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With “The Star Spangled Banner,” the students in Monica Poncé’s class cast their vote for the President of the United States in a mock election. But this democratic process had its own aspect.

Each student sat in front of a projector screen showing portraits of the candidates. Poncé was holding a pair of buttons. He pressed the blue one for the students to hear “I’m Kamala Harris” in the candidate’s voice. Next was the red one that said “I’m Donald Trump” in voice. Then it was the student’s turn.

Some students made their choice by pressing the button. One touched the sensory pads that corresponded to the candidates. Another indicated his choice between a plastic toy donkey and an elephant. Two chose by fixing their gaze on one of the candidates on the screen.

“Thanks, that’s a good choice,” Poncé said, regardless of the student’s choice. Together, they marked the paper ballot and placed it in the cardboard ballot box.

Each of the seven students in her high school class at the RISE Learning Center has physical, cognitive and communication disabilities, plus most students also need services for the blind or visually impaired. All are non-verbal and work towards a Leaving Certificate instead of a degree through the Mobility Opportunities Through Education – or MOVE – programme.

They are among thousands of students in Indiana participating in mock elections as their teachers use the controversial 2024 presidential election to teach the importance of voting, civic engagement, and democracy.

Some vote for their class president or the choice between an ice cream or pizza party. Others study real-world 2024 presidential candidates and historical examples of activism and voter suppression.

What they have in common is an emphasis on voting power during presidential elections where youth involvement can play a significant role in results.

Poncé said that because her students can’t say what they want or like, things are often made for them.

“When I can give them a choice, I want to give them the opportunity to have a say in what I do,” she said.

The teacher helps students with disabilities become participants in the community

RISE, on the south side of Indianapolis, describes itself as “a cooperative special education program.” It serves students from Beech Grove City Schools, MSD of Decatur Township and Perry Township Schools, as well as several Johnson County schools.

“We teach our students to be active members in the community,” Poncé said of her students, who range in age from 15 to 22. “They can be derogated from the community because they don’t have thoughts or opinions because they are nonverbal.”

One of their election decisions was to choose between blue and black markers to sign the mock voter registration cards they made earlier in the week.

Voter registration is an official document, and formal documents are filled out in blue or black ink, Poncé told them as she and instructional assistants held up markers to each student.

At the beginning of the lesson, Poncé reviewed the “what words” of the presidential election with the students: what, when, and who. She also included the colors and symbols of political parties.

Poncé told them they would wait their turn to vote because sometimes the lines at a polling station are long. And the results take time, she said, so they won’t know until later that day who won the class election.

Two of the students are old enough to actually vote. Poncé said that when her students turn 18, one of the many resources she shares with families and caregivers is information about registering to vote and where the polls are.

“We can choose who we want to lead the country,” she told the class.

One school studies voter participation and activism

At Sankofa School of Success, an Indianapolis Public Schools Innovation Network school, Treasure Jones’ first-graders came up with the qualities they want to see in the next school president.

Someone who uses kind words and actions. Someone who works hard, helps and happy.

They then gathered around Jones as she read aloud from a book called “V is for Vote.” She reminds them of an earlier lesson about voter suppression—they agreed that it wouldn’t be fair if Mrs. Jones stopped someone from voting in a school election just because they had bad grades, for example.

“What is a campaign?” asked a student in the middle of the book.

“All the things you do to get people to vote for you,” Jones said.

Jones also reminded them why the vote is important to her: “It’s important to me that the potholes are filled. It’s important to me because I love to teach you that you have safe schools.”

She also told her class about why she votes and attends school board meetings.

At Sankofa, a K-6 school in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood, Vote is a month-long school-wide project with different lessons at each grade level that explore voter participation, activism and more. A mock election on Nov. 5 — with fifth-graders running for office and sixth-graders acting as the electoral college — capped the project.

There are also real-world connections, as students will also vote for presidential candidates in a mock election.

“The little ones bring a different energy to it,” said Eldridge Chism, the school’s assistant principal.

In Danita Logwood’s second grade class, students create posters specifically to urge their parents and older siblings to vote. Without voting, you’re missing out on making changes and influencing how things are done, Logwood said.

Here’s what she told her second graders: If the class is on recess on the playground, but you wanted to go to the yard, you might feel upset, but you raised your hand and voted when you had the chance ?

Logwood emphasized the importance of voting in another exercise: She described voting requirements in different periods of U.S. history, then asked students to stand up if they met the requirements. At first only white male landowners could vote – so no one in the class could resist.

Fifth-grade teacher Ashley Helman said the idea for the mock election came from the students themselves, who heard about the presidential election at home and then came into the classroom and asked questions. Often those questions were who the teachers themselves would vote for.

Helman told them no, they could not share those views as teachers. He should ask his parents.

“What I can do is let you know about the process and how it works,” Helman said.

How will Americans feel after Election Day?

At Enlace Academy, another IPS Innovation Network school, sixth grader William Ulin took defeat with grace.

He and a tableau of his peers represented the state of Florida in a lesson on the Electoral College just 12 days before Election Day. The choices: an ice cream party versus a pizza party.

As a hypothetical resident of Florida, William voted for pizza. But his classmates changed the state in favor of ice cream. In the end, the classroom — the entire nation — made the ice cream a winner.

The activity was the latest in a series of lessons about the election process that the K-8 school in the International Marketplace neighborhood on the city’s west side has planned throughout October for its middle school students.

The lessons—taught during the school’s weekly “community meetings” that help build community and character—align with the school’s core values ​​of citizenship and integrity. Students learned about political bias and how to identify reliable news sources.

In an open event two weeks before Election Day, eighth graders also gave presentations on issues important to them and researched how both presidential candidates would impact the topic.

As sixth-grade math teacher Elise Correa counted election votes over ice cream and pizza, school leader Stephanie Campos reflected with the students.

“How do you think Americans will feel after Election Day?” she said. “Somebody’s gonna be mad, right?”

Campos asked the students how they would respond if their candidate lost. Madeline Corado pondered the question.

“Be happy for them?” she asked.

“There’s only so much you can control, right?” Campos said. “But you can keep moving.”

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about the state’s K-12 schools. Contact her at [email protected].

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at [email protected].

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat’s Indiana coverage as Bureau Chief. Contact MJ at [email protected].