OBLATE DIRECTS KIDS VOTING USA

IN BROWNSVILLE, TX

On Wednesday, September 15, 2004, 68 principals came together in the Gran Salón of the Student Union on the campus of the University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College (UTB/TSC) to launch the effort to teach the Kids Voting USA curriculum in all of the schools of Brownsville, public and private.  Joining the principals  at the event were Eddie Treviño, Jr., Mayor of Brownsville; Dr. Juliet García, President, UTB/TSC; Dr. Michael E. Zolkoski, Superintendent, Brownsville Independent School District (BISD); Brother Charles Imbergamo, FMS, Chairman, the Brownsville Association of Non-public School Administrators (BANSA; private schools); Ms. Carol Zavaletta, President, Home Oriented Private Education (HOPE; home schooling);  and some 20 university and school administrators.  The event was organized by Armand Mathew, OMI, former Director of the UTB/TSC Center for Civic Engagement (UTB/TSC CCE), now a member of the Center’s staff serving as Executive Director, Kids Voting USA/Brownsville.

Armand Mathew, OMI; Antonio Briseño, Director, UTB/TSC Mariachi Escorpión, which provided the Grand Finale.

The breakfast/workshop was a follow-up on Armand’s successful effort last November to form an alliance of the UTB/TSC Center for Civic Engagement (UTB/TSC CCE) and BISD/BANSA/HOPE to teach the Kids Voting USA curriculum in all Brownsville Schools.  At the time, Armand was the Director of UTB/TSC CCE.  The schools agreed to do the teaching; UTB/TSC CCE agreed to cover the costs.

Kids Voting USA is a non-partisan, nonprofit, nonsectarian organization whose mission is to teach the basics of responsible citizenship: know the issues, know the candidates, vote, hold the elected accountable.  The Kids Voting USA curriculum cultivates the values of citizenship by giving young people, K-12, as part of their basic education,  knowledge, tools, motivation and experience in democratic living. 

The program is unique because it combines dynamic classroom civic lessons with an authentic voting experience in all elections – local, state and national – that mirrors the official voting process.

UTB/TSC CCE is the only Kids Voting USA affiliate in the State of Texas.  The UTB/TSC/BISD/BANSA/HOPE partnership is the only alliance of its kind in the United States.  At the beginning of Wednesday’s event, Mayor Treviño presented to UTB/TSC CCE a City of Brownsville proclamation honoring the partnership.

As an affiliate of Kids Voting USA, UTB/TSC CCE joins 100 other affiliates in 30 states, comprising 4.3 million students, 200,000 teachers in 10,600 schools, 17,000 voter precincts and 50,000 volunteers.

The Kids Voting curriculum is now available on a CD.  To facilitate the teaching, one month ago, UTB/TSC CCE put into the hands of Brownsville teachers 2000 of these CDs.  On November 2, 2004, there will be a polling place for the students on every school campus in Brownsville.  The results will be tabulated and announced.  The City of Brownsville will issue a proclamation to the high school, middle school and elementary school that achieves the highest percentage of students who voted.  The UTB/TSC CCE anticipates that 30-40,000 students will vote.  In an effort to increase the adult voter turnout, the Center distributed to the principals on Wednesday 50,000 bumper stickers that state in English and Spanish “All of my family will vote on November 2.”

The urgent need for the Kids Voting program in Brownsville is clear from just two statistics: in a failed school bond election last May, the eligible voter turnout was 4.8%; in a failed referendum two weeks ago to amend the Brownsville City Charter, the eligible voter turnout was 2.7%.  It is the hope of the UTB/TSC CCE/BISD/BANSA/HOPE alliance that teaching the Kids Voting USA curriculum will begin a process that eventually will overcome such appalling voter apathy.