“Does Mississippi have a state fruit?”
Lisa Parenteau’s 4th-grade students asked that question. Her classes in Madison, Mississippi, were reading about students in Kansas. Those kids had made the Sandhill plum the state fruit of Kansas. Parenteau’s students got curious about their own state.
“I was sure there was a state fruit,” Parenteau told News-O-Matic. “But I couldn’t think of anything.” So the teacher and students at Mannsdale Upper Elementary School did some research. They learned that there was no official fruit for Mississippi.
The students went out to recess with fruit on their minds. They chatted about their favorite fruits. And they agreed on one thing: Mississippi needed a state fruit!
Parenteau decided to help her students the Mississippi . But she wanted to do it right. The classes researched fruit in their state. One fruit stood out. In Mississippi, “the blueberry is the most grown fruit both and in the wild,” Parenteau explained. “And anybody could grow it in a home garden.”
The students picked the blueberry — and Project Blueberry was born! The kids made posters. Parenteau emailed a leader for their area. Representative Jill Ford visited and explained how laws are made. Two state groups have to vote. They are the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The 4th graders wrote letters to the lawmakers. The students asked for support and explained why the blueberry would be a good pick. Ford shared the blueberry with the Mississippi House of Representatives. And in February, the lawmakers voted. Blueberries won with a vote of 110–1!
Next, the bill went to the Senate. That group had a lot of big votes to get through, so it took some time. The students kept writing letters. They even sent in treats like blueberry muffins! In March, the Senate finally voted. All 52 voters said “yes” to the blueberry!
Parenteau’s classes were thrilled. The teacher said her favorite part “was watching my students jump up and down when I told them.” The day after the vote, the 4th graders visited the Mississippi capitol building. That’s where the leaders work. The lawmakers “stood and applauded for the kids,” Parenteau shared.
There was one last step to make blueberries official. The law needed to be signed by Mississippi’s governor. Some students watched this happen at the capitol. Governor Tate Reeves signed the bill into law!
The classes celebrated with a berry blue party. They ate blue food and used blue decorations. But the best thing about the experience is what they learned, and Parenteau wants to share that.
“A lot of times, kids don’t think they have a voice when it comes to the government. They think that nobody cares about them,” the teacher said. “But my kids learned that people do care, and people do listen,” Parenteau added. “They can do anything they want to do. Never think too small.”
Updated August 17, 2023, 5:02 P.M. (ET)
By Hannah Marcum
