Kelci
Davis |
Thirteen-year-old Kelci Davis of Cottleville said the St.
Charles Pet Adoption Agency building "looks like a bunch
of jail cells." She and other kids from Saeger Middle School
want to change that.
The kids offered their remodeling plan, complete with a
computer-generated design, to St. Charles County officials
late last month. They had compiled the plan during the last
3½ months of the second semester.
Their project was part of the Citizenship Education Clearing
House (CECH) program from the University of Missouri-St.
Louis. In the program, middle school students are encouraged
to get involved in local governmental improvement projects.
Ann
Bowler |
The kids in Dr. Mary Eckert's class decided to work on
the pet center project because all of them have pets, including
some they got from the local pet agency. The agency takes
in lost or stranded animals and then put them up for adoption.
Twelve-year-old Ann Bowler of Cottleville said she's planning
to adopt a cat from the agency as soon as the school year
ends.
Thirteen-year-old Nathan Banks of St. Peters said his family
got a dog from the center about five years ago.
Nathan
Banks |
The kids' planning for the remodeling of the pet center
started last February. That's when St. Charles County planning
officials gave the kids some details of the proposed remodeling.
However, the planners didn't tell the kids what sort of
a budget was set. The kids said the planners also didn't
give them very complete information about the dimensions
of the building either.
Kelci said, "One of the planners told us they couldn't
give exact dimensions over an unsecured phone line."
But, a number of the kids went there individually to look
at the condition of the facility.
They also toured a new facility of the Alberici Group,
a major construction firm in St. Louis. The company did
extensive design to make its new facility energy-efficient
and "green."
Improving the pet center's energy-efficiency was a major
goal of their remodeling plan, the kids said.
But, they wanted to add to the size of the building and
make it "more functional."
Josh
Morrison |
The kids all gathered ideas on what they wanted to include.
Getting the various ideas together in one comprehensive
plan turned out to be one of the most frustrating parts
of the project. Thirteen-year-old Josh Morrison of St. Peters
said, "The team divided into two groups. One liked the pets
and the other liked the government.
"But, we finally pulled the parts together into a single
plan."
The plan calls for expanding the current building to allow
for added capacity to handle more pets. There are even some
outdoor "runs" to give the pets more exercise and fresh
air.
Chris
Crank |
Nathan Banks designed a small "pet garden" where the animals
could walk through beds of flowers along special trails.
The "pet garden" is behind the main building and additional
housing.
Thirteen-year-old Chris Crank of Cottleville said his favorite
part of the whole planning process was when the team made
a presentation at a CECH "fair" last month.
The two-day fair gave teams from throughout the St. Louis
area a chance to show other teams what they'd planned.
Chris said, "It was fun to show to other kids what our
plan looked like."
A sketch
of the remodeled pet center
One of the goals of the CECH projects is to give the kids
a taste of what it takes to make a local government work.
The kids on the Saeger team had some pretty good examples
within their own families.
Kelci Davis' mother was a member of the Cottleville City
Board. Josh Morrison's father was a county counsel in St.
Charles and an alderman in St. Peters.
Nathan Banks' father is the vice president of the local
community college.
All of the kids said the pet center project increased their
interest in government. Josh said his interest in government
is "huge."
Ann Bowler said she likes computers and politics. "Maybe
I can find a way to merge them together into a career,"
she said.
All of the kids had pets at home and some of the combinations
were different.
For instance, Kelci has a boxer dog and a cat. She said
the two get along pretty well.
When Ann gets her cat from the pet center, she'll also
have a dog and a cat together.
Josh said he has a dog and then also babysits his grandmother's
dog from time to time.
But, Chris Crank's pet combination seems to offer the biggest
chance for conflict. He said, "I have a 14-year-old Alaskan
husky and then we recent got a fat rabbit."
So far, they've avoided trouble. "But, we certainly don't
put both of them on the floor at the same time," he said.
(For information on how you and your school can get
involved in CECH, call the UMSL College of Education at
(314) 516-6853.)
