Da'Juon Washington, left, a rising senior at North Point High School is sworn in June 14 as the new Student Board Member by Board of Education Chairman Virginia McGraw, right. Washington will serve as the Student Board Member for the 2016-17 school year.LA PLATA, Md. (June 16, 2016)—The Board of Education on June 14 met its new student representative for the coming school year, North Point High School rising senior Da’Juon Washington. He was sworn in as the Student Board Member at the start of the Board’s monthly meeting by Board Chairman Virginia McGraw.
Washington may have been familiar to the Board members as he served as the student liaison for North Point during the 2015-16 school year. In his first report to the Board as the Student Board Member, Washington said he looks forward to working with the group.
“I am extremely thrilled to serve as the new student member of the board. This truly is a testament of how hard work pays off,” he said.
As the new Student Board Member, Washington will work with a committee of student liaisons from the county’s seven high schools. Each high school is required to have a liaison, who is selected by methods approved by each school’s student government association (SGA) and principal.
The liaisons for the 2016-17 school year are
• Kaitlyn Willett, rising junior and alternate Student Board Member, Henry E. Lackey High School;
• Sarah Gough, rising senior, La Plata High School;
• Donnell Johnson, rising senior, Maurice J. McDonough High School;
• Jordyn Best, rising junior, North Point High School;
• Arianna Hebner, rising senior, St. Charles High School;
• Amira Sago, rising senior, Thomas Stone High School; and
• Zeles Amoah, rising senior, Westlake High School.
Washington was named as the new Student Board Member last month. Students interested in being considered for the position are required to submit an essay regarding a student concern and possible solution. A committee of school system staff reviews the essays.
Each year, the top three students in the running for the position give a speech at the spring Charles County Association of Student Councils (CCASC) meeting, and participate in a question and answer session with student delegates. Student delegates from all middle and high schools vote to elect the Student Member to the Board, as well as for the officers to represent the CCASC the following school year.