Neighbors of the Week: Class 5-215 at PS 230, Who Tried Out Participatory Budgeting

When you start thinking about making your community better while you’re in the 5th grade, you’re a terrific person in our book. Which is why we salute Class 5-215 at PS 230, who were so inspired by Councilman Brad Lander’s participatory budgeting project that they tried it out in their own classroom. The students:

…thought about issues that affect our neighborhood and proposed ideas to address those issues. In groups, they collaborated to outline their ideas, create a timeline for their proposals, and think about the impact of their ideas on the betterment of our community.

During parent teacher conferences, the projects were presented to the parents and we opened up the vote to them. Interestingly, the result of the parent vote was quite different from the result of the class vote. This discrepancy prompted one student to respond, “That’s why we should be allowed to vote!”

The kids wanted to invite Lander to see the presentations, but it was right after Hurricane Sandy hit and they knew he was busy, so they sent this letter as thanks instead.

“Thank you for teaching us how taking an active role in our community can make a difference,” they wrote.

Thank you for being so awesome, Class 5-215! We look forward to the day when you can vote, and we hope to see you involved in out community for many years to come. And thanks to your teachers, Ms. Waters and Ms. Palmeri, too!