Early voting started Oct. 24 in Harris County, but trips to the Juergen’s Hall polling location were in the works far before that in Leah Stephanow’s Cypress Woods High School classroom. Stephanow, a government teacher for Cy-Fair ISD for the past 26 years, planned a field trip Oct. 26 that bused seniors to the nearby Juergen's Hall during their government and economic classes. A total of 47 students cast their ballots between third and sixth period, Stephanow said. As the students left the polling location, Stephanow greeted them with a decorated frame, declaring “I voted!” and encouraged them to post about their civic duty on social media. “For the most part, they were very excited [leaving the polling location],” she said. “Some of them acted real cool, but others were so excited to vote for the first time.” In the past two decades, Stephanow has registered students with the League of Women Voters but said she never saw much follow-through after the election. “I would always get disappointed because, after an election, I would ask the kids how many went and voted and it would only be a handful,” she said. Things changed last spring when Stephanow participated in a webinar with government teachers across the nation. A teacher from North Carolina spoke about a field trip she planned during each election year to bring her students directly to the polls. Stephanow sought approval from the Cy Woods principal and from district staff to set up the same experience for her students. To prepare the students to cast their inaugural vote, she taped election specials and candidate forums to show her classes daily. She printed off her own sample ballot, had students complete a project about campaign materials and brought in voter guides. Stephanow hopes to complete the same trip in future election years with additional students. She said Langham Creek and Cypress Springs high schools are also considering a similar trek to increase civic engagement among their students.