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High schoolers across Albuquerque gained valuable experience in this year’s legislative session.
This year’s 30-day session at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe started Jan. 16 and ended Thursday. Educators around the city used the session as an opportunity to teach students about state government and how it functions. That includes at Eldorado High School, where students researched bills and connected with legislators.
“The project we’re doing … involves researching a bill and understanding the different branches of the government, and how to pass a bill; and then we’re gonna go up to the Legislature and meet the sponsors of the bills we’re looking at,” said Andrew Shaw, an Eldorado High sophomore.
Students in the Gifted Program at Eldorado, specifically the Contemporary Issues classes, have been involved in the research project. The students were tasked to research a specific bill, and then the classes traveled to Santa Fe to meet the sponsors of the chosen bills.
“The main thing that we do is just understand just how our government works and how it is modeled after the federal government,” said Patrick McElwee, a teacher at Eldorado. “Kind of one of the main points of this project is just to learn how easy it is to connect to our state government.”
Through this project, students have the chance to learn more about their local government. It also provides an exciting, hands-on experience.
“I am really excited. I’ve been to the Roundhouse before but I wasn’t able to meet any representatives, so I’m really excited to have the opportunity to meet the two sponsors of my bill,” said Hayden Beggs, an Eldorado sophomore.
Other schools throughout Albuquerque have also taken students to Santa Fe to be involved in the legislative session. On Jan. 25, more than 600 students attended West Side Day, an event hosted by Sen. Antonio Maestas, D-Albuquerque. On Feb. 9, students from the Bilingual Education Program visited the session.
These experiences have given students an opportunity to connect with their representatives and find legislation that sparks their interest. Many feel they’ve gained valuable knowledge about the local government.
“I’ve learned a lot more about our legal system, and how bills are passed and created, and I just have a better understanding of the whole way it works,” Beggs said.
