In the midst of high political persuasion and often emotion, many schools spent early November figuring out the best way to cover the election. Whether schools used a factual education based model, or circles and discussion based models, the role of school in politics is becoming more and more important to define. 

MMU did a mock election, which was somewhat inspired by a successful voter registration drive in February. The registration drive was coupled with actual polling stations and a mock election for the presidential primary. Partially inspired by the Student action committee there, students simulated voting using a real Jericho ballot.  Andrew McClellen, a social studies teacher there, was the point person for this project. 

“I think just in the Social Studies department here, we felt it was important to really talk about the cultural process and how our democracy works. We’re not here to endorse opinions about candidates… We’re talking and we’re learning more about how the process works,” McClellen said.  

The social studies department educated students in advance about the different local and national offices. They covered a brief history of voting rights and the electoral college to make up a more complete picture of government. MMU then used a google form for students to cast their votes during advisory. 

Rice had a similar model of the mock election, as well as CVU. Rice did the standard government processes classes, and covered resources related to this specific election. A similar format has been used every election year for multiple cycles now. 

Upperclassmen classes watched the presidential debate at home and looked at the past debates as well, like Bush v. Clinton. The students also heard from Becca Balint, a democratic House Representative for VT, and Joe Benning, a former republican minority leader in the VT senate. They spoke with the students about voting, bipartisanship, what their roles are, and how young people can get involved in politics. During the assembly there was a voter registration table set up. 

Another unique aspect of the RMHS election prep – the student written commercials for the presidential candidates. A student volunteered to write an ad for Trump, and two students wrote an ad for Harris. They were then vetted for offensive or inappropriate messaging and aired over the loudspeaker. 

According to Christian Frenette, a social studies teacher at RMHS, this was very civil. He mentioned that one student who worked on a commercial was given some grief, but it was in a teasing manner. 

The mock polls were open all day for students to go down or for teachers to take their class. Once the winner was announced, the results were surprising to students, Frenette said. 

The results were very close in number, a reflection of the national one. 

“Female students seemed to be more invested, maybe because Harris is female…. I do know after [the election] some females were particularly surprised,” Frenette said. 

Post election they also examined the make up of votes nationally. They debriefed how Trump picked up certain voters. 

“The goal was to get students to understand why [and] how the system works. I want them to show up..,” said Frenette. “There is excitement in school, and students who disagree have to work together or at least coexist.”

After hearing about what sort of mock election other schools did, Sugow said that format at BHS might be fun to do. 

“It teaches students the process of voting hands on- so that when or if they do the real thing, they can feel familiar and [understand it],” Sugow said. 

Fox shared this sentiment.

“I think that that’s so important. I think that no one understands the election process unless you’ve taken a class, like AP Government [or] some civics classes. You don’t know what’s happening and how it works and that’s like the root of the problem,” Fox said. 

Scott Hubbard, BHS math teacher, thought a more factual route when approaching these conversations is how the election should be addressed. 

“These are just kids who don’t have all the information yet, and to get them excited about results of presidential politics is, it’s just not a positive thing in my mind,” Hubbard said. “It’s your role as a teacher in those areas to give unbiased factual knowledge to kids and let them make their own decisions. But if there are kids who are legitimately concerned, you do have a role in talking to them about their concerns and listening, but trying the best you can to listen to all voices.”

The approach to these topics is different for Hubbard, as opposed to a social studies teacher. Since he isn’t teaching the facts, he will happily share his thoughts. 

“[I’ll share] my thoughts and give my reasons for why I vote the way I do, or think the way I think, but I will stress that that is the way I think. You need to form your own opinions.”

He did say that a blanket statement to a class about presidential politics is not the best way to go. 

“I think they’re making a lot of assumptions. I’m not saying that there aren’t students who have concerns. I’m not judging those teachers. I think in their heart of hearts, they’re doing what they think is correct or helpful.” 

Either way, a teacher’s job is to look out for students. Hubbard made sure to emphasize this.

Lindsey Cox is advisory coordinator and a personalized learning project based lab teacher at Winooski high school. Their pre-election preparation took place primarily in advisory, in a circle format. Montpelier High did a similar circle as well. 

Every Monday’s advisory is dedicated to a circle, anything from holidays, to the war in Gaza, to the attendance policy. The Monday prior to the election they looked at data from American University about how young voters were leaning politically and thinking about the future of the country. 

They offered three different options for the advisories to choose from related to the election- optimism from young people about politics, what young people are looking for in political leaders, and young Americans’ views on this specific election. Cox said anecdotally that more of the upperclassmen choose the latter. 

Students could choose the level in which they participated in the discussions. Post election they also had space for students to talk about their feelings. 

“The main goal of circles is really about the practice of listening and listening deeply, so that you’re not worried or thinking about, like, responding to what someone says. You’re all just sharing your own piece. [they], create the opportunity for people to find connections to one another, creating safe and welcoming space for every student in the school,” Cox said. 

The reason the school chose this format is because they know that most students get education about the democratic process and the factual aspect of elections. Advisory is something all students engage in, so circles are used to hold space, Cox said. 

“So like, I provided an activity that allowed for conversation rooted in like national data. And I think that as educators writ large, It’s our goal to ensure that there is space for all voices and all opinions, both in our classrooms, in our hallways, in our advisories, in the lunchroom. That is our job as educators, and so I believe that the teachers here bring that into their advisories as well.

Regardless of politics, these teachers believe biased teaching is not something that should be spread, and conversation and education should be encouraged. 

“I think there’s more common ground than the media would have us believe between people on the left and people on the right,” Sean Fleming said.