Newsroom

National Student Board Member Association Launches to 

Support and Develop Student School Board Members Nationwide

 

National Center on Education and the Economy to Serve as Organizational Incubator

 

Washington, DC- Today, the National Student Board Member Association announced its official nationwide launch as the first-ever non-profit organization dedicated to elevating, supporting, and inspiring student school board members across the country. NSBMA aspires to create an education system in which the primary stakeholders — students — work as essential partners in decision-making and educational governance. 

 

Student board members are active on local school boards in 39 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam as well as serving on state-level school boards in 23 states. 

 

“Student board members can be powerful supporters of improving our public schools,” said Zachary Patterson, NSBMA board chair. “Our goal as an organization is to prepare students to be effective board members and ensure they have the tools to represent the comprehensive student perspective, not just their individual views, in order to more skillfully and accurately  elevate this essential constituency within public schools–the students.”

 

As part of today’s launch, NSBMA is also announcing a strategic partnership with the National Center on Education and the Economy which will serve as its organizational incubator. NCEE will provide NSBMA with technical support and capacity throughout its startup phase. NCEE staff and leadership will provide strategic mentoring and consultative assistance to NSBMA leadership as it develops its operational, financial, and programmatic sustainability. 

 

“NSBMA is committed to intergenerational partnership to improve public schools,” Jennifer Tran, an NSBMA board member, said. “Incubating within NCEE is a uniquely powerful opportunity for the organization. For 35 years, NCEE has stood as an essential thought partner in some of the most important education improvement efforts, here in the U.S. and internationally. The NSBMA-NCEE partnership will enable today’s student board members and those that follow them to be ever more effective partners in improving our public schools.” 

 

“The NSBMA team and its members are dynamic and thoughtful young leaders,” said Vicki Phillips, NCEE Chief Executive Officer. “We are thrilled to be partnering with them, to support and mentor them as they grow as an organization. Young people are increasingly engaged in the big issues shaping not just their world, but the world for all of us. NSBMA will offer its membership and general school board members a vital perspective on how our public education system and learning can and should improve.”

 

Student board members often serve a single year in their positions. As a result, there is a pronounced need to provide the learning and growth opportunities new student board members need to operate as effectively as possible in their posts. To that end, NSBMA will offer its members learning opportunities, training, and enrichment experiences that prepare student board members on board governance processes and foster community among student board members in their pursuit to improve their school systems.

 

NSBMA also seeks to expand public understanding of the essential role that students hold on school boards. Just as the NSBMA-NCEE partnership reflects the organization’s deep commitment to intergenerational solutions, NSBMA is similarly engaged in creating productive connections with other education membership, research, and improvement organizations. NSBMA is committed to building productive partnerships across the education and public policy ecosystems in order to better serve, inform, and empower its own membership. 

 

Reporters interested in speaking with NSBMA or NCEE leadership may contact Brendan Williams-Kief with Georgetown Public Affairs at bwk@georgetownpa.com or 202-905-6284. 

 

To learn more about NSBMA, visit www.nsbma.net and follow the organization on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook. 

 

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The National Student Board Member Association (NSBMA) works to connect, support, and educate student school board members and other educational stakeholders to strengthen student representation in education decision-making. The National Student Board Member Association believes that meaningful representation of student voice is vital to ensure the education system prepares all students to thrive.

 

The National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) was created in 1988 to analyze the implications of changes in the international economy for American education and develop the resources educators would need to carry it out. NCEE’s Center on International Education Benchmarking is recognized as the premier U.S. source of actionable insights into the world’s top-performing education systems. Its Center on Policy Solutions is helping states and districts craft some of the nation’s most significant and transformative policy reforms. And NCEE’s Center on System Leadership provides district and school leaders across the country with the skills, knowledge, and tools to create high-performing education system.