Dear Mr. President, … From A Young Student

Mendham Township, NEW JERSEY (November 17, 2022) – Third and fourth grade are busy times for young students. Students are transitioning from learning to read, to reading to learn. They are also on the path to learning how to write: to express their ideas, to reflect on what they have learned, to … championing a cause and a solution. Yes, at the very young age of nine, William Vaccaro, a third-grade student at Mendham Township Elementary School (MTES) did just that.

It started when William completed a daily writing assignment in Mrs. Erica Parke’s Grade 3 class. His chosen topic was to select a positive news item about how the government in Norway is closing its last arctic coal mine and transforming the area into a giant national park. So impressed was Mrs. Parke with William’s interest and support for protecting the environment and looking for solutions, she encouraged William to continue his research. In the following months, Mrs. Parke guided William through researching coal production and fossil fuels mining, and identifying alternate forms of energy, such as solar panels and windmills.

In class, William had an opportunity not only to discuss his findings, but also to reflect and assess the situation and identify potential solutions. So persuasive and well-structured was William’s presentation that Mrs. Parke encouraged William to write his proposal in a letter to President Joseph Biden. As the school year came to a close, William and Mrs. Parke walked to the Mendham Township Post Office with a letter addressed to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW. With quiet pride, Mr. and Mrs. Vaccaro (William’s parents) explained, “Mrs. Parke is an outstanding educator, who believes in her students and encourages them to follow their dreams. What started as a writing assignment had sparked a passion in William for environmental issues and making a difference in the world and it motivated him to write about it to someone he admired.”

Summer passed, and William received a letter from President Biden! He congratulated William on “taking a stand to help protect the planet” and encouraged him to continue to challenge himself. Mrs. Parke is now teaching Grade 4 at MTES and she offered William the opportunity to read the President’s response to his entire class. It was a wonderful demonstration of active participation in social sciences as William talked to the class about his research, how he wrote to the President, and the response he had received. Mrs. Parke spoke of William’s inspiration to others, “William’s classmates were so impressed with the story of his letter that they too wanted to write letters to the President. Sometimes it just takes one voice to help ignite the passion in others. William is an incredible boy and an inspiration to others. I have no doubt that one day, I will be voting for William Vaccaro for President!”

We agree.