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 ALBANY, N.Y. (Nov.
3, 2008) -- At schools throughout the
City School District of Albany, it was a landslide.
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama was the clear
choice of elementary and middle school students who participated in a
variety of election-related activities leading up to Election Day 2008.
At Albany School of Humanities, Sen. Obama received nearly
91 percent of the vote in student balloting through the
Youth Leadership
Initiative, a national civic education program based at the
University of Virginia Center for Politics.
Arbor Hill Elementary School, Eagle Point Elementary School, Pine Hills
Elementary School and Philip Livingston Magnet Academy also held
presidential
Eagle Point students vote for president
Nov. 3.
balloting.
At ASH, 234 students in grades 3-6 were
among millions of students nationwide to vote in the
Youth
Leadership Initiative program Oct. 20-30.
Social studies teachers Diane Micelli (sixth grade) and Tammy Kaleta
(fifth grade) incorporated the project into their unit on Election 2008.
ASH also planned its own school election Monday for all students,
prekindergarten through grade 6.
In the YLI program, Sen. Obama, the first
African-American candidate to win a major-party presidential nomination,
received 198 votes on the Democratic ticket and 10 on the Working
Families ticket. Arizona Sen. John McCain received 18 votes on the
Republican line and one vote on the Independent line. Sen. McCain also
ran on the Conservative line and did not receive any additional votes.
Ralph Nader, running on the Populist Party
line, received two votes. No other candidates on the ballot received
votes.
“Teachers and students are all very excited
about our school election,” Mrs. Kaleta said. “Hopefully our children
will take home to their parents and the community the message of the
Youth Leadership Initiative: ‘Democracy: It’s Up To Me!’ ”
At Arbor Hill Elementary, 313 students and
staff members registered and voted in the school's mock election Nov. 3.
Sen. Obama won 90 percent of the votes. Fourth-grade students Amir
Taylor and Janay Scott were instrumental in setting up and running the
school's election.
At Pine Hills Elementary, students also
participated in a national student election Monday through
Every Kid
Votes, sponsored by Studies Weekly.
“As we all know this is an historic time and
a wonderful opportunity to help students understand the power of voting
as an American,” said Pine Hills Elementary Principal Vibetta Sanders.
Eagle Point Elementary held its own election
Monday, building an election booth and registration table on the stage
in the cafetorium. Students signed the registration form, then went into
the booth behind a closed curtain to drop their ballots into a box.
Philip Livingston
students also had an opportunity to cast votes in their own mock
election and participate in a variety of other election-related
activities.
They created campaign
posters for candidates, to urge people to vote and to highlight
important issues facing American voters. They discussed the candidates'
positions and qualifications in class. Eighth-graders participated in
the National Mock Election 2008 via computer, and the Albany County
Board of Elections provided the school with a voting machine, including
the complete ballot.
Students were required
to register prior to voting, and received "I Voted" stickers after
casting their ballots. Of the 198 votes cast in Livingston's mock
election, Sen. Obama received 192, or nearly 97 percent.
The City
School District of Albany serves approximately 8,400 students in 18
elementary, middle and high schools. In addition to neighborhood
schools, the district includes several magnet schools and programs, as
well as other innovative academic opportunities for students. The
district is more than halfway through its comprehensive facilities
project to newly build and/or renovate nearly all of its elementary and
middle schools. The ultimate goal of the facilities project is to
provide schools with the resources necessary to help students succeed in
the 21st century. |
