High school senior represents Eastern Washington at state level

Madaleine Osmun, 18, sees herself as a sort of antidote to education politics.

For nearly two years Osmun, a senior at Mt. Spokane High School, has served as a student representative on the Washington state Board of Education.

“My role as a student representative is to really make sure we bring the policy back down to earth,” she said. “Our role is really to make sure those decisions are not just based on politics.”

There are two student representatives, one for Eastern Washington and one for Western Washington. They serve staggered two-year terms.

Osmun applied for the position after her principal, Darren Nelson, and counselor Josh Cowart recommended her. The application process was competitive; Osmun was one of four regional finalists.

“She’s one of the kindest, most genuine people I’ve ever met,” Cowart said. “She’s done a ton of stuff and she does it all well.”

In addition to her board duties, Osmun has a 4.0 GPA and is a varsity cross-country and track athlete.

As the student representative, Osmun travels every other month to meetings which are held around the state. Usually that means she flies out Tuesday night, attends meetings Wednesday and Thursday, and returns to school Friday morning. She said her primary role is providing the student perspective, and making sure that policy benefits students.

Osmun hopes to attend Brigham Young University in the fall, where she may study engineering. However, her experience on the state board has her considering public service-oriented work.

“I’ve always been passionate about education,” she said. “I’ve wanted to be able to do something to help other kids.”

When she first applied for the job, Osmun said she wasn’t exactly sure what it would entail. However, since then she’s delved into education policy. In May, she testified in front of the Legislature. She’s actively worked to make the student representative role on the board a more active and engaged position, she said.

“Student members used to be a token,” she said. “But over the last 1 1/2 years we’ve actually expanded our responsibility as students.”

The students can’t vote – Osmun hopes to change that – but they do present to the board. Osmun said she presents on education policy and how it affects her school.

Although she’s not always optimistic about education in Washington state, Osmun said overall she thinks everyone involved cares about kids. However, that doesn’t keep politics from creeping into decisions. Instead, Osmun tries to focus the discussion on those actually affected by policy decisions.

“I’ve always been passionate about education,” she said. “I wanted to be able to help influence policy.”

In terms of statewide policy issues, Osmun said she has three main areas of concern: testing, high school graduation requirements and equity between schools and districts.

Osmun doesn’t think standardized testing is a bad thing, just that it needs tweaks.

“I don’t think SBAC is as evil as everyone is making it out to be,” she said.

Perhaps the most defining moment of her service, she said, was when she visited a lower-income middle school in Pasco. She met with five students there who shared their success stories, and how education impacted them.

“They went from a very low spot to a high spot,” Osmun said. “I heard real passion in their voices.”

Her teachers, she said, have been very accommodating and understanding of her schedule, often giving her homework early so she can work on it while traveling.

Before she graduates in June, Osmun will help train her replacement.

“Seeing the impact that education can have on someone else’s life is inspiring,” she said. “This experience has opened my eyes to a lot of other things.”