Citizenship and the oppor-
tunity to vote are important elements of a democracy, and our schools used the election as a spring board for classroom discussion, to encourage 18 year olds to get registered to vote and elementary students to get comfortable with the idea of participating by voting themselves.

As we wait to see who will serve as President for the next four years, let's turn our attention to the election news from the elementary schools. In Catherine Kent's kindergarten class, students seemed to be divided evenly between Bush and Kerry, with a few holdouts for John Washington.

Good citizenship in our schools is, however, more than just learning to vote. Character education, community service and good citizenship and academic effort are rewarded in our schools through programs with names like Council for Unity, Renaissance, Catch a Kid, Reach for the Stars, R.O.C.K., Student of the Month, P.R.I.D.E. and Citizens of the Month.

In Roanoke’s "Citizen of the Month" program (pictured above), “individuals who put others before themselves and strive to respect, honor, and serve with honesty, integrity and character,” are given a certificate, a magnet, and recognition in the school’s newsletter.

Roanoke students also received a lesson in voting given by personnel from the Board of Elections. Students got to pull the lever in a real voting booth and vote on (1) year round school (NO!), (2) school uniforms (NO!), and (3) allowing students younger than 18 to vote (YES!).

Students at the Aquebogue Elementary School were also given instructions on how to vote from the Board of Elections, and they, too, pulled the lever in response to three questions: "What is your favorite lunch?" (Answer: Pizza!); "Who will win the World Series?" (Answer: Red Sox); and "Do you feel safe and comfortable in school?" (Answer: YES!).