Anna Yip: Giving students an official voice

At just 16 years old, Anna Yip — the student representative on Napa Valley Unified School District’s governing board — is already more involved in the education system than most local grown-ups.

Composed of seven adults, the school board makes decisions affecting the more than 17,000 students attending Napa Valley’s public schools. The board creates and alters district policies, making difficult — and sometimes unpopular — decisions and approving campus construction projects.

Yip is the board’s eighth member and a New Technology High School junior. Privy to all but closed board sessions, she routinely joins the trustees for their public, late-night meetings, most of which happen every other Thursday. It’s not unusual for Yip and her colleagues to be hashing out district business after most residents have turned in for the night.