A fifth-grader at Rosland Elementary School in La Pine has been selected to join the Oregon Kid Governor’s cabinet.

Teegan Wright, 11, was a finalist in the annual fifth-grade-governor mock election, which took place across the state in November.

He wants to get more kids involved in team sports to help them improve their mental health. Teegan is a formidable athlete, involved in golf, baseball, swimming, flag football and basketball.

He’s also a snowboarder and mountain biker. Math is his favorite school subject, and he definitely wants to continue doing team sports in the future. Teegan could see himself as a professional athlete or a sports psychologist.

“(Getting involved in sports) not only helps their physical ability and getting outside, it also helps them in the classroom. They get more calm, (there’s) less violence, and their academics go up, they feel included,” Teegan said of kids who need help. “After someone has a traumatized event, they don’t trust the people around them, they don’t trust really anything. Once they get back into team sports, with coaches that are inclusive and supporting, they might trust the system again.”

Excited for the next year

After hearing about the Kid Governor program from his dad, Teegan decided to create an application. Sports teammates helped him get through a tough time in the past, and he wants others to have that experience, he said.

“I felt better about myself, and now I’m here,” he said. “It happened to me, and I just want other kids that are struggling to play more team sports so they can succeed.”

Teegan is excited for the trip to Salem to be inaugurated in January and for the work ahead.

“I’m hoping to get the word out and maybe big programs like the NFL or MLB or NBA can help out and support these kids so, like, less violence in schools, better GPAs, more chances for these kids to do something great when they grow up,” said Teegan.

Teegan has already set up a meeting with coaches at the La Pine Park and Recreation District to talk about how to support kids who need help.

“Even when they get mad, they just need to be there for them and just keep them welcome,” Teegan said.

Ron Wright, Teegan’s dad and his teacher at Rosland Elementary, is looking forward to the year to come. Wright has become a coach due to Teegan and his brother’s activities, and he has seen that students focus better when they are involved in sports.

“He and I have talked about it. There’s a couple of friends he has, there’s a noticeable difference between when they’re in their sports season and when they’re not,” he said. “When the Kid Governor program came along, it was just a natural fit. He’s an incredible athlete.”

Teegan and his dad immersed themselves in research that has shown that long-term inclusion in team sports means safety in the classroom. They hope to create a movement that connects research, athletes and supportive coaches.

“We’ve been brainstorming ways, how do we get money to these sports programs so these kids can get scholarships, these kids who’ve experienced loss of a parent, loss of a home, incarcerated parent, homelessness, those kids that can’t necessarily afford the cost of the team sport program,” Wright said. “Our focus now is how do we move forward and use this platform that he suddenly has to get that money to these kids, to get them into these team sports.”

They have also researched specific ways coaches can help athletes who have experienced trauma, including treating them with more patience and following through on what you say you will do.

The Sisters and Bend Park and Recreation District have also reached out for Teegan to speak with coaches.

This is the first year Rosland Elementary has placed a candidate forward for the Kid Governor program.

Oregon Kid Governor started in 2018

The state-wide civics program is part of a national Kid Governor program, created by the Connecticut Democracy Center. Oregon has been participating since 2018, said program coordinator Nikki Fisher, and the program is run by the Oregon Secretary of State’s office, where Fisher is also the civics and elections education director.

Video applications are reviewed by a panel and cut down to seven finalists. Fifth-graders across Oregon watch the videos and vote on the Kid Governor. The other six finalists are made cabinet members. The panel received 22 videos this year and 131 classrooms across the state signed up to participate, Fisher said.

In the video application, candidates come up with a three-point plan and discuss their leadership skills, the issue they want to address and how their plan will help fifth-graders make a difference on the issue.

The Kid Governor spends the next year campaigning for their issue through meetings and speeches across the state. They also keep up a blog sharing what they’ve been working on.

The cabinet members are inaugurated alongside the Kid Governor in Salem by the former chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. They are also invited to work on their platforms, and may write blog posts to keep people updated.

“Folks are really excited about civic education in Oregon, and making sure that kids have the opportunity to find leadership opportunities and learn about state government in a nonpartisan way, and so the program itself has really grown throughout the years,” said Fisher.

The program is timed to coincide with Election Day, and every elementary school has the opportunity to enter a candidate for the program.

“Folks who have engaged in the program previously continue to be engaged in their community and it’s really exciting to see the great work they continue to do,” said Fisher.

The 2025 Kid Governor will be Rosie Lanenga from Portland. She is campaigning on climate change.

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