FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  March 5, 2008
CONTACT:  Chelle Somsen, (605) 773-5521, Chelle.Somsen@state.sd.us

Still time to participate in State Historical Society School Census Project

PIERRE, S.D. –   Fourth grade students and teachers still have time to participate in the 2007-2008 State Archives Fourth Grade School Census Project of the South Dakota State Historical Society.

The goal is to get 1,000 fourth grade students to take the census this school year. Currently, 451 fourth graders and 24 teachers have participated in the program. 

The deadline for submitting the census results is May 1. To help reach their goal, the State Archives will offer a presentation of historical images of South Dakota to one of the fourth grade classes that participates in the project.  

“This is a completely voluntary project,” said Matthew T. Reitzel, manuscript archivist with the State Archives. “The number of fourth graders who have participated in the census program has increased over time. Hopefully, we will have more fourth graders take the census this year.”  

While not a scientific poll, this census offers some insight into fourth grade students throughout South Dakota, Reitzel said.

For more information, visit the State Historical Society’s Web site at www.sdhistory.org  The materials for the school census are found under the “In the Spotlight” column in the “4^th Grade School Census” link. The State Archives, located in the Cultural Heritage Center, is open 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and the first Saturday of each month.