The Kid Governor program started in Connecticut in 2015 and is coming to more states soon! If you’re interested in how you can bring Kid Governor to your state, please see the “Bring Kid Governor to Your State!” page.
Students and classrooms can participate in your state’s Kid Governor® program in two exciting ways:
Run a 5th grade student for Kid Governor and vote in the election!
If you have students who are enthusiastic about leadership and eager to better their community, encourage them to run for Kid Governor of your state! Each school is eligible to nominate one (1) 5th grade candidate to run for the position. Participating classes/schools will have access to a Kid Governor Toolkit with:
- In-class lessons about your state’s three branches of government, the role of the governor, and how/why elections are held as an introduction to the Kid Governor program.
- In-class lessons about identifying community issues important to you, researching issues, and developing a campaign platform around an issue.
- In-class lessons and resources about building a platform, crafting a campaign speech, voting in an election, and holding an in-class or 5th grade wide primary.
- Tools and resources for filming your candidate’s campaign video.
- Worksheets and resources for analyzing Kid Governor candidate videos and voting during election week.
Vote for your state’s Kid Governor!
All 5th grade classrooms can participate in the election of their Kid Governor! “Voting Only” classes should reserve class time at the end of October to learn about how government works and the Kid Governor program. They should also reserve time during the Statewide Election Week in November to watch and analyze the candidate videos as a class. Participating classes will have access to a Kid Governor Toolkit with:
- In-class lessons about your state’s three branches of government, the role of the governor, and how/why elections are held as an introduction to the Kid Governor program.
- Two in-class lessons about how to vote in an election and how to analyze Kid Governor candidate videos during the Statewide Election Week.
All classes interested in participating in Kid Governor, whether nominating a candidate and voting in the election or as a “Voting Only” class, should complete the Participating Class Registration form for their state.
What People Are Saying About Kid Governor!
“The future of tomorrow is in my classroom today” – Teacher
“This engaging hands-on classroom civics program gets CT’s 5th graders excited about & involved in the political process!”
“The coolest thing I learned is that I can make a difference!” – Student
“The program gave our students great lessons on our state government and experiences that they will never forget.” – Teacher
“My students’ reaction to the program inspired me to encourage not only our fifth graders, but all of our students at my school to go out and help in the community.” – Teacher
“I learned that learning what is going on in your community is very important because children are the future and if we have no idea what’s going on we will be in big trouble!!” – Student