Maine West named Illinois Democracy School
Maine West High School is among only 11 Illinois high schools to be recognized as an “Illinois Democracy School,” based on the Social Science Department’s commitment to providing students with “authentic experiences in the rights, responsibilities and tensions inherent to living in a constitutional democracy.”
West administrators and Social Science teachers recently attended a recognition ceremony hosted by the Illinois Civic Mission Coalition, which is a broad, nonpartisan consortium including educators, elected officials and representatives from the private and nonprofit sectors.
“In applying for the ‘Democracy School’ designation,” said West Social Science Department Chair Susan Gahagan Mueller, “we had to highlight multiple examples of how we not only teach about the importance of democracy, but also how we get students engaged in the democratic process through extracurricular activities, projects, simulations and field trips related to classroom activities on both a small and large scale.”
Finding examples was no problem, as West’s Social Science teachers conduct several annual projects designed to immerse students in civic government and to learn various ways in which anyone can participate in the civic life of his or her local community or state.
For instance, each year West students, in cooperation with the city of Des Plaines and Maine Township, participate in government day exercises, in which students conduct thorough research before playing the roles of city or township officials and employees tackling real-world issues and problems.
In addition, West’s students participate annually in a Model United Nations program, Illinois Youth Summit and a SEEDS (Students Educating for Equity in a Diverse Society) project. SEEDS demonstrates through student projects that citizens, including young adults, can effect change when they equip themselves with knowledge and well-considered action plans.
West students also have been active in elections, producing voter-information brochures and polling-place information cards; inviting candidates to speak to classes; assisting teachers in voter-registration efforts; and working as election judges in local polling places.
Accompanying Mueller to the recognition ceremony were Principal Dr. Audrey J. Haugan, Assistant Principal for Instruction Dave Matkovic and Social Science teachers Dan Fouts, Tracy Kellam, Kelly Pecak, Melissa Riley and Gwynne Ryan.
In recognition of its work in this area, West received a large “Democracy School” banner, which will be put on display at the school.