Johnston leads efforts in youth civic engagement

JOHNSTON, Ia. (Sept. 16, 2024) — Johnston is playing a leading role in helping students statewide learn about the importance of civic engagement and voting in elections.

Patrick Hennes, a government teacher at Johnston High School, was selected by Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate to be one of two Iowa teachers who over the summer updated the lesson plans, activities and content of Elections 101, an online election education curriculum crafted by Iowa teachers for Iowa teachers.

“It was truly an honor to be invited by Secretary of State Pate to be a part of this review of the Elections 101 curriculum,” Hennes said. “There is no greater responsibility for us as educators than to help prepare our students to be part of the civic life of this nation.”

Elections 101

Hennes joined with Jack Vanderflught from Dallas-Center Grimes in revamping this free, go-to state resource for election education curriculum. Elections 101 was developed to give teachers an opportunity to engage their students through meaningful discussion and active participation about the political process.

“It is customizable so that you can choose to use some (or all) of the 10-day curriculum, and utilize the various 30, 60 or 90-minute lesson plans,” the website describes. “Two new chapters highlight Winning the Vote (Women’s Suffrage) and Women’s Participation in Politics in the United States and Iowa as part of the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote.”

The goal of Elections 101 is to involve students, parents and the community in civic engagement while educating them about Iowa’s unique role in the political process through modern technology and social media enhancements. The curriculum was carefully crafted to appeal to modern-day learners and encourage them to become active participants in their community.

The Elections 101 website outlines 10 days of lesson plans with topics including Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status, political parties, the media, interest groups, caucuses vs. primaries, the Electoral College, campaign finance, third parties and campaign strategy. The curriculum helps fulfill the Iowa Core requirement for social studies.

Catt Award and Iowa Youth Straw Poll

Johnston High School government teachers are among those continually working to implement voter education into government and economics classes.

Earlier this year, efforts by Hennes and JHS government teacher Thomas Griffin led Johnston to be one of the state’s largest schools to receive the Carrie Chapman Catt Award. The award, named after the Iowan who was a national leader in the women’s suffrage movement, recognized Johnston High School for securing voter registration pledge cards from more than 90 percent of the 600 students of the JHS senior class of 2024.

Johnston High School will also be one of the locations participating in the 2024 Fall Iowa Youth Straw Poll, an Oct. 29 event in which students from across the state will engage in civics and use their voice. Registration opened at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10 and results will be reported statewide after the event.

“As Iowa’s chief election official, ensuring every eligible Iowa voter has the tools they need to participate in our election process is critical,” Pate said. “Iowa’s young people are a major part of this. It is inspiring to work with the students, teachers, and administrators at schools like Johnston High School, and see that Iowa’s next generation is already leading the way and stepping up to be civically engaged citizens.”

Scholastic Spotlight: Johnston High School voters