Brattleboro Student Joins Vermont Board of Education
Sophomore Sebastian Alvarez was appointed in October as a nonvoting student member of the state board.
Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Secondary Education
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Brattleboro Union High School sophomore Sebastian Alvarez was appointed to Vermont's Board of Education in October, where he serves as a nonvoting member. He applied for the student seat and is accompanied by another student who holds a voting position.
Why it matters
The appointment gives a high school student a direct seat in discussions of statewide education policy. Alvarez will be able to vote on education matters next year, when he moves into a voting position.
Alvarez has served six weeks on the board as a nonvoting member. He is assigned to subcommittees covering school start times, graduation requirements, and standards, and the extraction does not state how his subcommittee work has progressed.
The players
Sebastian Alvarez
A sophomore at Brattleboro Union High School who was appointed as a student member of Vermont's Board of Education.
Vermont Board of Education
The state body that sets education policy for Vermont's public schools and is based in Montpelier.
The details
Alvarez applied to be a student board member and was appointed in October. He sits on subcommittees covering school start times, graduation requirements, and standards. His mother, Linda Alvarez, was named the 2026 Vermont teacher of the year, and both of his parents are teachers.
Timeline
October 2026: Alvarez is appointed to the Vermont Board of Education.
November 13, 2026: An article about his appointment is published.
Next year: Alvarez is expected to assume a voting position on the board.
Seasonal Patterns
Student seats on state education boards let students observe policy from the inside before they can vote, a structure that Vermont's student-member provision sets up explicitly. Alvarez's appointment follows that structure, moving from a nonvoting role this year to a voting one next year.
Students and families in Vermont can see how student board members are selected and what roles they hold before and after becoming voting members. Parents and students interested in board service can follow the appointment process through the state board.
The takeaway
Student board seats give young people a structured route into state education policy. Alvarez's path, from nonvoting member this year to voting member next year, shows how that route is designed to work in practice.
What happens next
Alvarez is scheduled to move into a voting position on the board next year.
Further reading
For related coverage, see Secondary Education in Vermont.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Wcax.
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