Senate pages research and write original bills to present in the mock committee hearing later in the week.
"Governing society is a complex process…Only when I had written my own bill, presented it in a mock hearing with my fellow pages, who in turn denied the bill, did I really understand how hard it was for a law to be passed…every word had to be thought out and would affect the committee members' decisions."
- Noor, March 2007
A
pproximately fifty students from all over Washington come to Olympia each week during the legislative session to serve as pages. While here, they are involved in a grand civics lesson. The Page School is designed to provide information that helps the pages make sense of what they observe while they are assisting the members of the legislature with their important work.
Pages are required to attend the school for two hours each day. The Page School is a joint program of the House and Senate and is located in the Irv Newhouse Building on the capitol campus. Click here to see the syllabus for the Page School.
Our goal is to provide a meaningful learning experience for each page, and we have designed a curriculum that aligns to the state Essential Academic Learning Requirments (EALRs) for Civics and Social Studies Skills for grades 8-12. (EALRs for teachers) We encourage the students who serve as pages to return to their communities and share their experiences in Olympia with their classmates and community. A self-reflection is written by all pages at the end of the week and copies are mailed to their homes and school principals.
Please call (360) 786-7987 or email: Orr.Judi@leg.wa.gov if you have any questions about our program.
|