By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

CHELSEA – Cheers filled the Chelsea Park Elementary School lunchroom on the morning of Nov. 12 as more than 260 students celebrated becoming “super citizens.”

In separate assemblies, second and fifth grade students at CPES graduated from the Liberty Learning Foundation’s Super Citizen Program and recognized community members who display character traits the students learned about in the program.

Dr. Jeanette Campisi-Snider, CPES principal, said the program, which is part of the Liberty Learning Foundation’s The Next Great Americans Tour, was a pilot program for her school.

“I thought it was a good opportunity for our children to learn about the history of our country,” Campisi-Snider said. “This program has just met my expectations and beyond. I just loved it.”

Over a 10-week period, the students learned about character, financial literacy, civics, democracy and American history through music, videos and other classroom activities offered through the program.

Students in both assemblies honored adults they chose from their community as “real-life American heroes” and presented them with torch pins and Statue of Liberty replicas.

The following is a list of people second graders recognized: Lisa George, CPES PTO president; Darrell Lowery, CPES maintenance technician; Earl Niven, mayor of Chelsea; Tracy Watson, DPES nurse; Steve Gaither, a local fireman; Mary Anderson, CPES assistant principal; and Casey Morris with Ground Up Coffee and Smoothies in Chelsea.

Fifth graders recognized the following people: Vickey Bailey, GRC teacher at CPES; James Spann, chief meteorologist at ABC 33/40; Bill Mullins, school resource officer at CPES; Dr. Leslie Sawyer, Pathway Pediatrics in Chelsea; and Campisi-Snider.

“At Liberty Learning Foundation, we believe that when you honor a hero, you become a hero,” Kristen Sharp with the foundation said to students.

Students stood and pledged together to remember what they learned during the program and to apply it toward becoming the “Next Great Americans.”

After the assemblies, students received Super Citizen Graduation certificates to commemorate their completion of the program.

Forest Oaks Elementary School is also hosting the Super Citizen Program this year.