CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. (WPRI) — With the start of the new school year almost on the horizon, some Central Falls students aren’t just getting ready with new school supplies, they are deciding how to improve their school themselves.
A group of a dozen kids at the city’s high school will be welcomed back to school with thousands of dollars.
“It’s a really awesome program where we will be giving you $10,000 to figure out what they want to do with the money,” Central Falls City Councilwoman Jessica Vega said. “They’ll be learning about participatory budgeting and democratic process.”
Starting next month, the program is the first of its kind in Rhode Island. It’s called “Warriors for Change,” an initiative to help students gain financial skills, learn how local government works and create leadership skills.
“I saw this really cool video on Facebook about participatory budgets happening in New York, and someone connected me to my colleague Pam Jennings,” Vega added.
“This is so groundbreaking that Central Falls is piloting this right now,” Warriors for Change co-facilitator Pam Jennings said. “It’s learning civics by doing this correctly, so they will have full exposure to what it’s like for the city and school to create their budget. They will learn how government works in a hands-on way.”
Student appointed chairwoman Janelie Ordonez is ready to take on the task. Through surveys, she already has some ideas from students on what they want.
“I have a lot of experience talking to administration, students, so I feel like I was a good fit for it,” Ordonez said. “I know a bunch of kids in our school want a music class and I think its something we should have.”
Half of the money came from the school budget and the remainder came from Mayor James Diossa.
Although this is the first year for the initiative, all involved say they hope it will turn into an annual leadership event.
