Government Apprenticeship Program (2001 LGAA)

Village of East Hills (Winner)
County: Nassau County
Population: 5,000 to 10,000
Village Hall: (516) 621-5600

When a recent review of the registered voters revealed that many highly regarded college students had never registered to vote, the mayor and Board of Trustees developed a new plan to reverse this pattern. An internship program was developed to allow students to work side-by-side with elected officials in an effort to heighten students' interest in current events, politics, and the outcome of upcoming elections.

The incentives included community service hours, leadership awards for outstanding service, and the willingness to write letters of recommendation to colleges for those students who excelled. Students were selected based on several factors such as geographical distribution, prior experience, and their availability of time and attitude toward the program. The program included field trips on zoning issues, assessments of pending local legislation, mock press conferences, writing articles for the village newspaper and web site, attending village meetings, court night, learning to conduct research, and assisting in running a major function for the village. Each class was delegated to a different chairman in the village, the village justice, the village attorney, and each of the trustees. The municipality benefits by having the students contribute to the productivity of the village office.