NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:  June 20, 2024

Gulfport High School’s Crosby Parker selected as 2024-25 State Board of Education junior student representative

JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi State Board of Education (SBE) has selected Crosby Parker of Gulfport High School (GHS) in the Gulfport School District to serve as the high school SBE junior representative for the 2024-25 school year.

Kate Riddle, the 2023-24 junior student representative of Lafayette High School in the Lafayette County School District in Oxford, is now serving as the 2024-25 SBE senior student representative.

Student representatives are non-voting SBE members who serve two years and provide input on policy decisions that affect Mississippi public schools. Each year after the senior representative graduates, the junior representative is promoted to the senior representative position and a new junior representative is appointed

Crosby has a 4.3 GPA and scored a 34 on the ACT. He has been on the Superintendent’s List each year of high school. At GHS, Crosby’s activities include the 30+ Club, Beta Club, golf, cross country, robotics and track and field teams; Youth Legislature, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Student Council. His community service includes helping with multiple Boys and Girls Club initiatives as well as making lunches for Feed My Sheep, a local food bank.

“I believe that the most difficult issue affecting public education is disparity in regional opportunities,” Crosby said in his student rep application. “It would be an honor to begin the process of examining how different regions within Mississippi can become more equitable in their opportunities that they could potentially provide for their students; therefore creating a more cohesive educational experience for marginalized populations.”

The SBE chose Annsley Coleman of New Albany High School in the New Albany School District to be the alternate junior representative. An alternate is named to fulfill the term of the junior student representative should the representative be unable to complete the term for any reason.

The eligible applicant pool for the 2024-25 junior representative included 33 students. The 10 semifinalists will join the Mississippi Department of Education’s Student Advisory Council, which will provide input about educational opportunities and policy with the state superintendent of education.

Approximately 15 state boards of education have successfully implemented student advisory programs. In 2018, the SBE adopted a policy outlining the criteria for adding student representatives to the State Board.

Find all MDE news releases at mdek12.org/news.

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