| League of Women Voters of Wilmette - Student Government Program |
| Program Overview |
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| The Student Government Program provides Wilmette eighth grade students with an opportunity to experience local government first-hand. It is designed to make students aware of the importance of local government and its impact on their lives and the community. It is an interactive program bringing together approximately 75 Wilmette eighth grade students and all Village board members. The students research issues and decide on a course of action within the context of their boards. While assuming the role of a Village board or staff member, students learn the fundamentals of meeting management and parliamentary procedure. |
| Boards involved |
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Wilmette Village Board Wilmette Park Board Wilmette Library Board District 39 School Board District 37 School Board |
| Schools involved |
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Wilmette Junior High – students assigned to Village Board and Dist 39 School Board St. Francis – students assigned to Park Board Marie Murphy – students assigned to Dist 37 School Board St. Joseph – students assigned to Library Board |
| How the program works |
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Students are assigned a position – either an elected official or appointed personnel – to “shadow” the counterpart for the duration of the program. The students assume the responsibilities of their counterpart. Once the students are assigned their counterpart positions, the students and their parents attend an orientation meeting where all aspects of the program are explained. At this meeting, in mid-January, an Illinois State Representative usually speaks about the process of how an idea becomes a law or ordinance, including appropriate methods of conduct during debate and consideration of issues before votes are made. Folders with a variety of Board specific and general information are distributed to the students.
Students attend a regularly scheduled meeting of the assigned board where they meet with their counterparts and experience a board meeting first hand. They are encouraged to meet and talk with their counterparts to discuss the counterpart’s responsibilities, how their individual boards operate, and what issues in the village they govern and administer. The next phase of the programs is the workshops. The purpose of the workshops is to prepare the students to assume their roles within the Board in order to participate in a Mock Board meeting – the program finale. Students attend two or three workshops depending on their board. A representative of the board conducts the workshops; times/dates are coordinated with the board contacts and the school teacher contacts. The workshops take place during school hours and last between one and two hours. Each board handles the workshops differently. In February the Student Government Breakfast is held. In addition to allowing more interaction between the students and their counterparts, it allows the students a chance to interact with other students and board members participating in the program. Recent speakers at the breakfast have included U.S. House Representatives Mark Kirk and Jan Schakowsky and Village President Chris Canning, a former 8th grade participant of the League’s Student Government Program. Mock Board meetings are usually held in March prior to spring break. The mock board meetings are carried live or on tape on Wilmette Channel 6. The League’s Student Government Program has been enthusiastically received by Wilmette students and Wilmette teachers for over 40 years! It is funded through small donations from all of the Village boards and the schools’ parent organizations as well as by the League. League volunteers act as liaisons between the boards and schools to assist with scheduling and other administrative tasks, organize the breakfast and orientation meetings and coordinate the taping and televising of the mock board meetings. |