Lifestyle

High School Student Elected as Member of Hill Country School Board

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Tony Maples Photography

 

Katherine Anne Porter School (KAPS), located in Wimberly, recently became what is likely the first high school in Texas to elect a student as a sitting member of their board of trustees. A junior named Ingram Gray was chosen by his fellow students from a group of several candidates to represent them on the board.  “I thought it would be a great opportunity to help out the school by representing the students here,” Gray said. “I think that the students are excited to see that they have someone to represent them and give them a voice.”

Casey Wilcox serves as VISTA Development Associate for KAPS. “It was something the board had been wanting to do to get student input,” Wilcox explained. “We had an election, and Ingram was the student representative who was voted to represent the student body.” Wilcox explained that though the position is that of a sitting (rather than voting) board member, it still brings with it an important degree of influence and responsibility.

High School Student Elected as Member of Hill Country School Board

Photo: KAPS School

As for what Gray sees as his major duties in his new role, he said, “I really just want to hear out what the students have to say about certain issues in the school. From the years I’ve been in the school, I realize a lot of students want their voices to be heard but don’t have the time or the ability to go to board meetings and represent their ideas. So now I’ll be able to present those ideas consistently to the board.” He went on to note that the role will no doubt offer valuable experience which will be useful in whatever future career he pursues.

The idea of a student seat on the board might sound unconventional, but Gray’s upbringing and KAPS itself both have intriguing, unconventional backgrounds. Gray’s family traveled around Europe when Gray and his two siblings were just infants. After a time, they settled in Austin, Texas, but spent their summers in the woods of Slovakia.  The family’s globe-trotting adventures ultimately became a TV series titled The Traveling Trio. The educational series featured narration from the Gray siblings and went on to win an Emmy Award.

High School Student Elected as Member of Hill Country School Board

Photo: KAPS School

Katherine Anne Porter School is a free, open-enrollment charter school which was established in 1998. “We were founded by Dr. Yana Bland,” Wilcox said. “Her goal was to open a school that offered creative opportunities for students, empowering them to pursue their own education.” KAPS fosters a vibrant, non-traditional learning environment where creativity flourishes and students are allowed to pursue their own individual interests. The classes are small, averaging about a dozen students, though KAPS serves a large geographic area of seven counties: Hays, Travis, Blanco, Comal, Guadalupe, Gonzales, and Caldwell.

“We really do focus on creative thought,” explained Amy Crowell, Manager of Development and Communications. “Great art, great thought is our motto. We’re a charter school, which is a public school—we’re just funded a bit differently than regular public schools. We are an open-enrollment school, which anyone can attend within our geographic region.”

High School Student Elected as Member of Hill Country School Board

Photo: KAPS School

Superintendent Coni Wilson remarked that Gray had demonstrated a deep commitment to the school through PTSO meetings and other governance meetings. Regarding the new board member role, Wilson said, “In the past, we have had what’s called student governance, what would be called, in a colloquial term, a student voice. Now we’ve tried to make that more influential in terms of a student actually being a sitting board member.” Wilson explained that, to the best of their research, KAPS is likely the first high school in Texas to try this new approach.

“This is an exploration,” Wilson said. “This is new territory for me, and if it’s true we’re the first school to try it, it’s a new territory for high schools. So we’re going to feel our way through this opportunity and see how it can impact the leadership of schools.” Ingram Gray’s dedication to his school and fellow students will no doubt ensure that this unique exploration results in a brighter future for education in the Lone Star State.