Ravenna students share knowledge of local government after year-long program

After spending weeks in city and county offices learning first-hand what goes on there, a team of 23 seniors at Ravenna High School presented their findings to the community, including the "community partners" who had mentored the students.

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Social studies teacher Richard Sullivan said fellow teacher Matt Wunderle approached him two years ago with an idea of an Honors Ravenna Civics course. The four-year program would have students learning about world, national and state government in the first three years, focusing on local government in their senior year.

Sullivan said during the first semester of this school year, students had visits from elected officials, took field trips to local historic sites, and created a website that gave a digital tour of downtown buildings, which included research from students about downtown landmarks. A QR code, when scanned, takes visitors to the site.

During the second semester, students participated in two-week internship rotations, with each group spending two weeks learning about a different segment of government. Officials who worked with the students included Portage County Treasurer Brad Cromes, County Recorder Lori Calcei, Ravenna Mayor Frank Seman, Reed Memorial Library Director Amy Young, and Pamela Nation Calhoun, who is executive director of the Portage Metropolitan Housing Authority and also serves on the Ravenna Board of Education.

So on Monday, community members visited the school to see presentations from each team of students, along with videos the groups made detailing what the various offices do. Several students said the visits to the offices opened their eyes to the work behind the scenes involved in government offices, and some saying they could see themselves working for the city or county some day.

Mariah Aiello said she enjoyed her visit to the mayor's office and the water treatment plant and wastewater treatment plant. While visiting the water treatment plant, she learned about a job opening, and considered applying.

Another group of students said they enjoyed their visits to county offices, particularly the county recorder's office. They said they didn't realize that Recorder Lori Calcei worked with so much history.

"It was very hands on, and they involved us," said Morgan Skala.

Calcei acknowledged that most people don't know what her office does, and wondered what the students would find interesting in her office. So she tracked down a hand-written deed of property once owned by James A. Garfield, who went on to become president, and asked the students to read it.

"It was a really great experience," Calcei said. "I was so impressed with all of them."

Mayor Frank Seman, a former school principal, said he enjoyed working with the students, and thought it was a program that other districts could easily duplicate.

"These kids got to go behind the scenes in government offices, and see the effort it takes to keep things going," he said.

Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at 330-298-1139 or [email protected]. 

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Ravenna students who interned with local government share findings