Teegan Wright, a fifth-grade student at Rosland Elementary School in La Pine, will serve in the cabinet for the 2025 Oregon Kid Governor. He and other cabinet members and the new Oregon Kid Governor, from Riverdale Grade School in Portland, will be sworn in at the State Capitol in January.
Teegan is one of seven finalists who ran for kid governor this fall. His campaign centered on inclusion in team sports to help students who experience trauma – an issue he has seen up close.
“I play a lot of team sports and I’ve seen kids who are struggling in class and feeling traumatized,” he said. In his experience, students who are involved with team sports tend to show improvements on the
field and in the classroom, he said.
Borrowing a football term – the run-pass option (RPO) – Teegan came up with an RPO for his campaign issue: Recognize, Prepare, Organize. As he explained it, we need to recognize the problem, prepare to meet the needs of traumatized youth, and prioritize opportunities for inclusion.
The structure and routine of team sports help kids avoid aggression and anxiety and improve their mental and emotional health, he said. “A vote for Teegan is a vote for children to thrive, on the field, in the classroom and in life,” he concluded in his campaign video.
Teegan said he might consider a career in government, but at this time he’s especially interested in pursuing professional sports. The young athlete has participated in football, soccer, baseball, snowboarding, golf, tennis and swimming.
Oregon became the second state to implement the Kid Governor program in 2017. It’s open to all fifth graders, and fifth grade classrooms across the state vote on the candidates after watching their campaign videos.
“This bipartisan program provides free toolkits and lesson plans that help celebrate Oregon democracy,” Deputy Secretary of State Cheryl Myers said. “The future of our state looks promising thanks to these impressive future leaders.”