The unit on voting systems supported students’ call to action. The students collaborated within their groups by brainstorming their ideas based on needs in their community and pieced together important action steps. The next phase required students to voice their ideas to our local leadership. The students worked in groups to organize one-page letters to the respective local legislatures. Their ideas focused on community participation and advocating for greater voter access reform. Through this process, students learn that change stems from collective action. The letters represent one example of high school seniors advocating for change, but this may have ripple effects that motivate community voices. 

The emotional connection to the community sparks a greater desire to seek out and actualize change. Local governance may have greater and more immediate effects on people's wellbeing, which is why I encouraged my students to communicate with local representatives versus big-name politicians. More importantly, the local representatives may be more willing to respond and meet my students in the classroom, which adds potential learning and exposure opportunities down the road.

Following revisions to their initial drafts, students submitted their final letters to their representatives. The samples below show the student's official vision for voting in the Clarksdale community. Each group offers insight into potential voting reforms and explores solutions for galvanizing community voter participation. 

The letters highlight young student perspectives on an important issue relevant to their community. The letters highlight concerns about low voter turnout based on the level of access and engagement of the community. Student's discussed in the unit how they see the voting process as of boring or irrelevant to their lives. The letters offer students a chance to reimagine how the system should work and communicates those ideas to community leaders. This level of advocacy requires students to understand their community’s needs, explore different systems, and work to express new ideas to leadership. The representative’s responses or lack thereof, present further opportunities to discuss student ideas and explore different advocacy avenues to express their ideas. Students have the chance to consider their stance and question the legitimacy of their ideas, while continuously reimagine new ways to engage in reimaging their community.

The letters were sent to our local district representatives who serve on the Mississippi state senate and the house of representatives. Also, copies were mailed to our local mayor to advocate for their support in employing student-driven ideas to support voter participation and education outreach. These letters highlight my students’ initiative and the use of their civic voices to enact real-world change. Moving forward, this advocacy experience fuels future calls to action and inspires students with greater confidence to request a change in their local community. 

The letters to representatives writing project set up students to engage in long-term civic participation. Many of my students never knew their local representatives or engaged in a project that made them question their role in supporting their community. The letter-writing project is one stepping stone to help students recognize that their community depends on the people's voices to encourage positive change. A simple advocacy project such as expressing new ideas and perspectives about our local voting system to our representatives show students how to use their voice and that they have a voice to use. The long-term impacts of this project may appear as connections formed with our local representatives, the students becoming more aware of current events in their community, or taking an active role in political positions (e.g. internships with representatives). Ultimately, students walk away with a deeper understanding of the voting system and the role they lead in manifesting change within their local community.