FAIRMONT — The Fairmont School Board has approved the addition of several high school students to serve as non-voting members.

The three students who applied were all selected. They are incoming seniors Weston Loughmiller and Morgan Hoong, and junior Briana Joseph.

Board member Nicole Green said this first time the district has decided to include students on the board.

Superintendent Joe Brown said all three were selected because it was evident from their applications that they are top-quality students.

“We want to increase student engagement and connectivity. We want to give the students a voice. Research shows that when students have a voice in school they tend to do better,” Brown explained.

The two seniors will serve on the board while the junior will serve as an alternate. It is the expectation that between the three, one will always be present at board meetings.

Juniors and seniors were eligible to apply. Those interested needed to hand in a one-page biographical sketch that outlined their abilities, goals and reasons they were the best choice. They also needed to include two written references from teachers, an administrator or community members.

The students will serve as non-voting members, with their terms running from July 1 to June 30, 2021. They will not receive compensation. Each meeting agenda will include time for the student board member to speak.

Loughmiller has served on the Minnesota Youth Council, which advises the Minnesota Department of Education on youth policy and bills that impact youth in the state. He is also active on the speech and debate teams.

Hoong explained that parents were sent an email about the position. She was interested right away.

“I was really really excited to learn they were willing to have a student voice on their board,” she said.

Hoong, who is Chinese, also said, “I thought this was a great opportunity for Fairmont to have a person of color in more of a leadership position. Although we do have a smaller amount of people of color who attend Fairmont, it’s important to hear input from them.”

Hoong works for the CER after-school program, Lights on For Kids, at Fairmont Elementary School, so she spends time with younger students as well.

“I’ll be able to hear input from the elementary kids and high school kids and put that into the school board,” she said.

Hoong plans to make a Google form for students so she can share their concerns with the board each meeting.

“Not too many schools do this but we felt like it was important and we had full board support,” Brown said. “I think all schools should consider this strongly. It’s another way to give students a voice.”