VOTES

    In 1988, an idea was hatched by a history teacher named Jim Shea at Northfield Mt. Herman School (NMH) in Massachusetts. The idea emerged from a conversation he was having with a history class about the upcoming presidential election. That election, which pitted major party candidates George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis against one another, featured all the usual punditry, predictions and polls which have characterized elections in this country forever.  In Shea's class, however, a new question was raised: "Why aren't high school students polled for their preferences?"
    Shea, and a group of student volunteers, acted on this question. They conceived a program that would solicit participating high schools throughout the U.S. to poll their students and submit results to a central clearinghouse at Northfield Mt. Herman.  VOTES was born. VOTES, by the way, stands for Voting Opportunities for Teens in Every State.
     Results would be tabulated in the week leading up to the actual election and the results could later be compared to actual election results as well as to other pre-election polls conducted by major news outlets. Shea saw an opportunity to deepen his students' civic engagement as well as sharpen their skills in statistical analysis.
     A call went out to solicit participating schools. The NMH hope was for one public school and one private school from each state. (In that first presidential election year, they fell a bit short of their goal. Ever since, they have met the goal.)  Keep in mind this is well before the internet was developed, so to say "a call went out" means a combination of utilizing print journalism (e.g.: the journal of the National Council of the Social Studies, Independent School Magazine and Education Week) and word of mouth.
     The History Department chair at Gill St. Bernard's School heard of the program and signed on.  Dr. John Ripton, then department chair, saw an opportunity for more than a straw poll of GSB students. He envisioned GSB students learning more about the election process.  Together with a group of student volunteers, he set into motion a model that has been replicated at GSB every four years since 1988.
    At GSB, students take on the roles of presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Candidate roles include non-major party candidates such as the Green Party or the Libertarian Party. There are also student campaign managers. Events such as debates, town hall meetings and press conferences are also held (all roles taken by students) for the benefit of the larger Upper School student population. In this way, all the Upper School students learn more about the candidates and the party positions so when it's election day (at GSB), students are informed.
    Not all schools participating in VOTES involve students as thoroughly as happens at GSB. In fact, the prevailing model is simply that students vote on their election day. The GSB model, which involves deep immersion in the election process, is certainly a commitment of time and resources but the yield is significant. Students, and faculty as well, are made aware of issues and party policies in a way unlikely to otherwise happen. 
     This process of truly immersing our students into the election process has caught the eye of others.  GSB candidates have gone to other schools and conducted mock presidential debates as part of school assembly programs. Local press like the Bernardsville News have regularly covered our VOTES program. Even the Christian Science Monitor picked up the VOTES story and featured GSB's approach in the 2000 election. The two part story appeared on November 7, 2000 and November 14, 2000.
     Since 1988, GSB has been one of 35 high schools that have participated in each of the 7 previous VOTES programs. We are now in our 8th consecutive program.  This year, History Department chair Dr. Leo Janas has teamed with faculty member Christine Chan to oversee the program. Four candidates (Republican, Democratic, Libertarian & Green parties) and staffs are making their positions known. Voting is occurring in advance of the November 1 due date to submit results to Northfield Mt. Herman School. 
     And this year, for the first time, a new element has been added to the electioneering at GSB. Each of the parties has put together a campaign advertisement. As someone very interested in video as a learning tool, I was happy to see the addition of these promotional videos. They're worth a look: