City Hall School celebrates 15th anniversary

Today, The City of Calgary City Hall School celebrated 15 years of teaching young Calgarians how they, as young citizens, can be directly involved in strengthening their communities and shaping their city.  

The City Hall School program allows teachers to move their classrooms to the Municipal Building for a week-long, custom designed learning experience. This unique experience gives students the opportunity to meet with elected officials and work alongside City of Calgary employees.

“Students get an inside look at how The City works and how they can be involved in local government,” said Jody Danchuk, City Hall School Coordinator. “We are so proud to know that we’ve invested 15 years into giving young Calgarians a better understanding of the importance of civic engagement and being involved in their communities.”

To celebrate this milestone, Mayor Naheed Nenshi joined the staff, partners and friends of the program in a special cake cutting ceremony. 

“I have the privilege of meeting, each week, with the students at City Hall School,” said Mayor Nenshi. “I’m always struck by the pride students feel for their community and how they are able to articulate their hopes for the future.”

Over the past 15 years, just over 10,000 students, from grades three to 12, have participated in the program.

“City Hall School helped me understand the role of government,” said Morgan McClaren, who attended the school nine years ago. “It made me understand the importance of voting. Being engaged in government is a right we should exercise.”

City Hall School is a partnership between The City of Calgary’s Community & Neighbourhood Services and Campus Calgary/Open Minds.  For more information please visit calgary.ca/cns.

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