S2 E24 - West Point High School Civic Action Club

[MUSIC] Welcome to the Education Exchange. I'm your host, Superintendent Jeremy Kias, here at the Tulsa Union High School District. And today we are going to talk about the Civic Action Club over at West Point High School. We have several people here to share this conversation with us. And we're going to start those introductions right here to my left of Mandigo and introduce yourself to the audience. Hi, my name is Amanda Flores. I am the AP as well as US Government Teacher here on campus. I sponsor student government as well. So I'm not directly involved in Civic Action Club, but our clubs work very closely together. Hello, my name is Olivia Costa and I'm one of the community engagement coordinators here for the Civic Action Club. I also work very closely with Stuga. Hi, I'm Tori Trulick and I'm the President of Civic Action Club. Hi, my name is Gabriella Flores Cabrera. I am a government teacher here at West Point and I also sponsor the Civic Action Club. Alright, so maybe we'll start first on the end, Gabriella, and what is the Civic Action Club for all of our listeners out there? Yeah, the Civic Action Club is an organization of students who are aiming at closing the Civic Opportunity Gap. Through the Civic Action Club, we have a few partners, ASU, the Flynn program, and they come in here and teach students about civic engagement. And then the students use those tools in their school community. Are there certain events that they can expect when they join the club, things that they're going to be a part of throughout the year? Like what are some of the major highlights during the school year for those in the club? So I think the big thing is towards the end of the year when the students run the school participatory budgeting election, which is paired with the student government election. Students also host civic voter registration drives throughout the school year. Sounds great. And how about from our students, some of the things that you've liked best about being in the Civic Action Club? I think a lot of my like best about the Civic Action Club was like being able to really like communicate with our community, how the importance of getting young voters to register and actually engage with me, not just like in primary election, or like not like just in like the US national ones, but like the smaller ones, and also like educating other people that civic engagement is not just voting. It's just like, launching within your community and just being able to work together for a common goal. Yeah, something that I've enjoyed in Civic Action Club is really the connections I've made a lot of new connections with the Civic Action Club. And then also seeing how our student body engages. Also being in the student government, sometimes it can be hard for our students to actually engage with what's going on on campus. However, when I see stuff done for Civic Action Club, we usually see a lot of positive turnout like with our SPB election last year. So, Amanda, how does that crossover work with student government, the Civic Action Club, explain to them what they can do for their local politics here on the school campus, but then how that plays into a much bigger picture across the nation. How do you bring that together? Absolutely. So, I think one of the best things about having Civic Action Club on our campus beginning last year is there's there's somewhat of a misunderstanding about what is student government supposed to do on campus. It student government sometimes becomes a catch all for anything that students think is wrong, which we don't mind hearing from the student body, but we tend to be more in the camp of planning events like dances, homecoming, prom, spirit weeks, assemblies, things. Like that, but that doesn't mean that there aren't other things on campus that could be improved, whether it's some of the facilities like last year, the. What won the election was more shade on campus, there was other things suggested though, like a community garden, as well as a recycling program. And so I think one of the best things about having Civic Action Club on campus is that there's more folks working towards bettering our campus, whether it's in hearing collecting information from the student body, getting their participation and voting. That I think pairs well with our mission of trying to improve morale and school spirit. The other thing that I'd love to highlight about the student participatory budgeting elections is that typically we have very low voter turnout in stewed goal elections. We are generally, I think in the 2024 election cycle, we had approximately 300 votes total, which at a school at the time we were, we don't. For those elections, seniors don't vote because they'll be leaving the next year. So we should have, but even still, we should have roughly 2000 votes if we're getting a lot of voter turnout last year, though, because of the SBP elections. We had over 1000 votes, which is a humongous increase in voter turnout, not just for the SBP election, but also for our student body officers. We approved a new constitution. And so I think from the stewed goal side of things, it makes us feel good to know that people are by kind of combining our efforts. We people are paying attention more people know who their elected officers are, know who to come to when they have ideas and questions and problems. So over 1000 votes and seniors couldn't vote in your senior seniors were about 800 on your campus last year. So really, you're looking at 50% voter turnout. Now they could vote for the SBP part of the election. But so in the form, we kind of had it set up where seniors would, everyone would vote for what project they wanted approved. And then they would say, there's a question that said, are you a senior? If yes, that was kind of the end of the form and we would direct them to voter registration. And then if no, they would fill out the rest of the form voting by grade level for their class officers and then student body as well. Now let's give our listeners a little bit more background on the school participatory budgeting because it is a, it is a new concept, not just to West Point, but also to our district. You were the first school to take this on last year was your first year. Now you're going into your second vote. How did that all come about? Can you give people some background on on what is it and how the idea came over here to West Point? Absolutely, I can give a little bit about how it came to us, but Miss Cabrero is really the one leading the charge. So we both went to a civics education PD at ASU last fall. And God inspired, but she really took the reins. So I'll let her talk about it. Yeah, so in between the sessions, they had different booths set up and one of them was a center for civics, Arizona. And they had stats on the voter