Quaker Ridge Fifth Graders Meet the Mayor

"What's a typical day as the mayor of Scarsdale?"
"Do you ever have bad days at work?"
"Who was your inspiration to become Mayor?"

On Tuesday, April 30th, 5th grade students at Quaker Ridge Elementary School interviewed Scarsdale Mayor Bob Steves. The students in Ms. Muzzio, Ms. Kenney and Ms. Cohn's classes spent the afternoon asking Mr. Steves creative and thoughtful questions they had been researching in class. All of the students sat in a circle with Mr. Steves and listened closely as the questions they asked sparked interesting discussions each time. Topics included the most interesting part of Steves's job, the Canadian geese in Fox Meadow, Scarsdale versus Edgemont, construction at the Five Corners and more. Mr. Steves was "impressed by the student's good questions," and happily answered each one with well thought out responses. Students got to learn more about  Steves' job as Mayor, the current big issues in the Village of Scarsdale (which Mr. Steves taught the students is also a town), and Mr. Steves as a person.

The mayor's visit was a part of a project in which students researched Scarsdale's educational system, public services, private businesses and other features. After finishing the research, the fifth graders are making brochures, movies and books showcasing their work. Steves originally found out about the project when fifth-grader, Jordan Stein, emailed the Mayor asking him if he could pose with him in a photo for his brochure. After granting Jordan a personal interview, the Mayor offered to join the entire class for an afternoon of interviews.

This article was contributed by Brian Shabto, a senior at Scarsdale High School.