Da Vinci High project Vote Local is part of the Political Studies course for seniors.  Students learn about local civics by engaging in a 10-week team project which they present to a panel of City Council, School Board, Yolo County Board of Supervisors and others who work in local governance and nonprofits.  To kick off the project, people who will serve on the panels come to the classroom and try to convince students to work on the issues they care most about in the community.  Teams then choose their topics (this year they ranged from better biking infrastructure, Measure T, and overcrowding of animal shelters, to housing prices and homelessness).  

Teams then research their topics, interviewing local people working on improvements in their focus area.  They learn about the complexity of the problem and explore the multiple possibilities already in the works.  Students challenge the status-quo by submitting a ten-page policy proposal papers to the City Council, School Board, or Yolo County Board of Supervisors, explaining three possible next steps the city could take, and arguing the best one.
Finally, teams compare their proposals, seeking to continually improve their processes and products, and then agree together on one solution they want to present together to the panel.  Students take the risk of advocating for their solution through a 15-minute panel presentation which they defend in a by Q & A format. Students are required to accumulate community engagement hours through this project, with most obtaining enough to achieve their Seal of Civic Engagement upon graduation.  

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"I couldn't be more proud of the authentic connections our students make in the community and the complex understanding they gain of both local issues and the processes by which people can make change in their communities." 
- Leonie Pickett (Political Studies/English Teacher) ______________________________________________________________________________
 "This project provided a great opportunity to engage with the public in a way that I hadn't before.  It helped a lot of students to really take a good close look at their community and to have their eyes opened to the realities of small form government. "

- Maximillian (12th grade) ______________________________________________________________________________ "Vote Local is designed to bring civic action into the classroom with alignment to curriculum standards. Local government impacts our lives in more ways than any other entity and It gives students voice and choice to select a community problem and provides opportunities within their recommendations to improve conditions locally. The partnership with local government and associations is powerful since they serve as mentors for the student solutions. Engagement is strengthened through this ‘real world’ collaboration. Additionally, the project allows students to earn the State Seal of Civic Engagement, giving this a very real-world reward for their efforts."
- Gretchen Conners (Government/Economics Teacher) ______________________________________________________________________________

"Vote local gave me confidence in navigating local politics by providing opportunities to engage with my representatives and local organizations. It inspired me to finally get involved with youth organizing and activism, and I think it provided the whole class with a valuable insight into real world political processes."
- Egg (12th grade)