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Democracy in Action: FWCD Unites for Civic Engagement
On September 25, Democracy Day united the School community in fostering democracy, promoting civility, and empowering future citizens. Through a variety of ageappropriate activities and speakers, students across all divisions engaged in an immersive experience designed to enhance their understanding of civic responsibility and democratic participation.
A key focus of the day was on the practice of civil discourse, which the School believes is fundamental to a healthy democracy. Students learned and applied the principles of civil dialogue:
Respect: Acknowledging the equal dignity of all participants
Authenticity: Expressing genuine views without masking or pretending
Curiosity: Seeking to understand others' perspectives, not just advocating one's own
Each division created community norms to honor throughout the day and beyond in their activities. These norms, which reflect FWCD’s core values, guided interactions and discussions, fostering an environment of respect, understanding and collaboration throughout their activities.
E Pluribus Unum in Action
Lower School’s Democracy Day kicked off with a lively assembly in the Scott Theater, inspired by The King Penguin by Vanessa Roeder. Percival, the King Penguin (played by Meredith Hudgens Cunningham ’04), enforces the rules because she’s the king. But the other penguins (played by Tammy Wolford, Katy Thompson Hobbs ’97, Rachel Fineman, Barbara Meyers, Aimee Jenkins and Heather Goldman) aren’t feeling it. Tired of the pushback, Percival sets off in search of more obedient subjects. Spoiler: His journey teaches him that living in a community means compromise and flexibility, thanks to meeting the Emperor Penguin (played by Trey Blair). The book and assembly emphasized this year’s theme, E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, One).
Following the assembly, students dove into classroom activities centered on democracy and conflict resolution. They learned the seven steps of democracy (listen, learn, choose, join, speak, act, lead), played a game of telephone, and discussed the power of listening as the foundation of good citizenship. In the “This or That” game, students made choices (recycling vs. electric cars? bike lanes vs. sidewalks? integrity vs. respect?) and shared their reasons, with the opportunity to change their answer after hearing others out.
“Lead by Example” had students writing persuasive journal entries on how they can lead by doing. They also explored citizenship with “The Citizen Tango” and tested their knowledge with a few U.S. citizenship questions using Kahoot.
In PE, teamwork took the spotlight. The lesson: just like in democracy, success means everyone working together toward a common goal, whether or not you're keeping score. They played games where cooperation was key, moving as a team to accomplish tasks.
In science, students tackled group projects inspired by Sophia Valdez for Prez, designing inclusive playgrounds. They brainstormed, sketched, and created models with inclusion in mind. Music brought patriotic vibes with a parachute activity to “You're a Grand Old Flag,” rhythm instruments to “Stars and Stripes,” and steady beat games to Sousa marches. French and Spanish teachers discussed how elections work in other countries. Art students (grades JK-2) continued their projects, with third graders diving into American artist Jen Stark’s work. Fourth graders designed graphic T-shirts based on the theme, Out of Many, One.
And there's more: Lower School students have continued their exploration of E Pluribus Unum throughout the year in their Families sessions, connecting what they learned about democracy to the School’s core values.
From Convention to Election
Middle School’s Democracy Day centered on the year 1888. Students began their day with a convention that highlighted pride among the U.S. and the 38 states in existence that year. Carrying brightly colored signs, Middle School students marched into the Amon G. Carter Foundation Commons to learn more about the goal of the day – to foster democracy, promote civility, and empower future citizens – and to hear from the presidential candidates, incumbent Grover Cleveland (portrayed by Morgan Gatzke ’29) and Benjamin Harrison (portrayed by Mars McWaters ’29).
Following the convention kick-off, the students attended three of four sessions. All sessions focused on the concept of democracy in unique ways. The Gallery Walk challenged students to study pieces of art, write responses in a variety of ways to the art, and then participate in a discussion about their interpretations. In Quilt-It, students were given a square to decorate after watching a video and participating in a discussion. All the squares from each grade were put together to create a larger quilt. The Scavenger Hunt sent students all over campus as they solved riddles to make it to their next stop. In Democracy Jeopardy, students worked as teams to answer questions to score points. Each session had its own way of presenting the same ideas involving democracy.
