On Friday, January 21, Makhi Ettienne-Modeste was sworn in as the 2022 Connecticut Kid Governor. Created in 2015 by Mr. Brian Cofrancesco, a member of the Connecticut Democracy Center, the Connecticut Kids Student Governor program is an annual program that provides civics education about the state government, elections, and voting through a real-life election that selects a fifth grader to become a state governor, mirroring the actual November Election Day. According to Mr. Brian Orcutt, Operations Manager, “Fifth grade is a good age to target civics, by which students will learn from a young age and develop interests in civics to start making a difference.”
To find the next Kid Governor, the Democracy Center offers schools the opportunity to select one fifth grade student to be a candidate in a statewide election that other fifth graders vote in. Individual classrooms in each participating school vote in the election, nominate a classmate to run for office, or do both. However, according to Mr. Orcutt, only one student is allowed to represent the school in the election. Therefore, students that want to run for office have to make a two to three minute video explaining why they want to run and their three-point plan of action. From this step, there is a statewide pool of 25-30 applicants. Their campaign is reviewed by a group of civics professionals – teachers and professors selected from around the state – who help narrow down the pool to seven candidates. The top candidate among the seven becomes the Student Governor and the rest form the Cabinet. Additionally, this program provides schools with a toolkit that includes all the materials needed to learn the basics of civics in the classroom.
The Cabinet and the Student Governor have their own list of responsibilities that they have to fulfill during their year-long term — all responsibilities done while attending classes. According to Mr. Orcutt, the presidential period begins in early January and ends at the next inauguration. The Student Governor and their cabinet members work to fulfill the three-point plan outlined in their campaign. The Governor and Cabinet’s duties include working with teachers to further educate themselves on civics, such as the structure and function of the electoral college, posting informational vlogs regarding their campaign and public appearances on the Connecticut Kid Governor Program’s Youtube and Instagram, making public appearances in Connecticut with non-profit organizations that align with their goals, and making public appearances at other schools in the state. The Cabinet serves a mostly auxiliary role, supporting the Student Governor in their responsibilities. Most of the adult involvement with the Kid Governor’s office is in the early stages of the process, such as teachers educating on government practices and the panel of civic professionals narrowing the candidate pool. However, adult involvement is limited, as the goal is to inspire creativity and innovation in the young political figures.
According to the program’s website, student Governor Ettienne-Modeste focused on his platform, “Protect Our Pets,” after seeing the mistreatment of animals in his community. His action plan includes educating Connecticut’s fifth graders about the signs of animal abuse and showing kindness towards companion animals by creating posters and donating to shelters to help animals that have been abused. On March 4, he will host his first public appearance, in which he will talk about his first point in his campaign with animal experts who are affiliated with the state’s Animal Control Office.
