Hunterdon County Deputy Director attends Readington Middle School 8th grade students ‘Project Citizen’ Showcase
READINGTON TOWNSHIP, NJ (Hunterdon County)– Hunterdon County Deputy Director Commissioner Susan Soloway along with County Clerk Mary Melfi, Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renée Robeson, Chief of Detectives Tim Drew, Supervisor of the Board of Elections Beth Thompson and Readington Committee Member Juergen Huelsebusch on Monday attended Readington Middle School’s (RMS) “Project Citizen” Showcase, an event that features civic presentations by 8th grade students.
The purpose of the showcase is for students to recognize issues or problems within the community, and then identify solutions in the form of policy that requires government involvement. The students followed a five step project plan that focused first on identifying a Problem, then researching various Perspectives, to identify Public Policy with involved Stakeholders, and finally proposing an Action Plan as a potential solution to the problem.
“I am most impressed with the thought process and work that each of these students have put into their projects. This project is the ultimate lesson of learning by doing. These students are gaining knowledge and perspective on government topics that could never be achieved by just reading a book,” Soloway said.
Topics for projects included themes such as, Environmental Preservation, Use of Pesticides, School Discipline, Bullying Policies in schools, Greening the Garden State, Immigration, Gas Prices, Sports Funding in schools, and Road Safety to name a few.
The Project Citizen curriculum is teacher led and emphasizes the fundamentals of the public policymaking process. The teacher’s guide features detailed instruction and sample worksheets for students to complete that stimulate the curriculum’s cumulative activity into the completion of a project portfolio.
The Showcase is a way for students to display their research and present their policy solutions to their classroom and community. Showcases are also held at the state and national levels, where students have the opportunity to participate and share their work with other classes from across their state or nation.
“The Project Citizen Research program is a great example of a practical, firsthand approach to learning about our system of government and allowing for students to engage in real time policy solutions,” Soloway said.
