Moran schmoozes with his littlest constituents

Comments

 SEE HOW THIS STORY DEVELOPED

EMAIL STORY

PRINT STORY

» 443 days ago: Moran schmoozes with his littlest constituents «

(Examiner photo)
Virginia Congressman Jim Moran addressing some of his littlest constituents Friday.

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Virginia Congressman Jim Moran met with some of his littlest constituents Friday, to highlight the role he played in channeling funding to the elementary-school Young Scholars summer program.

The Young Scholars program is aimed at students from ethnic, economic or cultural backgrounds that are historically underrepresented in honors programs, said Carol Horn, the coordinator of gifted programs for Fairfax County Public School. During the three-week summer school, students made history documentaries using software from the University of Virginia and documents from the Library of Congress. The summer school was funded by a $50,000 portion of a $1 million grant from the Library of Congress.

Several rows of fifth- and sixth-graders sat in the darkened gym to watch their documentaries projected on the big screen. After watching Treron Brooks' documentary about Frederick Douglass, Moran pulled the fifth-grade filmmaker out of the crowd and offered him a position as a congressional page when he reaches high school.

The documents from the Library of Congress helped bring history to life for the students, Moran said. "You can relate to the people who lived that history."

"They didn't like things the way they were and they decided to change history," Moran told the children.

The program helps students realize that leaders come from many different cultures, just as they themselves do, Horn said. In addition, the students can be designated to take honors and advanced-placement classes for the rest of their school career, she said.

Moran did not miss the opportunity to bring up politics, including his opposition to the Iraq war. However, the solemn mood turned into giggles as one child asked "How old are you?"

"I've been around for a long time," Moran said.

SEE HOW THIS STORY DEVELOPED

EMAIL STORY

PRINT STORY

» 443 days ago: Moran schmoozes with his littlest constituents «