Article Text
Faith Mekonen has begun a one-year term advocating for students in county education decisions, with grading rules, discipline disparities and student participation among her top priorities.
The rising senior at South County High School was elected by the countywide Student Advisory Council. She will attend board meetings as a nonvoting member, becoming the 55th student to hold the position.
Mekonen succeeds Megan Sawant, a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.
During her term, Mekonen plans to focus on reducing disproportionate discipline, strengthening the student role in policy decisions and monitoring the rollout of revised grading and cellphone policies.
She said the continuing debate over grading standards—especially retakes and consistency between classrooms—stands out as a significant concern. The policy was intended to support equity and mastery-based learning, but teachers and students have expressed conflicting views about whether it is too restrictive or too lenient.
As a member of the Grading Standardization Advisory Committee, Mekonen has already worked with educators, administrators and students to address those concerns and help make the policy fair and effective.
Mekonen also plans to seek feedback through social media, surveys and the student representative newsletter. Drawing on two years of experience with the Student Advisory Council, she intends to bring student perspectives into decisions affecting their education and well-being.
Her previous leadership roles include vice president of South County High School’s Ethiopian & Eritrean Association and secretary of Model UN. She has also served as a U.S. Department of Education youth adviser, a Harvard STRIPED youth policy translator and a participant in a student leadership development program.
Mekonen was a Technology Student Association state finalist in forensics and a Civics Unplugged fellow. Her additional experience includes conducting policy research for The Perrin Institution, contributing to the Los Angeles Times High School Insider and serving as Voters of Tomorrow’s Virginia legislative director.