The library at Salt River Elementary School is anything but silent on a recent Tuesday morning.
There’s blaring patriotic music from the loudspeaker as teachers and staff put finishing touches on decorations welcoming students on Voting Day. Books about democracy top the shelves at the entrance. Every computer monitor reads “VOTE” in big letters, and red-white-and-blue garlands line the walls.
In one corner, cardboard partitions serve as privacy booths for students to cast ballots.
Setting aside for now the looming national election, the students at this tribal school in the swing state of Arizona will be voting on their favorite school lunch. The choice in this hard-fought campaign? Pizza, or chicken nuggets.
The stakes are high: Whichever menu item triumphs will be served during the week of the U.S. presidential election. It’s part of a broader effort to teach even the youngest kids about democracy, and how their voices matter.
“I want these kids to grow up to be the voters of tomorrow,” says Dawn Burstyn-Meyers, who brought the annual event to this school 20 years ago, through a nonprofit called Kids Voting Arizona. “To maybe become a president or councilman to help their community.”
How did it go — and who won? Read more here.
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