Sizer School in Fitchburg holds its own primary election campaign

FITCHBURG — On Oct. 7, Fitchburg Mayor Sam Squailia made a special visit to Sizer School as an honored  guest of the “My Party” 10th grade primary election campaign at Sizer School.

School officials said that project-based learning is a key component to the Sizer School curriculum. Creating independent learners and engaged citizens is part of the school’s personalized experience. The “My Party” project in the 10th grade allowed students to create their own political parties and platforms, which they then presented during a primary election campaign earlier this month.

“Students looked at both sides of the aisle and said, ‘That’s not me,’” explained 10th Grade U.S. history teacher Kenneth LaCoille. “They came up with ideas about how to change and improve things in our country — some liberal and progressive, others more conservative and centrist, but all of them were trying to articulate policies and well thought out promises to create a party that could reach people their age.”

Officials said that advanced level, deep-dive courses like this allow Sizer students to fully engage in their materials and make connections to other areas of study. Many of the My Party participants are also taking an elective course, “You and the Law” which is helping them understand our country’s legal and judiciary system. Students will be visiting the courthouse soon to watch a real trial in progress.

This year’s final primary participants were Mona Umpierrez of Fitchburg and Sahara Caron of Westminster representing the Full Sweep Party; LuResneea Lovaincy of Leominster and Ari McCauliff of Lunenburg representing the Evithea Party; Elias Mejias, Allison Almeida and Kevin O’Dell of Fitchburg representing the Global Peace Agency; and Liam Landry of Leominster and John Soares of Fitchburg with the The Ehhh Party.

Ehhh stands for Employment, Housing, Healthcare and Hunger. The Global Peace Agency was created with the slogan “World Wide Unity.”

“Our party is based on global rights for all and bringing everyone together to help them feel at peace,” said Mejias. “What does it do to human nature? It shifts our primary loyalty away from tribal national groups toward a shared global identity as it aligns with biological morality.”

According to Umpierrez, the Full Sweep Party is “a party where everyone is invited.”

“Many issues in America are caused by our government system. Rich people having too much power — our government lets it happen,” she said.

Citing what she called a “trash” deportation system and a broken judicial system, Umpierrez said their party is the “full sweep” needed to clean up the country.

Lovaincy and McCauliff created the Evitheia Party as a way to bring “power to the public, purely for the people.”

“Our mission is to provide this country with the resources it needs to thrive, creating equality for everyone and allow people to live the lives they deserve,” said Lovaincy.

“Many of the platforms and promises in these speeches are pie-in-the-sky scenarios,” said LaCoille. “My students were shooting for the moon and trying their best to figure out creative ways to solve big problems.”

When everyone had spoken, Mayor Squailia commended all of the student speakers and the work put into each presentation and slideshow.

“Something that I experience every day as mayor is we all see and identify problems. That’s one thing. Criticizing also happens and that’s easy. But the full solution takes time and collaboration and is really where we see effective government,” said Squailia.

The winner of Squailia’s vote, and also the popular vote for the whole of the 10th grade, was the Full Sweep Party. Squailia said she was impressed with the students’ presentation and for “bringing up relevant, actual political issues at this time and addressing how we’re going to pay for it.”

School officials said that for over two decades, Sizer School, a North Central Charter Essential School, has been sending graduates into the world who think for themselves, care about others, and act responsibly. Essential School Education goes beyond the page, using project based, hands-on education to prepare scholars for the future. For more information, go to www.sizerschool.org.