LILY DEVERS talked to Midway City Councilmember Logan Nance during Saddle Up Day at Northside Elementary on April 17. Nance and other local leaders listened to ideas that Lily and other fifth graders pitched to them to improve the Midway community. (Photo by Bob Vlach)

Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift, Councilmember Logan Nance and other local leaders came to Northside Elementary School on April 17 to listen to fifth grade students give their proposals for making their community better.

“It’s extremely encouraging,” Woodford County Magistrate Liles Taylor said, “not only because their thoughtfulness for their community and neighbors, but also that they are clearly observant enough to pick up on the same themes that we’re facing in local government, whether it be affordable housing to recreational opportunities …”

To get students outside and away from screens, Lily Devers and her partner Avarie Ashburn, both 10, proposed giving kids a reason to get outdoors and play. “It’s not healthy for kids to stare at screens,” said Lily, “because … it can damage your eyes.”

In the weeks before Saddle Up Day, fifth graders learned about local government and city leaders came to their class to give them insight into how residents of Midway pitch their ideas, according to teacher Kamry Ingram. She said students developed their ideas after having a question-and-answer session with the mayor.

The student-partners were responsible for coming up with “three reasons of why the City of Midway needs what they’re proposing. And then a conclusion to really try to convince the mayor and the council to do their pitch, their idea,” said Ingram. She called it important for students to get involved in their community so they can gain an understanding of the role they can play in their community when they’re older.

Overall, Imgram said she was pleased the fifth graders had “really great ideas” that would make their community better for everyone.

Talking to local leaders about her proposal “makes me way more confident in myself,” said Nyla Cash, 10. She and her partner’s proposal to make Midway better – a playground accessible to everyone – was easy and hard, she said.

Hearing the perspectives of elementary students was helpful and matters because “everyone has a voice – whether or not they get to exercise that voice at a ballot box or not,” Taylor, whose district includes Midway, said. “So it’s really valuable to hear from them.”

Northside has four Saddle Up Days each school year. These project-based learning opportunities happen when students get out into Midway and when people from the community come into the school, Northside Principal Robin Taylor said.