Mayor of Home of the Innocents

Emmory Shipley, Communications Coordinator

As Ms. Kelly Perryman created her lesson plan on elections, she wanted to try a different approach. “I thought, what if the students campaigned for mayor of Home of the Innocents?” she remembered. Perryman teaches social studies and college and career readiness at Weinberg Academy, the Home’s on-campus Jefferson County Public School.

When Perryman told the class about her idea in the fall, they couldn’t wait to begin! Every student wrote a letter about three topics they would impact in Louisville. Each student voted for their favorite letter and the elected authors became candidates for mayor. Each class then created a budget for promotions to launch their campaign.

Competition was hot as students delivered stump speeches around campus to teachers and other team members. Classmates hung campaign posters, handed out flyers, and chanted slogans for their candidates.

Perryman sent her students’ campaign letters to Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer to share their interest in elections. To her delight, Margaret Brosko, Campaign Manager for the Mayor, arranged a visit to speak with them about elections. After her visit, Margaret invited the students to attend Fischer’s inauguration. “I was honored and excited, I knew this was a chance of a lifetime for some of the kids,” Perryman recalls.

The big day arrived in December – debate day. Candidates scrambled to find the last bits of information about their opponents’ topics to build their arguments. A few hours before the debate, one of the candidates stepped out of the race, so Perryman allowed the class to choose someone to take their place. Some of the topics debated were LGBTQ rights, support groups, and gang violence. Sarah the last minute replacement candidate, made a distinct solution for LGBTQ inclusiveness – LGBTQ sports teams. To everyone’s surprise, Sarah won the debate and became the mayor of Home of the Innocents!

When the inauguration day came, they loaded onto buses and headed to Louisville Metro Hall. The students appreciated the opportunity to watch Mayor Greg Fischer’s speech. One of them commented, “It was inspiring listening to him speak about the positive changes he wanted to make in Louisville. It made me want to make a change too.” Perryman was grateful for the experience as well, “It meant a lot that he chose to meet and get to know our kids, despite how busy he was that day.”

Through this educational experience, the students not only learned the fundamentals of elections, but also gained confidence in speaking up for their passions. This is an invaluable lesson for many life journeys to come.

 

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