registration within the county of Maricopa. And they listed out all of the high school districts in order of, you know, highest voter registration, so low as voter registration for students who could potentially be registered to vote. And we were towards the bottom. We were 19th and that number kind of concerned me because I thought we'd be a lot higher than that given that our students in my government class really like to talk about what's going on in their community. And there's always a lot of engagement in class. So that came to a shock to me. So moving on to the next booth. I found one for from the center for the future of Arizona, where they were trying to get interest in the school participatory budgeting program. They hosted a professional development training within the all day PD. And I sat in I listened, I went through like a mock process in the matter of like an hour. So it was like one hour. And then I'm supposed to make this last like all year long. But I got really excited about it. And it's one thing for me to say that when I do like the topic of government and politics. But I saw the importance of the topic and I saw that it would or it had the potential to inspire my students. So I, I got registered with them. They had more meetings with me to kind of discuss what that looked like. Ms. Flores and I put together a proposal and presented it to our admin. And one thing that I really appreciate is that they were on board. They trusted us and they were really excited to start a program that would support the students on campus. And then the next one program, you know, one of the things when people are voting in elections, I don't always get to see instant results from their vote. I mean, maybe voting for a candidate. And yes, you see the candidate take office. But when you're voting for something like a bond and override other things of these nature. You don't necessarily see that instant result of like this happened because of how I voted. So, you know, being able to do that here on campus were the shades up. And they know they voted for the shade. Like that's pretty, pretty instant instant results from your vote. Definitely very exciting. It wasn't surprised to me that you said the word 19th. I actually look at our voter data a lot. And yes, I'm shocked that when you look at our 18 to 25 year olds, most of them just don't vote. I think in this last election, we had 52 total across the district. And there are 200,000 adults to live in our district. So seeing only 52 in that age group show up. That's very concerning because they should be the ones with the most skin in the game since they're going to live with the results the longest. So I'd like to get some student feedback on that. So Tori, I don't know if you want to kick it off. What's your impression of that younger voters not voting? Yeah, I think that's like, that was my biggest issues. And that's why I really wanted to join the club because I feel like when I had visited one of those like voter ballots and they had asked some like what they felt about that. A lot of like young people shouldn't turn out, but they would like say they wanted like all these issues to be addressed, but they didn't like want to vote for the actual elected representatives and such. But what do you think Olivia? I think that considering younger voter registration, something I've noticed in my community and online is that young people tends to be very passionate about what they're doing. going on with today's political climate is very tumultuous at the moment and to see that we're taking such little action to actually do something about that it's concerning and I think what made me even want to join Civic Action Club in the first place was seeing the election and seeing how it is possible to get people to do this we just have to reach them in the right way. Not a surprise that we see low turnout on young voters but what else were you finding on some of your election results? A lot of things that I find is that there's also a low minority turnout for young voters and I think that's really significant coming from a school with a high minority population in general such as Hispanics with about only for the 2024 election 27% of Latino men voted and 37% of Latino women and I think if they really if like all of us really want to see like each other like represented in such like unique ways because all its experiences really playing to how bills and everything's like implemented like within society then we need to actually take action and initiative now to vote before it's like too late and we release those ramifications. I couldn't agree more so on that note Gabriella what exactly are you doing for voter registration and trying to increase voter registration particularly with a younger population who hasn't been voted? So I think one part is getting the Student Sensific Action Club to get excited about voter registration it's one thing to vote in the SPB election because you don't need to be registered to vote to do that just a student on campus but when we had our training last year so we do the Junior Deputy Registered Training which counts as points towards the Student Civic Literacy Seal so the Civic Literacy Seal is kind of one of the positives to going through this program as well but the students went through training and then when they saw kind of the importance of voter registration and started running their own voter registration drives and seeing the numbers that they could get they kind of started getting excited I think last year they were thinking that maybe they'd get like 50 students throughout the whole year on one day they got 250 students registered to vote I think seeing that number really inspired the kids and I think the total number by the end of the year was almost 300 kids. Wow that's awesome so what else do you have planned for the Civic Action Club this year? Any other great things coming up or what are you looking forward to implementing in future years with the Civic Action Club? So this year one of the big differences from last year is our involvement with the Flynn program. This year the students are doing the Civic Leadership in U program where the Flynn Foundation brings in volunteers they also bring in elected officials past and present to talk to the students about their experience in office things that they worked on and how they got involved in politics so students are getting kind of that firsthand experience and that one-on-one connection and throughout their lessons in the program they're able to implement that on campus with other students and more it's like what matters to you service engagement so that students are better equipped to have conversations with their peers. So for our students Tori and Olivia so you participated in Civic Action Club and think you're also members of Stugo like how is this making you think