A page changer: young people engage with the legislature through a program like no other in Virginia.

• Author: Finch, Bladen
• Position: In the Capitol

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Eighty middle school students descend on Virginia's Capitol Square the second week of every January. The kids aren't on a field trip. They're a select group of students reporting for work as pages and messengers.

Bethany Gottschall was there this year to drop off her daughter Caroline. It was 18 years ago that Bethany herself served as a Senate page, and her return to the Capitol evoked fond memories of her service and an appreciation for the effort of Virginia's General Assembly to preserve the program.

"I think it is wonderful that the pages have this opportunity, and that the senators and staff dedicate their time to make this a possibility," says Gottschall.

Teaching Good Habits

Pages and messengers tackle hundreds of work assignments while navigating the halls in which Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, James Madison and other notable statesmen once walked. Staff members teach, encourage and mentor pages and messengers as they harness the concept of hard work, develop an ability to think critically, and develop job skills working alongside top government officials.

The Senate Clerk's Office conducts a two-day training session emphasizing responsibility and time management skills. The young people also learn about the tasks they will handle in the bill room, post office, clerk's office, public information offices and concierge desks. (House pages have similar responsibilities, including work in the governor's office.)

For Senate pages and messengers, the most anticipated assignment is working in the Senate chamber, where they prepare members' desks and often speak with tourists and visiting school groups.

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"They are our legs, energy and enthusiasm," says Susan Clarke Schaar, clerk of the Senate.

Pages and messengers hear testimony in committees from experts and ordinary citizens, and witness floor speeches and listen to debates on topics ranging from abortion to taxes. They discover that, like making sausage, the process is not always pretty. This is real life civics.

Select Group

What makes Virginia's program different than others-about half the states have some type of page program--is that the young people stay in Richmond for the entire session.

In the hotel, chaperones keep an eye on etiquette and help teach some important lessons, such as the value of compromise when sharing a room. The students must get up on their own, dress in uniform, have breakfast and walk to the Capitol by 8:15 a.m...