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ESHS Students Govern El Segundo |
On October 29 and 30, Ms.
King, ESHS Political Behavior teacher, reestablished a program that
had been disregarded for ten years. The "Student Government
Days" program included twenty-five eager students, who all shared a
common interest in learning what it takes to run a government, more
specifically, the City of El Segundo. The members of the senior class who
volunteered for the activity took on such governmental roles as the Police
Chief, Fire Chief, School Superintendent, City Council Members, the Mayor
and others. All twenty-five members came together as a team and really
learned what it is like to lead El Segundo.
For weeks in advance, the
student government team planned for their Student City Council Meeting,
which took place on Tuesday, October 29. They attended lunch meetings
where they met with Ms. King and the City Manager to decide what the
topics of discussion would be for the final meeting. Some of the topics of
discussion that were decided upon involved the curfew law, stop signs, and
other traffic issues. They also prepared for the meeting by researching
these topics, developing opinions, and even watching the actual City
Council Meeting on television.
Early, on Monday, October
29, Ms. King and the student government team arrived at City Hall dressed
up and were ready to learn how El Segundo is run. At City Hall, they met
with the City Clerk, City Manager, and a number of other City Officials
who spoke to them about the rewards and duties of working for the city.
The City Manager led the group on a tour of City Hall, where they met all
of the people that help El Segundo run smoothly. Following their tour of
City Hall, they moved on to the Fire Department, where they met the Fire
Chief and a number of firefighters, who told the students all about life
as a firefighter. Just before their lunch break, the group took a third
tour of the Police Department, where they met the Chief of Police, the
Police Captain and most of the officials who work in the Police Department
every day. They concluded their tour by visiting the underground jail
cells. At lunch, the group had the opportunity of meeting Mayor Mike
Gordon and the four City Council Members. Each of the members spoke to the
Student Government Team and following lunch, the group concluded their day
with short meetings with each of their counterparts.
Bright and early, on
Tuesday October 30, the team met at City Hall ready to finally take on
their roles as government officials and put on their Student City Council
Meeting. With the help of Ms. King, the Mayor, the City Council Members,
and all of the other government officials, the group of students was able
to pull it off with great success. The five student city council members
sat in the same seats as the actual City Council Members and conducted a
meeting just like El Segundo's City Council does every first and third
Tuesday of each month. The student city council members were a bit nervous
before the meeting but by the end, they had become more comfortable in
expressing their views freely, contributing to the discussion, and
addressing key factors in the conversation, which slightly influenced the
views of the city council members who sat in the audience not as city
council members, but as citizens of El Segundo, watching the future
unfold.
Students and
Administrators both had positive experiences alike and the overall
reaction to the "Student Government Days" program was more than
just positive. Ms. King noted that "Student Government Days was a
great way for the students to learn about the city government and they
were able to make real connections. It was so beneficial because of the
small-town atmosphere.” Senior, Christopher Poiry, who had the opportunity of
portraying the mayor, was affected and inspired by his experience. He
commented, "Being able to act as mayor of El Segundo for the day was
a wonderful experience that has sparked an interest in me and inspired me
to actually be the mayor one day. I'm so glad that they brought the
‘Student Government Days’ program back, and I hope Ms. King continues
to lead the program in the future."