Spotlight on Circle High School Democracy Project
Democracy Project Teens Hold a Voter Registration Drive in Circle, Montana
Democracy Project teens in Circle, Montana are addressing a need for mental health support at high school. After noticing that teens often just went home early if they were having a bad day, the group came up with the idea to create a safe room in the school where a student who was struggling could decompress for 10-15 minutes. They could return to class when they were composed, thus avoiding unnecessary absences.
The group is in the process of scheduling a meeting with the superintendent to get preliminary approval to proceed. They plan to link a survey to the library website and hang posters around town advertising the survey and their project. They will share the data they collect with the school board, creating a more effective and powerful presentation.
They will then work with the school board, requesting the opportunity to present their case at the next school board meeting and seek approval for their idea from the board.
Upon approval, they plan to stock the room with blankets, beanbag chairs, a soft rug, snacks, water, juice, a microwave, tissues, aromatherapy lotions, and personal hygiene products. The group has talked at length about the value of a quality public education and the importance of what they are attempting to accomplish by supporting teens who stay in school.
The group also ran a voter registration drive and registered 6 voters before last November’s election. Circle, Montana, has a population of 572, and the high school has an enrollment of 65 students.
A participant shares the impact of the Democracy Project in Montana’s rural communities:
The Democracy Project was the first time I had been able to implement an impactful solution to a problem I saw in my community. It is the only extracurricular I have experienced that centers around student ideas and contributions, and it was empowering to realize I had the ability to help make a visible change. During meetings, our members would regularly start by discussing pervasive issues before coming up with solutions that seemed more and more achievable. We would get incredibly excited to realize we could remove a barrier not only for ourselves but for everyone that followed us as well. While applying to colleges, I could confidently describe the contributions I would be able to offer to a new environment because of my time in the Democracy Project. It granted me confidence in my own power and the desire to help others find their voice. I hope anybody considering joining gives it a try. Every teen should have the opportunity to make a change.
I owe much of my success to our local librarian and the Democracy Project as a whole.
– Democracy Project teen from Circle, MT (population 572) recently accepted to an Ivy League college
