High School Junior to Join School Board

GLENDALE — A districtwide student council has picked a Glendale High School junior to serve as the first non-voting member of the Glendale Board of Education.

Armen Panossian, who will assume the role of student trustee Tuesday, will represent nearly 27,000 pupils enrolled in Glendale schools.

The position is part of a district plan to improve dialogue between students and education policy-makers. Panossian says he will use his seat on the board to highlight student concerns and to increase support for their ideas and causes.

“It’s the first time that our voice will be officially heard during a Board of Education meeting,” he said. “Before, you could only hear the views of experienced parents.” Panossian plans to attend all board meetings, but state education codes bar him from voting or attending closed sessions, which are reserved for discussions of litigation, personnel matters and expulsions. Unlike the five other elected trustees, he will not receive a monthly stipend.

A new inter-high-school student council selected Panossian from its ranks two weeks ago, when he came forward as the only candidate to submit a qualifying two-page essay touting his six years of service in school government.

“This is a major responsibility time-wise,” said Jim Gibson, a secondary education administrator who coordinates council meetings. “Fortunately, Armen threw his hat in the ring.”

Panossian will be a link between the board and the council, an advisory group of 10 student delegates elected from Glendale’s four high schools. In addition to Gibson, Supt. Robert A. Sanchis and board member Charles E. Whitesell attend council meetings.

“The voice of the students will be my voice. . . ,” Panossian wrote in his essay. “I will also try to effectively impart to the Student Advisory Council the board’s stand and feeling on particular issues.”

Panossian said he plans to bring up complaints from students that their freedom of choice is unfairly restricted by recent board policy prohibiting gang attire on campuses.

The 16-year-old honor student juggles a number of other posts. He is junior class president at Glendale High School and heads the city’s youth commission. He spends his afternoons studying and shuttling from meeting to meeting and also finds time to play basketball.

“On weekdays I don’t go out with friends,” he said. “I utilize my weekends for fun.”