U.S. House of Representatives Page Program - Schooling

Schooling

House Pages serving during the school year attend the House Page School, located on the attic floor of the Jefferson, or main building of the Library of Congress. Pages are given Library of Congress badges that allow them to access the restricted floor. The school is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The length of class varies depending on the time in which the House begins its session. Every weekday, except public holidays, Pages begin school at 6:45am. The only exception is for Pages that worked past 10 p.m. the evening prior. Class length varies from 12 to 50 minutes, depending on the daily schedule of the House of Representatives. Pages are usually dismissed from school an hour prior to the convening of the House. If the House does not convene, or does not do so before noon, school ends at 11:30. Pages attend all classes for 50 minutes with five minutes' passing time and a 15 minute break. If the House convenes at 10:00 am, Pages are dismissed at 9:00 from school. They still attend all five classes, but for only 25 minutes with no passing time. If the House convenes at 9:00 am, Pages are dismissed from school at 8:00. Such a school day is generally spent on a school-wide activity, though all five classes may be attended for roughly 12 minutes with no passing time. Common school days end at 8:00 am, 9:00 am, 11:00 am, and 11:30 am.

Pages are also required to participate in Washington Seminars. This program, run by the House Page School, is usually every other Saturday and the Pages visit sites in or around Washington. Trips are followed by an activity or reflective journal entry. Journals are graded by the school's counselor and grades count towards the Page's "Washington Seminar" class, as shown on his or her transcript.

Clubs and groups may be formed if a Page has the desire to found one. Examples of previous clubs have included the Pennsylvania Club founded by all of the Pages hailing from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the 2003-2004 school year Page Class, and the Literary-Magazine club which is occasionally formed during some school years to produce a magazine of the class's literary works. Pages are discouraged from participating in clubs or activities that would take time away from studying and/or work.

Pages traditionally form a Model Congress program in the Fall, and a Model United Nations in the Spring. For example, the House Model Congress program met weekly in the Agriculture Committee within the Longworth House Office Building. This began in 1997 and lasted, with only one missing year, through 2005. The Model Congress typically is a format for the Pages to voice their opinions on the matters before the House at the time and for Pages to practice parliamentary skills, including public speaking. Prior to this, Pages frequently did this on the floor of the House, after the closing gavel.

Page Graduation is an elaborate ceremony which typically takes place in the Cannon House Office Building. Pages vote and request a graduation speaker. Graduation speakers have included Jim Traficant (5 times), Tip O'Neill (4 times), Newt Gingrich (4 times), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (twice), Gene Taylor (twice), Jim Kolbe (once) and John Boehner (once). The first Departure Ceremony of the 110th Congress, in June 2007, was keynoted by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and also featured Chairman of the House Page Board Rep. Dale Kildee, Rep. John Conyers, Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, and Del. Madeleine Bordallo.

During the 110th Congress, in the Fall, Pages were given the chance to obtain Library of Congress Reader Cards for the first time in the Page Program's history, giving them access to the large reading rooms available in the Library of Congress. Pages sometimes use their reader cards to gain access to rooms in the library for studying purposes.