Quakertown Community students learn about political process at PA Capitol

On April 16 Quakertown Community SD students visited the state Capitol in Harrisburg. District Superintendent Dr. Bill Harner brought students with him, in addition to school board members Mitch Anderson and Ron Jackson and high school teacher Lincoln Haas. The Quakertown staff were there to attend Advocacy Day with other members of PA School Boards Association and PA Association of Intermediate Units, in support of public education.

The Quakertown students are involved in the district’s Model UN program, in which they act as political figures and learn how government operates. As part of the learning experience the students watched Advocacy Day events and observed the House Education Committee go through a series of votes. They even briefly met Gov. Tom Wolf as they passed him in the hallway, where QCHS video production students Justin Leyden and Ryan Suida filmed the encounter.

In an article on the district’s website, Harner said of the visit, “Our students are going to be tomorrow’s leaders. I wanted them to get a feel for how government works, the proximity of the governor’s executive offices in comparison to where the legislative work is done in the House and Senate. Now, they’re that much further along in their young lives.”