Saturday, May 10, 2008

'Project Citizen' winners

Argen Duncan El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

ADUNCAN Students in fifth-grade are not too young to be involved in public policy.

Two teams from Zimmerly Elementary School took second and third places at the statewide Project Citizen civic education competition in Santa Fe on April 26.

The students had to present a display board on a problem they identified, alternatives, a class policy and an action plan within four minutes. Then, they had six minutes to answer judges' questions.

Fifth-grade teacher Terri Saavedra said the greatest values of the project were teamwork and students learning about being productive citizens and the importance of being involved in the community.

"I'm hoping they'll take this lesson and value it when they're older," she said.

Saavedra said the group that investigated getting a bus to the Rail Runner Express station in Belen came in second after Window Rock Navajo Nation. The Zimmerly team that devised a school cell phone policy came in third.

About seven middle schools competed.

The student put their projects together in five days after school because they didn't initially know if they would get the money for a bus.

"Just imagine if they'd have more time," Saavedra said. "They would have won."

Several teachers and one Socorro High School student helped the students.

Fifth-grader Matthew Lucero worked on the Rail Runner bus project. He said his group tried to find a way for Socorro to have better transportation for people who worked or had medical appointments in a different city.

The students decided to support state Rep. Don Tripp in trying to pass House Bill 232, which provides for a bus to the train station. They sent out at least 200 surveys to see if the public knew about the bill or wanted the bus.

Of the 34 surveys students got back, none opposed the bus.

"Most of them were positive notes," Lucero said.

Lucero participated "so I can know more about how you could do something for everybody's sake." He said he learned that if his city needed something, all he had to do was speak up.

Fifth-grader Camilla Aitbayev helped develop a cell phone policy for Zimmerly.

Aitbayev said her group heard that in some schools, students use the phones to cheat or get teachers in trouble. Also, on a trip to reward good academic performance, one student was sending text messages to an Albuquerque student who was in class.

Because Zimmerly didn't have a cell phone policy, the students decided to create one.

"We haven't tried it out yet, but we think it'll work," Aitbayev said.

If the policy goes into action, students must sign the contract to bring their cell phones to school. Misuse of the phones would bring repeated confiscation and, if the problems continued, suspension.

Aitbayev said she participated in Project Citizen because she was looking for something to do after school and she thought the program would be a good way to help. She said it was a great experience.

"I learned that some students have misused their cell phones," Aitbayev said. "And then there are adults (who) also misuse their cell phones."

Sky Chadde, Socorro High School sophomore who guided Aitbayev's group, said the students thought up the topic of their project and the solution themselves.

"The kids are great," he said. "Everything came together during that week we were doing this."

All of the students in the group helped, Chadde said.

The sophomore said he got involved because Saavedra invited him to help through his mother, Jody Lee-Chadde, who also teaches at Zimmerly. Chadde thought working with and molding young minds would be fun.

If he hadn't helped with Project Citizen, Chadde said, he wouldn't have appreciated elementary teachers or how much effort the students put into the project.

"I learned that even young kids really care about the issues that concern them, and they really proactively try to make those policies better than concern them," he said.

aduncan@dchieftain.com

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