Having Student Governments in educational centers promotes democracy, values to live in harmony and proactive participation in society. Students in these processes, practice civic values to help them understand their future civic responsibilities.
For all these reasons, Enrique Novella Alvarado School -ENA-, uses Ministerial Agreement 1745-2000 and aligns with the values of the Code of Values, Ethics, and Conduct -COVEC- and annually implements School Government elections as a civic exercise. This activity allows students to learn how to live a responsible, fair, and transparent electoral process.
The project was structured in several phases in an orderly manner to ensure the elections’ validity and transparency. First, an invitation was sent out to students who wanted to compete in the elections. Student teams were evaluated based on the profile of those who participated.
Faculty advisors were assigned to each competing team. The advisors guided the preparation of each team’s governance plans and best practice validation. The students had the opportunity to present themselves to their peers in an electoral propaganda process that lasted up to 10 days.
One of the most noticeable directives within the process was not allowing gift-giving or prizes to be handed out so that the ideas and plans for the school government would prevail. Each team presented its governance plan to the entire educational community and answered questions.
Finally, an awareness talk on COVEC values was given, an Electoral Tribunal was formed and the voting boards, made up of upper elementary, elementary, and high school students, were established.
Voter registration was carried out so that all members of the educational community could participate, using a student card that was presented on election day and voting finally took place.
These processes generate learning experiences for students because they face situations where teamwork and good ideas allow them to practice their role as responsible citizens.
Adolfo Morales, president of the Golden Eagles Association, applauded the process’s transparency and honesty, assuring that these activities build citizenship.
«Everything they are learning about values, ethics, and conduct will strengthen their student life to benefit their community.»
The winning team at the ENA School in San Gabriel was Equipo de Mentes Brillantes (Brilliant Minds Team) and at the San Miguel site, the winning team was ALFA. We congratulate the students for living the student election process with values.
