Fall 2022 Medford Citizen Academy Students Graduate from Program
Published on November 07, 2022
Last week, the Fall 2022 Medford Citizen Academy students were recognized for completing the program during the November 3 City Council meeting. They also received a certificate of completion for this accomplishment.
The Medford Citizen Academy is a free, eight-week program designed to give participants an inside look into how the City's local government works and the services we provide. Each week, students spent time with a different department, where they learned how it operates and then participated in a hands-on activity.
The first session, City Government 101, kicked off with students getting an overview of the City's departments. Then they met Mayor Randy Sparacino, who talked about his role and why our local government is essential. The session concluded with students receiving a tour of City Hall and the Lausmann Annex.
Next was the Dollars and Sense session, where our Finance department talked about its financial services and budget process. Students were then tasked with creating a two-year budget for one of our departments.
Week three was the Planning and Developing Our Community session, where our Planning department discussed housing and community development, current and long-range planning, and the Medford Urban Renewal Agency. Then students participated in a group activity where they came up with ways the Planning Department can increase community engagement and participation.
The following week, students headed over to the Service Center for the Public Works session. Students got to see how our streets signs are made, our traffic signals work, and much more. They also received their own personalized street sign during this session.
Halfway through the Citizen Academy was our Building Safety session, where students learned about how the department helps residents with building permits, inspections and business licenses. Then students took on the challenge of creating earthquake-proof buildings using toothpicks, marshmallows and Jell-O.
Week six was the We Keep Your City Healthy and Active session with our Parks, Recreation and Facilities department. The department gave students a tour of the Santo Community Center and highlighted some of its recreational programs, including pickelball. This session's hands-on activities included a game of pickleball and students developing their own neighborhood park. They also received a gold medal for their participation.
The next week, students headed over to Medford Fire Station 14 for the We Keep Your City Safe: Pt. 1 session. Medford Fire gave students a tour of the station, showed them some of its fire operations and EMS services and gave a lesson on fire prevention. Some of the activities during this session included going for a ride on the aerial platform and knocking down a small fire.
We Keep Your City Safe: Pt. 2 was the last session of the program, presented by the Medford Police Department. MPD explained some of the different services our officers provide and the work that goes into protecting our community. This session was also a great opportunity for students to see a demonstration from our K-9 program and Drone Response Team.
Students were encouraged to provide an evaluation at the end of each session and the program, in which the feedback will be used to help enhance the program's experience. One student wrote, "Thank you so much for this program. I feel more connected to the community and have a greater understanding of how our city works. I am proud of our city."
We appreciate our students' dedication to learning about our local government and look forward to bringing back this program in Winter 2023.