Photograph by Robert Scheer
The elementary school kids who went to the inauguration were (clockwise from top left) Sabrina Mize, 10, Nora Wilson, 10, Chelsea Young, 9, Dana Salutric, 10, Claire Egurrola, 7, and Jamie Wagner, 9.
By Torre Peña
As William Jefferson Clinton spoke on the Capitol steps about the dawning of the next century in his inaugural address on Jan. 20, students from the Casa di Mir Montessori Elementary School craned their necks and stood on their toes to catch a glimpse of the president through a sea of bodies surrounding them.
Standing just 200 yards away from the president, the students were part of the 200,000-strong crowd witnessing the last inauguration of the 20th century.
"I liked what the president said in his speech about how students need more education," said Dana Salutric, a fifth-grader from Saratoga.
"It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience," said Vicki Wagner, Casa di Mir's business manager and trip organizer. "The kids were a part of history; it was very exciting to know that we were that close."
Ten students between the ages of 7 and 12 formed a human chain with the eight parents accompanying them in the massive crowd as they watched the ensuing parade. "The kids had never been in crowds that big," said Wagner, who went to Washington, D.C., with her fourth-grade son.
The trip was organized last May through Educational Field Studies, one of the oldest student travel agencies in the country. Mostly fourth- and fifth-graders from Casa di Mir on Bucknell went on the trip; one student from a Los Gatos elementary school also traveled with them. Student interest in attending the inauguration was sparked by studying U.S. history in class, Wagner said.
The five-day trip included a four-day whirlwind tour of the capital's major attractions from their home base, an economy hotel in Rockville, Md. Touring as much as they could in 14-hour days, the students visited the Smithsonian Institution, viewed the original document of the Declaration of Independence and the Magna Carta and went to numerous monuments, Wagner said.
In preparation for the trip, the students took a two-hour crash course in etiquette at the Bella Saratoga Restaurant with Pat Scharpf.
"We practiced how to address dignitaries, including the president and vice president," said Scharpf, who teaches several etiquette and leadership courses for Saratoga's Recreation Department. "Eye contact is important."
The students also learned proper table manners for the student inaugural ball they attended after the inauguration.
"The goal is not to be perfect; we try to aim for the middle ground so they will be more relaxed and comfortable with their manners," Scharpf said.
The etiquette practice came in handy when the students met with U.S. Representative Tom Campbell on the steps of the Capitol for a photo session, Wagner said. "They were much more comfortable after the etiquette class."
Although they didn't get an opportunity to meet the president, students did meet and speak with U.S. Senator John Glenn when sharing a public elevator with him while visiting the Senate chambers.
The event was funded by the families whose children went. "It was $940 per student and a little more for the adults," Wagner said.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, January 29, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.