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SALEM – Salem students reflected on a recent trip to Washington D.C. in April's board of education meeting.
The three-day trip, which was funded by an anonymous donor, saw 46 students, who participated in Mr. Graham's AP Government, and CCP U.S. History classes over the last two years visit the nation's capital and surrounding historical sites including Mount Vernon, and Old Town Alexandria in March. Graham explained that these students were chosen to participate as it was felt they could best connect the experience with and enrich their studies.
"Both of those classes are pretty well attended, but in order for us to make it count and get as many students as possible onto the trip, we tried to ensure we included students from multiple years. We figured this was the perfect group of students to take on this trip, we knew they'd appreciate it and could attach all their experiences directly to the curriculums we explored over the course of the year," said Graham.
Graham said that the trip was organized in co-operation with the offices of Ohio's elected officials who he said were "really instrumental in putting every phase of the trip together," community members like George Spack, and school administration including High School Principal Todd McLaughlin "to put together a really fantastic trip."
Graham said that on the first day students visited the Flight 93 memorial prior to arriving in D.C., which included "a personalized tour by one of the park rangers," which was organized by Spack, which was followed by a walking tour of national monuments at the national mall. The second day, which Graham said was most student's favorite, began with students touring the whichever Smithsonian museums most interested them in groups, students then left the city to visit Mount Vernon to "see a window into the life of Geroge Washington and his estate," after which they visited Old Town Alexandria where they were able to get dinner, shop, and "visit other historical sites along the Potomac [River]." The third and final day saw students receive tours of the Supreme Court and Congress, which Graham said fell on the same day as a visit from then Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and was organized with the assistance of Senator J. D. Vance's Office.
Three students who participated in the trip were at the meeting and shared their favorite aspects with the board, discussing its impact on them.
Chase Poffenberger, an AP Government student said the trip itself was probably "the most fun thing," he had done in high school and that his "favorite part of the trip by far" was visiting the Smithsonian museums; particularly being able to view and appreciate significant artworks and their history not only from the United States, but from around the world, emphasizing the importance of sharing the experience with his friends. Poffenberger also said that the trip was illustrative of the sheer scale and organization of the U.S. Government.
"Walking in downtown D.C. near the White House every building has a purpose and every building participates in our government. It was really cool to see that everywhere you go in D.C. has a reason to be there," said Poffenberger.
William Panteleris, another current AP Government student, said that his favorite part of the trip was the student's visit to the Flight 93 Memorial. Panteleris explained that it was his favorite part of the trip as it was "one of those things that teaches you what you really can't learn in a classroom environment," emphasizing the direct emotional impact of seeing the monument in person and the reminder it provides of the choice made by the passengers, and the lives lost to save others.
"To be there and to see how low it was flying, to know that there were people fighting on the plane, and to see a wall of names of people that died that day, it's not easy, and it's not pleasant, but I do feel its important because it makes you grateful to be here, and it fills you with a sense of pride to know you live in the same country as those people that died so that so many other people didn't have to," said Panteleris.
The final student to speak was Annika Murray, who was part of Graham's AP Government class last year. Murray said that she had two favorite parts of the trip, visiting the Vietnam War Memorial, and visiting Mount Vernon. Murray explained that visiting the Vietnam War Memorial was important to her as she was able to send a photo to her grandfather of his late friend's name on the memorial.
"I was able to take a picture of my grandfather's friend who died in the Vietnam War and share that with him, and I felt that it was a really moving and sentimental for him," said Murray.
Murray said that she enjoyed visiting Mount Vernon as she had been there previously, and that visiting again at an older age provided her with a new perspective. Murray also said that she had learned interesting facts about Washington which she hadn't known previously.
"I feel like I was able to see it from a different perspective since I'm older now, and I really enjoyed seeing how George Washington lived. I also learned he was an engineer and built a chair where he could fan himself when he was hot. It was a really fun experience, and I hope future classes get to do this trip," said Murray.
The board of education will meet next 7 p.m. May 20.