about what you want to do after high school? Are you wanting to do more than just be involved with making a vote when it comes election time? Are you wanting to get into politics? How is it making you feel overall about Civic Engagement? No matter what career food you go into I think it's important to understand like Civic Engagement as a whole because I think as we've gone like over time we're starting to become more distant from the government and so when you lack of understanding just creates like more misinformation being spread and more people not making smart decisions when it comes like voting certain stuff because they don't fully actually understand like the consequences or what may happen. So I think if we are more inclined to like push that type of narrative then it really helps people to make better informed decisions to that benefit all of us. And I couldn't agree more when you look at you know the combination of low voter turnout so you have a lot of people who have indifference towards politics and you know they they see things on the news they turn it off and they just don't want to even show up you know and put in a ballot. And then even for those who are putting in a ballot I mean maybe they caught a clip on TikTok or something and that's what's decided their vote and it's like no you have to actually understand understand the people you have to understand the topics you have to understand how this is impacting your way of life. And I think when you have that disconnect and you have that indifference that's when you see decisions that are being made that are not exactly in line with what what Americans want what their zonans want so definitely even when you're not going into politics having ways to connect people and get them to understand topics and to care about topics makes a difference for the community and helps the community thrive. Can I add two quick things? Absolutely. I've seen a specific action club. So two incredible differences I've seen between last year's the Gaction Club and this year. Last year they were they were scrappy they were figuring things out they were going to make this election happen no matter what but also though you had a pretty small group and I think that that I mean that showed their efforts and how dedicated the group of people were but a lot of miscarriage students last year graduated and so at the beginning of this year I remember talking to her and she was feeling a little bit uncertain about like what will the feature of the club look like but I can tell you from just walking down the hallways you know after school doing different things this classroom is bursting at the seams there when especially when the Flynn Foundation has been here to give its lessons and things like that there are there are hardly enough seats for everybody the kids are so excited and and I think that that that on the one hand is just a testament to her leadership and kind of vision for the club long term but also I think what what we're seeing from that is that this club is very focused on the election but also I think the kids have come to learn that there are so many more things that count as civic action besides just voting whether it's learning from representatives but also kind of like Tori said earlier attending community events understanding the news even I mean Miss Cabrera and I do a civic action project in our US government class as part of the curriculum and kids will come up with all kinds of ideas I know Miss Haskins has on occasion been the recipient of some emails being you know from the district being confused about why are kids so up in arms about x, y and z and it's because we kind of teach on the skills about you know even just emailing somebody in Avondale City government or emailing someone on the school board calling somebody up is is civic action and so I think one of the best things that I've seen about this club is that their definition of what is civic action is expanding as well really at its core any effort that you're putting into engaging the community supporting the community or understanding community is civic action and so while they're going to continue to do great work in the election their growth in participation is also a reflection of their growth in understanding of what civic action means but I'll completely agree with that because I'll tell you I rarely get emails directly from students I mean there's Isaiah over at Sierra Linda there's Jayden over at you high like I know the small handful of students who will email me directly on topics and so you know whether it's my position or board members positions or other elected officials it's so rare to hear from a student that when you do hear from a student then yes then you tend to listen more and want to find out more and be like well what's going on over there because it seems like there's a student that's concerned about this and why is the student concerned and so that usually prompts a lot of us to start asking more questions and a lot of times we do come back to your principal principal askings uh but like do you know anything about this Brandy? Yeah and I think the students have a misconception about both school leadership but then also the government in general about not just not feeling that it is accessible or not feeling like they as a regular person can just call somebody up um sometimes just you know when when the the lesson calls for it I'll be like all right guys you know who do you want to call today and they're like what are you talking about I was like okay you know should we call someone in the senate should we call Avenue government and they kind of jared by the the concept that we could just call somebody up or just send somebody an email and I mean one of the best things I will say as a shout out to Avenue City government they almost always answer on the first ring and it's it's very impressive and it's it's a lesson to students as well in that your local government is typically the most responsive government and and I think just for them getting a little bit of practice in actually like that's the hardest part about the civic action project is that they have to actually do something it's not just a presentation they have to genuinely take an action but they'll realize how easy it is and then from there that kind of opens the door for their understanding of like oh maybe I could continue this in the future and I think that civic action club is opening that door probably wider giving students more practice but is in many ways doing the same thing of helping people realize it's really not that hard to take civic action well I'm gonna give that shout out to the mayor the next time I see him I think I think he's gonna love it yeah oh sorry if I get at to that part of the school participatory budgeting program is not just you know the election but it's the whole