Boston students prepare for the Presidential election

BOSTON – Call the school nurse! An epidemic of “election fever” is sweeping through Boston Public Schools!

Students of all ages – from Kindergarteners who are still more than a decade away from voting age to high school seniors going to the polls for the first time – are getting excited about Election Day.

Over the course of the next four days, schools across the city will be holding mock elections, staging debates, organizing “get-out-the-vote” rallies, and participating in a variety of other election-related activities to teach students about the democratic process, and we welcome media coverage of these events (a complete list is below).

For more information or to cover one of these stories, call the Communications Office at 617-635-9265.

Pictured below: Students in Mr. Moe Lane's art classes at Charlestown High School produced a mural depicting President-Elect Obama, featuring the "Yes We Can" slogan in English, Spanish and Chinese.

Slideshow: English High School students celebrate Election Night 2008 at City Year headquarters.

Boston Public Schools Election Story Ideas

Thursday, October 30

TheMcCormack Middle School is participating in the National Student Mock Election www.nationalmockelection.org.  Tomorrow the school will set up polling stations at which students will cast their votes with the voting cards.  Many teachers have been following or using portions of the National Mock Curriculum within classes and lessons. After voting at the McCormack, the results will be sent to the JFK Library to be tabulated with other participating schools in the state.  These votes will then be sent to Arizona to be tabulated nationally, determining who the voters of tomorrow choose for their president.

Thursday, October 30, 7:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (students will be voting by class)
McCormack Middle School, 315 Mt. Vernon Street, Dorchester

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The campaign gets underway at theMather Elementary School on Thursday morning. The school’s 5th grade will be serving as the “polls” for all students in grades 1-5 and will be sending representatives to meet with different classes to “campaign” for each candidate. Next week, on Election Day, the polls will open at 10:00 a.m. and will close at 2:00 p.m., and students in grades 1-5 will be going to one of the 5th grade rooms to vote. Students will receive “I voted” stickers.

Mather Elementary School, 1 Parish Street, Dorchester
Thursday, October 30, 10:00 a.m. (campaign visits by 5th graders begin)

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Brook Farm Academy has invited several Boston City Councilors for a pre-election panel discussion of the election issues. Councilors At-Large Michael Flaherty and John Connelly, District 5 Councilor Rob Consalvo and District 6 Councilor John Tobin will speak with students about the importance of civic duty by voting and actively participating in the electoral process of local, state and national officials.

Brook Farm Business & Service Career Academy, West Roxbury Education Complex, 1205 VFW Parkway
Thursday, October 30

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The William Channing Elementary School will hold a mock election for students in all grades to vote for President of the United States.

William Channing Elementary School, 35 Sunnyside Street, Hyde Park
Thursday, October 30

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The Patrick Lyndon Pilot School is involving students of all ages in the election. On Thursday, 7th and 8th graders will lead the entire K-8 school in an assembly and then run a student election based on the Electoral College model. The assembly features students talking about the importance of voting, an explanation the Electoral College, details on the candidates, and the performance of a patriotic song. The student vote is modeled on the Electoral College with the winner taking all of the electoral votes for each class. The 8th grade students are responsible for crunching the numbers to determine a winner as part of a math lesson.

Patrick Lyndon Pilot School, 20 Mount Vernon Street, West Roxbury
Thursday, October 30

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Students at the Haley Elementary School will also participate in the National Student Mock Election www.nationalmockelection.org.  The school’s lobby will be set up for students to check in with 5th grade poll workers, receive their ballots, and cast their vote for President.  As preparation for Election Day, students have been accessing online election activities where they create candidate and issues stickers which are placed on a states map. Classroom teachers have taught lessons that included biographical information on the candidates, how the voting process works, and the importance of registering. Haley students are looking forward to knowing their school results, and they have a sense that despite their age, their voices will be heard in the National Student Mock Election 2008.

Haley Elementary School, 570 American Legion Highway, Roslindale
Thursday, October 30, 8:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m.

