Kevin Hardy

kmhardy@dmreg.com

Middle and high school students in Pleasantville will receive the ultimate civics lesson Monday as Sen. Bernie Sanders brings his campaign to their campus.

In October, students in Dennis Oliver's government and civics classes began inviting several presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle to speak at their school. Sanders accepted the invitation and will visit Pleasantville High School at 2:30 p.m. Monday. The Vermont senator kicks off a four-day Iowa campaign swing on Friday.

"Our students were pumped," Oliver said. "I would say the Pleasantville students are very enthusiastic about him coming to our school, and to be quite honest surprised, if not shocked, that a significant contender would take time to come to our school and talk to us."

The campaign says Sanders will hold a forum with middle and high school students, focusing his address on education, minimum wage and other issues. Word of Sanders' visit immediately began spreading Wednesday.

"It was kind of like a prairie fire. It went ahead of me," Oliver said. "I was having kids come up and high-fiving me, saying 'way to go, didn’t think you could do it.'"

Oliver, who has taught in Pleasantville's middle and high school for 38 years, has recruited various politicians and candidates for statewide or national office to speak to his students over the years. Massachusetts politician Paul Tsongas visited the school during his 1992 failed bid for the Democratic nomination for president. But Oliver said Sanders is by far the most high-profile politician yet.

"Hopefully it will be a lifelong learning experience, but also a very memorable experience for them," he said. "And perhaps they are witnessing the process of electing the next president of the United States. Obviously, there's no guarantee, but you never know."

He stressed that his civics and government students made the event possible, sending multiple invitations. And he said the event is a chance for students to learn about politics and government, not an endorsement of Sanders.

"This is not an elect-Bernie machine that I’m trying to create," Oliver said. "He was just generous enough with his time and interested enough in our school. Had Donald Trump accepted our invitation, I would have allowed that and our administration would have, too."

Sanders' chief rival, Hillary Clinton, visited tiny Keota High School in late December after a trio of students there petitioned the Democratic front-runner to visit their school.