to inform them of the project. The board is expected to launch this fall.

Original reporting: Shasta Scout (Redding) — read the source article.