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At a school-wide assembly, Excel High School students will take a closer look at the issues that have been central to the 2008 Presidential campaign. The event will begin with a look at the results of a school-wide survey about ten key issues and will be followed by a series of student debates on hot topics such as healthcare and gun control.

Excel High School, South Boston Education Complex, 95 G Street, South Boston
Thursday, October 30, 12:45 – 1:45 p.m.

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Students in 11th grade English classes at Brighton High School will share their “Letters to the Next President” at a publishing party tomorrow afternoon. As part of a National Writing Project program, the students researched and wrote persuasive letters asking the next president to attend to the issues they feel are important. Letters are posted at www.letters2president.org. Additionally, students have had the opportunity to research, write, film, edit, and produce political commercials advertising the candidates’ views on issues such as healthcare, education reform, the war in Iraq, the energy crisis, and the economy.

Brighton High School, 25 Warren Street, Brighton
Thursday, October 30, 1:15 - 2:05 p.m. (in the library)

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Friday, October 31

Boston Adult Technical Academy (BATA), which serves overage students, has registered more than 70 young adults to vote in the upcoming election. Students have organized a “get-out-the-vote” rally for Friday that will feature student performances, a dramatic reading of one of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches, and debates about the ballot questions.

Boston Adult Technical Academy, Madison Park Complex, 55 Malcolm X Blvd., Roxbury
Friday, October 31, 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. (Cardinal Hall, 2nd floor)

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Monday, November 3

Students at the Gavin Middle School will vote in a mock election using realistic ballots.

Gavin Middle School, 215 Dorchester Street, South Boston
Monday, November 3, 10:15 – 11:45 a.m.

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The elementary students at the Philbrick Elementary School are all participating in an online student voting experience www.studiesweeklyvote.com. Every student will vote in their classrooms and then can watch the election outcomes throughout the day. In the past weeks, teachers have been reading books about each candidate and holding grade-appropriate discussions. The upper grades, particularly 4th graders, have done a great deal of research and have become quite well-informed about where each candidate stands on the issues of healthcare, education, the war, etc. Students will leave school Monday with “I voted” stickers, which will serve as reminders for their families as well.

Philbrick Elementary School, 40 Philbrick Street, Roslindale
Monday, November 3, Ongoing throughout the day

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The Marshall Elementary School serves as a polling location on Election Day, and on Monday, the City of Boston Elections Department will set up a special mock election for students. Third, fourth and fifth grade students will cast their votes and leave the polls with special “I voted” stickers created by the school’s art teacher. Results will be announced at the end of the day.

Marshall Elementary School, 35 Westville Street, Dorchester
Monday, November 3, 10:30 a.m.

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On November 3 Warren-Prescott K-8 School students in Grades 3 - 8 will vote in a mock election in their classrooms using a student-friendly version of the Suffolk County Ballot for absentee voters by placing their secret ballots in a voting box. The "Kids Vote" Project was initiated by the Director of the Charlestown Lacrosse Center, Robert Cutler, in conjunction with Tom Coots, Manager of the Charlestown Cooperative Bank, teachers at the Warren-Prescott School, and the Massachusetts Office of the Secretary of State. After tallying the votes, the school will measure the correlation between its votes and those cast in Charlestown on November 4.

Monday, November 3, 9:00 -10:00 a.m.
Warren-Prescott K-8 School, 50 School Street, Charlestown

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Students at the Boston Day & Evening Academy have been studying the presidential candidates and where they stand on the issues of health care, the Iraq war, and the economy over the past few weeks. The students have also been debating the Massachusetts referendum questions.  The school is holding a mock election on Monday, November 3.

Monday, November 3
Boston Day & Evening Academy, 20 Kearsarge Avenue

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Tuesday, November 4

Students in all grades will cast their votes in a special “voting booth” set up in the Henry Grew Elementary School library.

