Voting Empowers MKA's Middle School Students

Middle School students from Montclair Kimberley Academy gained first-hand experience of the electoral process by casting votes on two issues using an official voting machine supplied by the Essex County Clerk's office. The young voters were asked to designate a charitable organization to be the recipient of funds raised at the annual MKA Faculty vs. Student Basketball game to be held in February. The missions of each charity on the ballot had been presented to students earlier at an assembly led by MKA's Middle School Student Government. The second issue on the ballot asked voters their opinion about whether to have a toppings bar as part of pizza Fridays at school.

MKA's social studies department coordinated the effort to make voting more meaningful to students. Middle School History Department Chair Peter Gaynor described the learning opportunity, "This hands-on experience helps students understand their civic responsibility and makes the voting process less abstract."  This lesson was not lost on eighth grader Ben Stuart, "It's important to vote, to cast your opinion so that your voice is heard." Classmate Caitlin Ladda added, "All the issues were important, but I made my choice based on what was important to me and most relevant to my life."

The opportunity for students to vote using real voting machines was made possible by Essex County Clerk, Christopher J. Durkin, and his staff. Mr. Durkin reinforced the message to the students that voting is every citizen's right and responsibility, " Voting is not only the great equalizer but it is what makes us all Americans. Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey combine incredible amounts of wealth, power, and stardom and your vote counts just as much as theirs does. It is important for students to understand that their vote strengthens our country...and it's easy. I want the students to recognize the impact of public policy on their every day lives and to become civically engaged."

The impact of today's vote was enthusiastically expressed by eighth grader Harrison Walker, "The toppings bar is an exciting advancement in pizza at MKA and a positive change in our world."