???Town Hall???s American Heritage Student Program teaches our students to interface and interact with society???s leaders. The experience is demystifying - and therefore empowering. - LAUSD Teacher
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Town Hall believes the best way to inspire and train the leaders of tomorrow is to provide them with opportunities to directly interact with the leaders of today. In 1987, we created the American Heritage Student Program which welcomes 800 high school and college students annually to Town Hall events at no cost to the schools. Since it began, AHP has hosted nearly 15,000 students from 135 schools. For information on how to participate, click here.
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Students have sharpened their critical thinking skills by asking tough questions and evaluating answers. Exposed to role models for success from leaders in government, industry, culture and science, Town Hall programs have become an integral part of curricula. As one teacher told us, ???Your events are often life-changing for young people and teachers. The events are opportunities that for us, in public schools, are priceless.???
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Before the events, Town Hall provides students and teachers with nonpartisan briefing packets containing articles on the speaker and topic. These packets also supplement civics, business and history curricula and serve as the basis for the students questions. When schedules allow, students meet privately with the speaker. If that???s not possible, students participate along with Members and the public in our eponymous Q&A.
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Whether the access is to the leader of a corporation or a country - the result is the same it changes the students perception of the world. The promise of democracy transforms from the ideological to tangible when students add their voice and opinion to the discussion.
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Some highlights of private sessions include students asking the US Ambassador to Japan, Thomas Schieffer, just how one becomes an ambassador, and what life is like for the gay community in Japan. Students also had many questions for DWP???s former CEO, H. David Nahai on what they could do at their schools, homes, and neighborhoods to conserve water and energy. Once informed, a student said, ???Suddenly the crisis does not seem unmanageable, as now I know how to make changes.???
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News journalist Jim Lehrer???s message resonated as articulated by one East Los Angeles College student, ???The democratic process cannot function without an informed population who must scrutinize the information given by the media. One student???s reaction to meeting with Janet Yellen, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco was: ???The event gave me a full primer on the economic crisis and helped me understand the direct effect of taxation on my future.???
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Students also brought questions during a joint student briefing and news conference with LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and major media affiliates. The students were transformed. As one stated, ???I thought this only happens in the movies. Her reaction demonstrates that the gap between fantasy and reality dramatically narrowed that day for her and her fellow students.
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A majority of low-income, minority youth are benefited by funding the American Heritage Student Program. Schools in the grant program are public high schools predominantly located in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
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To support the American Heritage Program, click here or contact Lindsey Horowitz at [email protected] or 213.489.3327.
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