Saint Louis
CitySide
St. Louis Front Page presents St. Louis CitySide, an overview of the City Government of Saint Louis. From time to time, we will take an indepth look at many of the projects in which the city is involved and how these projects will affect residents and visitors.
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Old Post Office Plaza Features Extensive Landscaping and Bronze Sculpture "Torso di Ikaro"
City Officials Hope Old Post Office Plaza Will Become the Newest Destination in Downtown St. Louis
St. Louis Celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Crews Install Performance Space at Old Post Office Plaza
Registered Voters in City of St. Louis to Receive New 'Notice of Election' Card Containing Sample Ballot
Fountains at Old Post Office Plaza Taking Shape
City Garden Unfolding on the Gateway Mall
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Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (right) introduced Census Director Dr. Robert Groves who spoke to students at Gateway Math & Science Elementary School about the importance of the 'Census in Schools' program, which was a joint effort by St. Louis City Mayor Francis G. Slay (far left).
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Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay applauded enthusiastically as one student demonstrated how a census taker has to obtain information in a mock census taking moderated by first grade teacher Dawn Cannavo.
Wearing "Everybody Counts" t-shirts, students were eager to ask Census Director Dr. Robert Groves questions about the census.
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Census Bureau Director and Congressman Clay Launch Missouri's 2010 Census in Schools Program
by Bob Moore, SLFP.com
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), December 1, 2009 - Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay, Superintendant Kelvin Adams, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, Comptroller Darlene Green and Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves visited students of Gateway Math & Science Elementary School, as one of five sites nationally to kick-off the 'Census in Schools Program'.
The young students, wearing "Everybody Counts" t-shirts, listened attentively as the program was explained.
In his remarks, Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay stated that "Gateway Elementary is a fantastic school and that's why we've come here to kick off the Census in Schools program. Each of you, in this room, and everyone who lives at your house, is worth twelve thousand dollars for St. Louis over the next ten years. And we need your help. All you have to do is make sure that your family completes and mails back their Census form."
St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay said "I'm glad Dr. Groves came to St. Louis. Few things are more important to America's cities than an accurate count; and almost nothing is more difficult to accomplish. His visit draws attention to the high stakes. St. Louis could lose ten years of federal funding for every resident who doesn't get a Census form or doesn't return it," said the Mayor.
Students were divided into groups at five tables representing households in order to partake in a mock census demonstration. Students played roles as parents filling out mock census forms that asked a set of random questions. At the end of the session, all but one table turned in their questions. At that point, it was demonstrated how a census taker had to go to that table and gather the information in person.
Census Director Dr. Robert Groves said, "Kids cannot vote but the census offers a real way they can actively participate in our democracy. We hope schools will find some useful ideas to supplement their regular curricula."
Students seemed to enjoy participating in the exercise. Many kids raised their hands to ask Dr. Groves questions. In response to a question, 'How did you get into census taking,' Dr. Groves said that at a very early age, he was into counting. The kids laughed as he demonstrated counting on his fingers.
In a conversation with St. Louis Front Page during the event, first grade teacher, Dawn Cannavo said that it was a great idea to involve the children. "They can take the information home to their parents. A lot of parents don't quite know how important the census is for all of us."
Cannavo was asked, What do you say to parents who may feel the government is using their children to achieve something as opposed to coming straight to them. Cannavo responded, "I don't think that will happen. I have a close enough relationship with the parents in my class that they will say it's just part of the education and they need to learn about the census."
When the same question was put to Dr. Groves, he responded that the way to think about this is that the Founding Fathers in the Constitution specified that this country would do a census every ten years. "We've learned over time that one group of folks who aren't counted well are young children," stated Dr. Groves. "To the extent that children in the schools understand the role of the census in our society, that encourages them to participate. It's for that reason we are doing this. The census really provides benefits back to the taxpayers. The more that all of us understand that, the better off we are," he said.
"This is part of our society and just as kids are learning other parts of society in their civics lessons, this is part of what we are," emphasized Groves.
Scholastic Inc. - a global children's publishing, education and media company - has worked with the Census Bureau to develop the standards-specific supplementary education materials, which are being provided to all 118,000 schools nationwide. It is expected that schools will decide on their own whether to include the material as part of their standard curriculum.
The Census in Schools materials are available free online at www.census.gov/schools for educators, students, parents, home-schoolers and the public. Teachers can use the lesson plans - as they are or adapted as needed - to teach a host of topics including mapping, math concepts, data literacy and civics.
For students who come from homes where English may be a second language or where there's a low level of information about the decennial count, the Census in Schools program represents an opportunity for students to teach their parents about the importance of participating in this national, civic exercise and the central role it plays in the annual allocation of more than $400 billion of government funding.
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