Katherine Chritton of West Hartford is first middle school student to ever serve on the Board of Trustees.

Submitted by Jenni French, Watkinson School

Watkinson School, Hartford’s oldest coed independent day school for grades 6-PG, is proud to announce Katherine Chritton, a seventh grader from West Hartford, was elected Watkinson School’s newest student trustee.

Running for her second time, the seventh grader came out on top this year after a close race among 5 candidates. More than 55 percent of the Watkinson student body turned out to vote.

About her appointment, Chritton comments, “I wanted to be a student trustee because I want to be more involved with the school and to contribute to Watkinson in more ways. When I came to Watkinson last year, I wondered why the middle school was not represented on the board, and I was the only middle school candidate to run last year and this year. I think it’s important for the middle schoolers to have a voice. I’m pretty responsible and organized, good at listening to different perspectives and seeing multiple sides of an issue, and am very curious about how things work.”

Each month, Chritton attends the Watkinson School Board meeting to represent the student body. In her student report, she informs the trustees of student events and information, as well as presenting any concerns the kids may have.

Chritton said being in this position is exciting for her as, “…after I finish middle school and high school, I want to be involved in education, either as a teacher or even a head of school or principal. I think that being a student trustee will allow me to learn more about how a school operates.”

When Chritton is not in board meetings or in class, she can be found in Model United Nations, Math Counts, robotics/tech club, middle school music workshop (where I play the tuba), drama (she played the role of Mrs. Gloop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last year), tennis, and circus arts.

Watkinson School is a co-educational day school for grades 6-PG. Founded in 1881, Watkinson is Hartford’s oldest independent school.  Watkinson’s next open house for prospective students is Oct. 14 at 1 p.m.