FWCD parent Fabian Serralta shared his story of coming to America. Serralta lived in Cuba until he was 9 years old. His family tried 19 times to leave and go to the United States. During one of the trips on a speedboat, they were stopped, and his dad was put in prison. As a result, his family went from being a wealthy family that owned multiple properties and houses to having a single home and belongings. One day, his dad was working on a collection of old cars when a general stopped by and asked if he would work on his cars to get them running again. When the vehicles were repaired, the general offered his family a place to live and would pay for his children to go to private school. Serralta’s father denied his offer and said he wanted out of Cuba, so the entire family was flown to Miami in the middle of the night. His father worked hard to get their family back to their previous lifestyle, and now the Serraltas reside in Texas.
Next, Harrison and Cleveland debated, and students then broke into their state rooms (advisories) to discuss the candidate options and practice civil discourse to begin deciding how to vote. They took a lunch break and returned to their state rooms to further discuss the candidates and ultimately cast their electoral vote for the presidential candidate of their choice. The day ended with grade-level democracy trivia challenges using Kahoot, featuring questions from a U.S. citizenship test.
The states then returned to the Carter Commons to learn the results of their kahoot and the election, with additional student reflection about what they learned throughout the day. And the winner was Benjamin Harrison, just like in the actual election.
Leadership and Discourse
Upper School’s Democracy Day was filled with special guests and group discussions. The day began in the Commons with History Department Chair Colin Douglas ’06 talking to the students about what to expect throughout the day and dispositions of democracy. His presentation included quotes from historical figures on what democracy might be. He then shared three stories where he had the students put on their “story hats,” one for Lower School, one for Middle School, and one for Upper School. Each story had a theme of democracy, including the fundamental principles (all humans are created equal, a government of explicitly limited powers and separation of those powers), three tenets (consent, majority rule and rule of law), and protective tools (citizenship, elections and discussions).
After the introduction, students moved into the activity groups. They chose from 26 options, including The TikTok Ban Bill, led by multiple faculty and students; Women and Democracy: A Global Perspective, led by Dr. Carrie Currier, Associate Professor at TCU; Texas Politics in Motion, led by Dr. James Riddlesperger, Professor at TCU; City Challenge: Civic Leadership in Action, led by Jack Carvalho ’17, City of Fort Worth District Director and Cornell Woolridge ’96, Voter Registration Specialist for Texas Freedom Network; A Republic, If You Can Keep It, led by former FWCD History Teacher Bill Arnold ’86 and many more. Carvalho and Woolridge also had a voter registration table where eligible students, faculty and staff could register to vote.
Following lunch, Upper School students, faculty and staff returned to the Commons for a Town Hall discussion with Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and 2021 mayoral opponent Deborah Peoples. The 45-minute student-led session provided an opportunity for students to put their democratic skills into practice and observe civil discourse in action. Some of the questions asked were about making Fort Worth litter-free; the literacy crisis; if they could enact one policy, what it would be; and more. Parker’s and Peoples’s explanations shared insight on some things the students could do now and in the future to help the city of Fort Worth. To close the day, the students thanked our guests and reflected on the day and what they learned about democracy.
From Lower to Upper School, FWCD students engaged with the principles of democracy, learning how history, leadership, and civic responsibility shape the world around them. Democracy Day not only connected students to the past but also empowered them to be active participants in their communities – now and in the future.
Thank you to the following faculty and staff who worked on creating this day for the past two summers as part of Summer Fellows: Debby Arnold, Sarah Blan, Tammy Craddock, Colin Douglas ’06, Jennifer Giroir, Sarah Hollingshead, David Hoppe, Shari Lincoln, Samantha McMillan, Sara Teegarden, Tammy Wolford, Catherine CollinsVecino, Mark Lichaj, Nicole Masole-Rose, Lisa Wallace, Aaron Hoover, John Long, Rob Napier, Lisa Dickerson Davenport ’87, Rachel Fineman, Theresa Fuss, Heather Goldman, Melissa Hickman, Katy Thompson Hobbs ’97, Aimee Jenkins, Barbara Meyers and Callie Spradley.
