Kaleigh Nolan a junior at PMHS, is spending this semester in Washington, D.C. as a Page for the House of Representatives. Last month she attended the "State of the Union" address and met President Bush, Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Barack Obama, Condoleeza Rice and many others.

House Pages live, work, and study in Washington, D.C. During the academic year, Pages are required to attend the Page school in addition to their responsibilities as support staff to the members of the House of Representatives. Pages live in the Page Residence Hall and receive a monthly salary.

The students attend the Page School. The Page School is fully accredited through the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and is based on a year-long curriculum, in which one-half credit is awarded for each semester of work in a course. Classes begin at 6:45 a.m. and include math, English, social studies, science, French/Spanish, and computer technology. The Page School also sponsors Washington Seminars, featuring field trips and speakers. Seminars are usually held on Saturdays, and attendance is mandatory.

The Page Work Experience is very interesting. As House staff, Pages are supervised by adult full-time House employees and work as a team on the House Floor, not for individual Members. Their primary duties are delivering correspondence, legislative materials, and small packages within the congressional complex; answering phones in the Members’ Cloakrooms; taking messages for Members; and calling Members in the Chamber to the phone. Pages sometimes prepare the House Floor for sessions.

The PMHS community congratulates Kayleigh for being chosen for such a prestigious program.