Henry Grew Elementary School, 40 Gordon Avenue, Hyde Park
Tuesday, November 4

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Students had the Garfield Elementary School vote for some local leaders on Tuesday. The school will hold elections for student government representatives in grades 3, 4 and 5 the same day as the Presidential Election. In addition, all students have also been drawing or writing letters to the future president suggest ideas for their administration as part of the Garfield's "Make a Difference" contest.

Garfield Elementary School, 95 Beechcroft Street, Brighton
Tuesday, November 4

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The Wilson Middle School serves as a polling location and will have student greeters as well as parent volunteers welcoming voters to the building.  The school has set a side tables and chairs and will offer voters coffee, tea, water and juice.

Woodrow Wilson Middle School, 18 Croftland Avenue, Dorchester
Tuesday, November 4, 7:00 a.m. - noon

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The Winship Elementary School will set up private “voting booths” in the school’s hallways and students in grades 2-5 will have an opportunity to cast their vote for president in the booths (kindergarten and grade 1 students will vote in their classrooms). The school has posted signs up reminding students that Tuesday is Election Day, and on Monday several 4th grade students will travel to all of the school’s classes to inform them about the candidates.

Winship Elementary School, 54 Dighton Street, Brighton
Tuesday, November 4

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Third, fourth and fifth grade students from all classes (regular, ELL, SPED) will be participating in a mock presidential election at the Mattahunt Elementary School. The fifth grade students will be manning the polls for the election to experience the election process. After all classes have voted, the fifth graders are responsible for the tallying and reporting process. The school will then compare its vote to the nation’s.

Mattahunt Elementary School, 100 Hebron Street, Mattapan
Tuesday, November 4

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TechBoston Academy has taken a high-tech approach to holding a mock election. On Tuesday morning, students at TBA will log onto a website created by the school’s history department that mimics the ballot for Ward 17, Precinct 8 in Dorchester. In addition to casting their votes, students will answer some basic demographic questions, so that classes can later analyze this data to create an in-depth look an how and why the students voted the way they did.

TechBoston Academy, Dorchester Education Complex, 9 Peacevale Road, Dorchester
Tuesday, November 4

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Students at the Haynes Early Education Center will participate in an electronic vote on Election Day. In preparation, the school held a mock election last week in which teachers ran for office.

Haynes Early Education Center, 263 Blue Hill Avenue, Roxbury
Tuesday, November 4

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Students at the Irving Middle School will be holding a mini-debate on the candidate’s platforms followed by a mock election. They will also be given U.S. maps on which to track election results for homework. 

Washington Irving Middle School, 105 Cummins Highway, Roslindale
November 4, 10:20 – 11:57 a.m.

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While many schools are counting up the popular vote, Charlestown High School is taking things a step further by setting up its own mock electoral college. The school will select electors for each small learning community and team in the school based on the population, have students vote in home rooms, and then have the electors cast their votes for candidates. The school will then compare the results of the popular and electoral votes.

Charlestown High School, 240 Medford St., Charlestown
Tuesday, November 4

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On Tuesday, all 8th grade students from The Harbor School will visit polling stations and interview voters on their voting experiences.  They students will analyze this data when they return to school, looking at how race, gender, and life experiences impact people’s experiences and opinions about voting and the electoral process.  Students will also ask voters about their knowledge and concern about global warming and how this has impacted their voting choices.  For more information about the students’ projects come visit The Harbor School or the students at polling stations on election day.

The Harbor School, 11 Charles Street, Dorchester
Tuesday, November 4

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Students from English High School's newly implemented Civics in Action course as well as students from the AP Government and Politics program will gather to have dinner, watch the coverage and participate in election-related activities. Civics in Action and AP Government and Politics are both classes designed for seniors and therefore there are a number of students in the classes of voting age. The school’s first-time voters plan to vote in the afternoon before the event.

City Year Headquarters at 287 Columbus Avenue, South End
Tuesday, November 4, 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.