Having lunch with a civic leader in your community is an exciting experience. The Syracuse City Administration provides the opportunity each year for Syracuse students, from elementary to high school, to meet with Mayor Gailey and Brody Bovero, the City Manager.

During the day, Mr. Bovero speaks to the students about several departments, explaining how each combine to help a city grow and continue to prosper. Mayor Gailey speaks to the kids on leadership and gives a presentation on what it means to be a leader and how to be one.

Students also participate in a mock city council meeting where they are able to experience examples of real problems and decide how to address them. The problems are different depending on the age group. Often, the elementary children debate on which colors should be the official city colors, while the older students work through issues like taxes, water, and other real life scenarios.

Each school has their own way of picking who attends their day, but the City caters lunch and shows the students the inner workings of Syracuse. If your child is interested, talk to their school about how they are chosen.

Syracuse City thanks all the schools who participate for allowing the students the chance to learn and engage with civics.