Educator Update: Helping students understand local elections and their communities

Local news in the classroom: Your weekly roundup Nov 4, 2026

Good afternoon,

While the spookiness of Halloween might be behind us, the suspense of election season remains. Rather than highlighting one specific story in this week’s Educator Update, we’re featuring Lookout’s Election Central page, which offers a collection of local and statewide election coverage, including candidate profiles, candidate forums, and opinion pieces.

Students don’t have to be 18 to start understanding elections – or to have a stake in their outcomes. The decisions local leaders make today shape students’ schools, housing, environment and future. Helping young people understand those decisions now gives them the tools to become informed, engaged members of their communities long before they cast their first ballot.

I’d also like to announce that Lookout’s annual Student Journalism Scholarship is officially open! All high school students in Santa Cruz County are encouraged to profile a local “unsung hero” in their community for the chance to win $500 and be published on Lookout’s site. More information, including entry requirements, can be found here.

We’d also be happy to host a class workshop or send a Lookout representative to speak with your students about the scholarship. Feel free to reach out with any questions at education@lookoutlocal.com or jamie@lookoutlocal.com.

A reminder: Secondary teachers and students get free Lookout access

If you haven’t signed up yet, secondary teachers receive free Lookout memberships, along with classroom-ready resources, lesson plans, tools and classroom visits from Lookout staff. If you have signed up, please share the opportunity with a colleague! Sign up for your free teacher membership →

Secondary students, as well as Cabrillo College and UC Santa Cruz students, receive free access to Lookout. Have your students sign up through our classroom page so they can read every Lookout story for free.

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Highlighted story with discussion questions

Why it matters: 

Local news helps people understand the issues shaping their communities and make informed decisions at the ballot box. Exploring election coverage gives students a chance to practice finding and evaluating reliable sources, form their own opinions and understand the challenges their communities face and the solutions candidates propose. Even before they’re old enough to vote, students can begin learning how local decisions affect their lives and how they can help shape their community’s future.

In the classroom: Have students explore several different types of articles on the election page (opinion, election forum recap, news, for example) and choose from the discussion questions below.

• Explore a perspective: Have them choose one opinion piece and ask: What is the main opinion or argument shared in the piece? Why might the person/group who wrote it be motivated to share their perspective with the community?
• Connect to your community:What local events do you think have the biggest impact on your community? Students may consider the issues they saw represented on Lookout’s site, or issues they know of anecdotally. 
• Think critically: How does local news help people understand the candidates, issues, and decisions that affect them?
• Make it personal: How might decisions made by the local government affect your daily life?
• Consider participation: Why might people not vote in local elections? What barriers might prevent people from participating?
• Think about solutions: Choose one local issue you care about. What solutions are candidates or community leaders proposing? Which approaches do you think would be most effective, and why?

More current events

Interested in more stories? Browse all our recent coverage here.

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California news

Student Journalism Scholarship

Help your students tell a story that matters

The Student Journalism Scholarship is a great opportunity for students to look beyond the classroom, connect with their community and shine a light on someone whose contributions might otherwise go unnoticed. Whether they’re interested in journalism or simply passionate about the people and places around them, students can use this project to build their writing, research and storytelling skills while making a meaningful contribution to their community.

We’d love your help spreading the word! Consider sharing the scholarship with your students, incorporating it into a writing assignment or encouraging a student who might have a great story idea to apply. We’re also happy to host a classroom workshop or arrange a visit from a Lookout representative to discuss the scholarship and answer questions.

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I hope this gives you an easy starting point for a discussion, question or lesson this week.

If there’s a local issue you’d like help bringing into your classroom, or if you’d like to learn more about our school programs or schedule a classroom visit, reach out anytime at jamie@lookoutlocal.com or education@lookoutlocal.com

Best,

Ava Salinas | Lead Educational Programs Fellow