Burton Elementary takes learning to Lansing with grant

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — For Ena St. Germaine, a fourth-grade teacher at Burton Elementary, teaching about the branches of government isn’t limited to textbooks and tablets. She has used immersive civics education for the 37 years she has taught at the elementary school.

“Burton feeds my soul. When I’m working at Burton, the families, the kids, they are so excited to learn, they’re ready to learn,” St. Germaine said.

The state academic standards for fourth graders include lessons on civics. Rather than spend each day in the textbook, St. Germaine takes her students beyond the classroom walls and straight to the heart of Michigan government: the state Capitol Building in Lansing.

“Talking about it, doing graphs, making little booklets, helps them to understand that,” St. Germaine said. “But it’s kind of like a picture is worth 1,000 words but a field trip is a million words.”

The trip to the Capitol isn’t just about sightseeing. It’s about experiencing democracy in action.

“Going to the Capitol, we learn about the government, we get to meet with our representatives from the Grand Rapids area, our students go to the history museum, and there’s so much history there. And it’s so much fun,” St. Germaine said.

It’s about teaching her young minds how to be a good civic citizen.

“I’m a firm believer in that everybody should have a civil project,” St. Germaine said. “So we look at how we can make a difference in our community. It’s not just going and seeing the capitol and learning about government. We are a part of the community, so my kids will go and we do community service. And they talk about all the ways that they are helping Michigan to be better.”

It was that commitment to make the community a better place through civic engagement that earned St. Germaine and her class the monthly One School at a Time grant from Family Fare. She says it’s the perfect amount to help fund the annual trip between the cost of transportation and admission.

“When I talked to the kids about that we received this grant as a classroom and that it was going to help us with our going to Lansing, paying for that,” St. Germaine said. “I talked about, ‘How many people go to Family Fare?’ They were raising their hands. ‘Who goes to the Family Fare shopping?’ And I said, ‘Now they’re giving us a chance to become better citizens. So what are they?’ And they knew that Family Fare was being good citizens by helping us to be better citizens.”

A textbook lesson in building community together.

Find more information on Family Fare’s One School at a Time grant here .

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