Student School Board Representative Uses Student Story to Support Multilingual Learners
Students Supporting Students
We are excited to see Student Story AI highlighted in the Post-Register’s coverage of Quincy High School’s new student representatives on the Quincy School Board.
One student representative shared how he plans to use Student Story AI to capture authentic student voice, especially from Spanish-speaking students, through spoken feedback, surveys, and active listening.
It is inspiring to see students leading the way in building stronger school communities and using our tools to make it happen.
You can view the entire article here 🌐
Quincy Valley Post-Register Article
New faces, new perspectives: 2 more Quincy High School students take school board seats
By Jenni Rodas
Post-Register staff writer
Nov 14, 2025
This year, the Quincy School Board has two new members - faces the community may not recognize.
The start of the 2025–2026 school year marks the first term for juniors Andres Arenales and Jonaz Rodriguez as student representatives on the school board. They join Lucina Valenzuela, who is returning for her second year.
As student representatives, members attend board meetings, visit schools and deliver reports on high school events and activities to the board.
Arenales arrived in the U.S. from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, in January 2024 and is entering his second year in the country. Despite having only basic knowledge of English, he ran for the position.
“What inspired me to run for student representative was the desire to support my Spanish-speaking classmates,” Arenales wrote in Spanish in an email. “And to create new programs that I myself might have needed when I first came to this school.”
Coming to a new country pushed Arenales out of his comfort zone, with the help of several educators - including Amey Trujillo, Yaneth López and music director Devan Chandler - who helped him find confidence and community. Through their support, he joined the school’s music program, learned to play tenor saxophone and improved his English through the school’s bilingual program.
Now, he wants to ensure other Hispanic students have the same opportunities.
“The language barrier is a great challenge for us, and just as I wanted to feel supported, I want them to feel that way too,” Arenales wrote. “I want every student to come to school thinking it will be a good day, without fear of rejection, without lacking the tools they need, or fear because of the language.”
Arenales said his main goal is to ensure all Spanish-speaking students in the district, from elementary through high school, have access to the tools they need to succeed. He plans to launch surveys and use Student Story, an AI tool that collects feedback through spoken interviews and analyzes student input.
“It will not only be surveys: I also want to implement activities that strengthen the sense of belonging among all students, especially Spanish-speaking students,” he wrote. “I want to listen to the needs of each person; perhaps we won’t be able to fulfill all of them, but we will do everything possible to help each one in whatever way we can.”
Arenales credited former student representative Johanaly Torres for encouraging him to run.
“She believed in me when I wasn’t sure I could do it,” he wrote. “If it weren’t for her, I might never have applied.”
He also expressed a desire to support families during his term.
“When I think of helping the families in Quincy, I think of my own,” he said. “Supporting them feels like supporting mine.”
For Rodriguez, joining the school board is less about advocacy and more about personal growth. Rodriguez describes himself as “pretty active” and participates in many afterschool sports and activities.
“Well, I thought of it as another learning opportunity for me, and I've always been interested in politics a little bit more, so I feel like that could have been a good starting point for me to get into politics and like running as something for the government or in parole or something like that,” he said.
Rodriguez added he’s still finding his footing as a representative but is excited to learn from the experience.
He has considered introducing a way to make it easier for his peers to share their thoughts.
“I've thought of a suggestion box, or like a feedback box,” Rodriguez said. “Just giving feedback on what they think should be fixed or they’re missing.”
He hopes his broad involvement in sports and classes helps him connect with different groups of students and serve as a bridge between them and district officials.
“I could probably ask some of my friends if they have any suggestions that they feel are, like, missing as well,” Rodriguez said.
Although public speaking makes him nervous, he sees the role as a chance to build confidence.
“I get nervous when I'm talking to people, and it's really hard being a leader, too,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like that will help me because I want to be there to help people.”