process from beginning to end and two parts of that process engage the whole community so the first one is when they collect ideas so So our students create a survey to ask students, what is it that you would like to see on campus? And part of that is trying to explain to students that it's a one time project. So it's not, you know, something continuing, like hiring another teacher, but it's a one time project, a one time installation. And one thing that is different from this year and last year is last year, I think we had 35 students fill out the survey. I'm Olivia, how many people have felt out the survey so far this year? Last I checked, we had 166 people. And that's a big difference. And part of that is telling students, hey, like what's bothering you on campus? And you know, they'll talk to each other, well, I don't like that there's, you know, x, y, z. And then it's like, oh, you mind submitting your idea. And it's teaching students that if there's a problem, you do have to say something. You can't just, you know, hold it in and wonder why no change happens. Right, you have to be part of the change. And it's so far, you know, involved over 100 people to get involved. And then after that is, you know, when we announce what's going to be on the ballot, it's talking about it. And a lot of students will, you know, question, like, wait, are we really voting on this? Like this is not just like make pretend. No, it's real. And whichever, whichever one you vote for, you know, that's going to go on the ballot. And that's going to be, you know, the winner, hopefully, ideally. And so students, it gets them talking, you know, oh, like I actually have a say and, oh, we can actually have this. Like, I think it's too hot outside and there's not enough shade. So I can just vote for shade and I'll get the shade. Yes, right? It's as simple as talking about it, making it known that it's an issue and then actually showing up to votes. And I think one of the things that just kind of made me smile was after the election, you know, had a lot of people message me like, hey, like, you know, a lot of kids are talking about this, you know, after they vote. And I feel so bad about interrupting like their class, you know, and having the kids all kind of in a frenzy when they're in math. However, it's kind of part of the process, you know, for students to talk about, you know, what did you vote for? You know, do you think it's going to win? And I even have students, you know, after say like, oh, miss, can I, can I vote? Can I vote real quick? And it was kind of a learning opportunity to, you know, hey, know, when the polls close, the polls close, and you can't vote anymore. But, you know, next time, be there on election day and show up so that you do have a say. So it's also a learning opportunity. But there's ways for students who are not in the club to also get involved in that's by making their voice heard and actually voting. Well, you are all trendsetters because I'm hearing from some of the other schools now who are looking at following the path that you're setting. So not just here at West Point, but then around the district now, we're going to start having more schools that are trying to go down the same path. So keep up the great work. Anything you'd like to leave our listeners with for a final thought, I'll start with Amanda and work my way down. One final thought is that I think one of the best things about the student participatory budgeting election last year was, well, one, it was really cool that we had-- I forget his name-- the ballot guy there. Oh, fill the ballot. Fill the ballot. Get it, fill. Because, fill the ballot. Kind of fill the ballot. Which was very fun. But to that end, I think another great thing about the election was that students get to practice voting. They walk up to a booth. They fill that ballot. And I think it can help lower the barrier for entry for the next time. Hopefully, when they go on to vote as adults, it's not a weird or scary idea to them. They've already had the practice of voting for something and then best yet getting to see the results of their vote. So hopefully, these elections will help them realize that like all civic action, it's really not too hard to make your voice heard. Let me. Something I want to leave off with is that the passion I've seen from not even our student-- just our senior body, but our whole community after our civic action club has been introduced to just amazing. It's so amazing seeing people being passionate in class after I give them the idea collection survey, just talking to each other, oh, I want a mural. I want recycling. All of these things that they wouldn't have thought about before if this opportunity hadn't arisen. And I just think that seeing the passion from these opportunities is something that's really beneficial to students. And I hope that not only other schools in our district, but other districts in general are able to implement something like this. I hope my classic thing is that civic action club really allows students to take initiative and push themselves and a way they never really have before. And to always be aware and just keep no matter what point you are in life to just constantly keep learning in those types of ways, because how significant-- I think when I first considered implementing school but disciplinary budgeting, I immediately fell overwhelmed, just the thought of it. And I thought it was something that I had to do on my own. And then I leaned on Miss Flores. And she was there to support me, presenting to Admin. And then Admin, they had my back. So I thought, I guess what I learned is that it really does take a community to help support the community. We have ASU, the Flynn program, the Center for the Future of Arizona, Maricopa County Recorder's Office. I had all these organizations, groups, staff members coming to support this program in organization and without not only student participation, but staff participation, community engagement, these things would have never happened. So it's really an effort on all ends to kind of get the positive things coming out of this program. Well, we appreciate all of you for leading this effort here at West Point and for our district. And we appreciate our listeners for tuning in once again to the education exchange, where we aim to enlighten our parents and empower our students who are looking forward to seeing you again next time. Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode of the Education Exchange. Have a question or want to be a guest on our podcast, email [email protected] for more information. Missed an episode, catch all seasons of the Education Exchange on your favorite streaming platforms, or at www.thsd.org/podcast. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe. And we'll see you next week for another episode of the education exchange.