Sporting student-designed T-shirts and handmade posters, they shared that only 35% of adults ages 18 to 24 in La Plata County vote. Park students asked college students why this might be, and what would encourage them to vote on Nov. 5.
This get-out-the-vote effort grew organically from a fourth-grade study of the 19th Amendment this fall, which included reading The Hope Chest, a historical novel about women’s suffrage by Karen Schwabach.
“The Hope Chest inspired us to fix a problem in our community,” said Khloe Camp, a Park fourth grader who served her group as a voting officer and historian. As she and her classmates researched problems they could address, they discovered how low the voting numbers were among the college-aged demographic. They decided they could start solving the problem with a trip to Fort Lewis College (FLC).
Over the course of the Friday morning event, fourth graders spoke with dozens, if not hundreds, of FLC students. Back at school, they will tabulate the results of their efforts to determine how many people ages 18 to 24 they inspired to vote.
“We went into this hoping to let students guide their learning,” said fourth-grade Park teacher Gianna Fable, who added that the students’ get-out-the-vote effort integrated every subject – from social studies to math to art – and was a perfect example of Project-Based Learning at Park. “Learning happens everywhere, and we want kids to care about their community and know that they have the power to make a change!”
As one Park fourth grader wrapped up her last interview before packing up and trekking back down the Sky Steps, she asked an FLC student one final question: “What would inspire you to vote?”
“You just did!” he replied.
