BIG SKY – Montana State Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau announced in late May the addition of 31 new members to her statewide Student Advisory Board. Lone Peak High School junior Tucker Shea was among those selected to the 2012-2013 Student Advisory Board.
Born and raised in Big Sky, Shea is part of the first LPHS class that will have gone through all four years there. Jerry House, superintendent of Big Sky’s schools, nominated Shea for this position based upon an outstanding record of student involvement and academic success.
“Tucker is such a stand out unique individual that excels at everything he does,” House said. “I’ve been in the business 42 year, and he’s in the top 1 percent of students I’ve met. He’s polite, respectful, kids respect him, and he doesn’t push his weight around. He’s a leader—he leads through his actions.”
Shea is known as a student who cares for his own achievement and also about the success of all students. He also has a 4.1 grade point average. Shea said has been very involved with the school, he says, because “I wanted to know what they were doing with my education.”
“Throughout my high school career I felt like there’s been a lot of decisions that have been made for me that I haven’t had any say on,” Shea said. “I thought it would be a really cool way for me to get my ideas across to someone who wanted to listen to them, take them into account and actually implement some of them.”
The first meeting of the 2012-2013 Student Advisory Board will be held Oct. 11 and 12 in Helena. The 40 board members span grades 9-12 and come from 36 schools, representing the range of experiences and backgrounds of Montana students. Two Bozeman High School students, Larry Bratke and Reed Lone Fight, are returning to the advisory committee again this year.
Already, Shea said, one of the group leaders has set up a Facebook group as a place for advisory board members can discuss issues before they meet in the fall.
Shea said he’s interested in finding ways for students and community members to get more involved with school decisions.
“It’s been a really cool experience being in Lone Peak High School in its youth,” he added. “I’m excited to share my experience when I go to Helena.”
The Student Advisory Board is part of Graduation Matters Montana, Supt. Juneau’s statewide initiative that aims to increase the number of students who graduate from high school and to ensure students graduate college and career-ready through collaborative partnerships with schools, community organizations, businesses and youth.
More information about the Student Advisory Board, including the full list of 2012-2013 Student Advisory Board members, is available on OPI’s Graduation Matters Montana website: graduationmatters.mt.gov/index.php?pg=2&sub=1&subset=3.
