Students Get Involved in the Manassas Park Political Scene

If you were wondering who those smiling, young faces were at the Manassas Park High precinct on Election Day, here's your answer.

Middle school students at The Boyd School-Westfields Campus in Chantilly handed out sample ballots to voters at the poll site at Manassas Park High School.

Working the polls served as a culminating pedagogical experience for students that have been studying civic responsibilities as part of the social studies curriculum, according to a press release issued by the school. 

The Boyd School strives to provide real-world experiences for students as a means to make the lessons meaningful and extend beyond the classroom walls.

Thirteen-year-old Boyd School student Chris Brickell describes the experience in his own words.  " ... Working the polls is a great way for people under the legal voting age to be politically active and make a difference," he said.

  “The need to increase civic awareness early in a person’s life is absolutely essential in order to preserve the rights, freedoms, and privileges given to us by the Founding Fathers of our nation," Middle school director, Rodney Berthold said. "I think it’s a national shame that traditionally only 33 percent of eligible voters between the ages of 18-22 vote in non-presidential elections. Getting middle school students involved in the voting process now might help to augment those percentages in the future.”

The Boyd School is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the American Montessori Society. There are seven campuses serving children  eight weeks old  through 8th grade. For more information on Montessori education and The Boyd School visit:theboydschool.com