Students from Calcutt Middle School in Central Falls

BY VINAYA SAKSENA

PROVIDENCE — Sixth-grade students from Pawtucket, Central Falls and Woonsocket got to try their hands at running a city for a day last week.

After spending some time learning about the workings of a city, the students got to try it themselves, running city hall, local businesses and the local news media that covered them. All of this took place in the confines of a single building, the Paramount Building at Johnson and Wales University’s Harborside Campus in Providence, and specifically Exchange City.
Founded in Kansas City, Missouri in 1980 by the Learning Exchange, Exchange City has since opened locations throughout the country, including the Johnson and Wales location. Exchange City and the school have partnered with the College Crusade of Rhode Island (formerly Rhode Island Children’s Crusade), an organization founded in 1989 to reduce dropout rates among disadvantaged students.
“We start with them in sixth grade and follow them all the way through twelfth,” Karen Donovan, the organization’s Marketing and Communications Officer. “Our mission is to encourage college and careers for these kids.”
The students began by learning various skills necessary to contribute to the miniature society they were about to enter, such as balancing checkbooks and understanding laws and regulations that would apply to them. After a day of learning, they were given a second day to attempt working jobs that had been assigned to them in this simulated city.
Jovan Lima of Pawtucket was among the sixth graders who had their day in the office Friday, the office in his case being the local post office. He said he got a charge out of managing the office’s payroll, and as was the case with other students interviewed afterwards, he said he would seriously consider such a career later in life.
It’s fun,” Jovan said. “I like signing the checks.”
Central Falls students Jessica Lafreniere and Jennifer Kaleourji, meanwhile, took on the challenges of serving in the local news media, as a newspaper editor and radio station news executive, respectively. Both said they found the work challenging, but exciting and enjoyable.
“I had to write about the storm,” Jessica said. (Note: snow unfortunately cut the day’s activities short on Friday.) “I learned about doing interviews and signing my employees’ checks. It’s neat, because you can write anything you want. People don’t say ‘you can write this, you can’t write this.’”
“It’s pretty hard stuff,” Jennifer said of her news gathering experience. “I had to go around the block twice. I ended up interviewing the mayor. (But) It’s pretty fun, and I’m good with people. I’m not shy.”
Lauren Schechtman, Middle School Manager for the College Crusade of Rhode Island, has been with the organization for twelve years. She said seeing the results of efforts like the one students participated in Friday made her work worthwhile.
“For me, it’s clearly the kids,” Schechtman said. They’re our future. It’s so wonderful to watch them grow and develop and learn to explore all the options we provide them. That’s the reward, for both our kids and our staff.”