Students and School Boards: The Value of Student Engagement

Zach Koung, a student school board member in Maryland during the 2020-21 school year, was labeled the swing vote in a contentious debate in Howard County over whether to re-open schools last spring in a hybrid format, or to stay online. Koung voted to stay online and ended up receiving death threats during a particularly fraught time in education. Despite the challenges, he weathered the storm, graduated high school and now has some advice for educators, board members, and his peers on the value of student engagement and activism.