Middle School Mock Election

Students and teachers from Westfields middle school program conducted a mock election on October 19. Students used a state-of-the art online voting system as they participated in a mock election program sponsored by the Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI), a national civic education program based at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. With hundreds of thousands of students voting nationwide during the two-week voting period, the YLI Mock Election is the largest secure, student-only mock election in the nation.

 

 

Rodney Berthold, Middle School Director and YLI School Coordinator at The Boyd School, states, “Elementary and middle school students need to know the importance of civic responsibility. Hopefully, engaging opportunities such as online voting will not only familiarize students with the voting process, but also inspire them to stay educated on issues and campaigns, now and for the rest of their lives.”

succeed where prior methods have proven inadequate. According to Stroupe, “the apathy of today’s generation toward politics is a symptom of society’s neglect of civic education.” However, he adds, “aside from parental influence at home, schools present the best opportunity to reverse the negative impression that young people have of the  American   political   process.”     The    study

shows that the instructional components of the YLI can have a positive impact on students, and Stroupe found that “students in classes where teachers used the political participation exercises and the lesson plans of the mock election reported a higher tendency toward future political participation.”

                                  

For Those

              Less Fortunate

Aldie:

Gently Used Shoe Drive benefiting

Soles for Souls

Each November and December, students, staff, and parents coordinate various charity drives for those less fortunate than us. The staff at each campus collectively decides which worthy organization they would like to assist. We encourage parents to discuss the act of donating with your child should you decide to participate. On behalf of all of the charities, organizations, and The Boyd School, we thank you in advance for your generosity and kindness. Each of the campuses’ charities are listed:

Broadlands:

Book Drive benefitting a poverty stricken

VA school through donorschoose.org

 

Cascades:

Food Drive benefiting

Loudoun Interfaith Relief

 

Fairfax:

Shoebox of items benefiting

Katherine K. Hanley Family Shelter

 

Herndon:

Canned Food Drive benefiting

Reston Community Center

 

Reston:

Gently Used Clothing Drive benefiting

The Closet

 

Westfields:

Unopened Toy Drive benefiting

Toys for Tots                                               Page 12 --->

 A national research study conducted by the University of Virginia Center for Politics Director Larry J. Sabato and Chief of Staff Ken Stroupe, found conclusively  that  new  and   innovative

methods of civic education can

Editor

Mike Brown

 

Publisher

Faith Smith

 

Contributing Reporters

Aldie - Micah Earle

Broadlands - Shelly Wachter

Cascades - LeighAnn Skeen

Fairfax - Mary Munion

Herndon - Diana Plascencia

Reston - James Rice

Westfields - Marion Price &

                         Rodney Berthold