
November Superintendent's Message
Honoring Traditions and Voices

Honoring Traditions and Voices: A Season of Thanks and Civic Responsibility
Dear MESD Community,
As Thanksgiving approaches, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation for each of you and the work we do together to support our students and communities. While this season offers many of us a chance to reflect on gratitude and connection, we also recognize that it can hold different meanings, especially for Indigenous communities. As educators, it is important that we create space to honor multiple perspectives, acknowledge history, and foster meaningful dialogue. However you choose to spend this time, I hope it brings moments of rest, reflection, and connection with those you hold dear.
Shaping Informed and Engaged Citizens
As we approach the upcoming elections, it is important to remember that this is a powerful opportunity to demonstrate civic engagement and foster a sense of responsibility within our students. Elections are more than just votes—they represent a chance to shape the future and model how individuals can actively participate in their communities. Schools play a crucial role in this process by encouraging dialogue about democracy, voting, and respectful discussions around differing opinions. I encourage everyone to embrace these moments as teachable opportunities that inspire critical thinking and empathy in young learners.
To support conversations about elections at home and in the classroom, we have gathered several helpful resources. You can find age-appropriate activities, guides for discussing elections with children, and strategies for promoting civil discourse on our website. These tools aim to equip teachers and families to engage students thoughtfully, ensuring they feel informed and heard. By fostering curiosity and connection, we help students see the value of their voices—both now and in the future. Thank you for your continued dedication to shaping informed, engaged citizens.
Our team at MESD has created this Media Literacy and Election Toolkit to support meaningful learning experiences and discussions in K-12 classrooms during the election season and beyond:
K-12 Resources
Using the Election as a Teaching Tool - use the election to foster social and emotional learning and connect math, literacy, and social studies lessons.
Voting and Election Resources for a Civil Classroom - The collection of resources below—organized by the themes Countering Bias, Civic Activities, Getting Along, and How To—offers a range of resources for engaging students on some of our most pressing societal issues.
The 10 most common questions teenagers asked about the election - Chalkbeat and Headway received more than 500 questions from teens about this year’s presidential election. Here are their most frequently asked questions — and our answers.
6-8 Resources
iCivics: Election Headquarters - lessons, slide decks, and civics games.
Facing History: Teaching about Voting and Elections - Overview of how to approach teaching the elections.
Resources for Teaching the Elections (6-12) - Use these resources on voting, media literacy, polarization, and bias to talk about US elections with your high school and middle school students.
Decoding Elections: Process, Persuasion, & Participation - Collection of lesson plans from Newseum Ed. Topics include campaign messaging, public participation, and more. Create a free account to access.
Ben's Guide - Overview of different elements of the US gov't. Organized by age level.
PBS: Media Lessons - 3-12 Lesson plans and media on the elections.
Prebunking Election Fraud: Strategies to Confront Conspiracy Theories - from the National Council for Social Studies
K-5 Resources
Ben's Guide - Overview of different elements of the US gov't. Organized by age level.
PBS: Media Lessons - 3-12 Lesson plans and media on the elections.
Civics in the Elementary Classroom - opportunities for teaching young children how to take action on issues that are important to them.
Warm regards,
Dr. Paul E. Coakley
MESD Superintendent
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