As the sole staff member of YouthVote, I want to first thank The Lowell for the thoughtful commentary on the program. While I was disappointed that I was not asked to comment on the article before its publication, I am writing because I agree with the concerns raised and would love for YouthVote to be implemented at a deeper level throughout the school system.

While my role is to develop the materials, distribute them to school sites, and tabulate the results, YouthVote is implemented at the school-site level by over 375 individual teachers and administrators. It is impossible to ensure that everyone participates, much less receives an in-depth education around the election. I am taking steps to remedy this, including plans to take the unprecedented step to individually contact each of these teachers before the Spring 2012 YouthVote.

Fully implementing YouthVote should not come at the cost of students’ education. A curriculum for YouthVote, designed and approved by the school district’s social studies department heads, exists. Importantly, this curriculum covers several of the California teaching standards for social studies. In fact, the curriculum agreement includes three full classes a year to be dedicated for YouthVote for seniors taking Government or Economics.

The level of detail in the YouthVote Handbook is related to the amount of time teachers allocate to the program. While it would be great to include very detailed information, there should not be so much that it intimidates classes from covering the material at all. Furthermore, I must contend with spacing issues, candidates who do not provide sufficient information, and objectivity while still providing useful information for students.

I am adamant about one thing: that every student has the chance to vote whether or not the teacher believes the students have learned enough. First, students deserve the chance to have their voices heard. Second, one could be surprised by how many students have sophisticated political opinions, regardless of what was or was not covered in class. Third, no one ensures that adults have been educated on electoral issues and students should not be held to a different standard.

Every school has a different approach to ensuring students both have access to YouthVote and can take the time to learn the relevant content—and some schools do a better job than others. I would jump at the chance to work with students at any school—including Lowell—to make the experience as positive as possible.

— Peter Lauterborn, YouthVote Coordinator

A version of this letter first appeared in the Dec. 8, 2011 print edition of The Lowell.