Last week, the Ironton Elementary School’s Talented and Gifted students held a mock presidential election for the fourth and fifth graders, with Mitt Romney beating out Barack Obama with a slight edge of 53 to 47 percent among the students.

The TAG class spent time researching the two primary candidates and their positions on five key issues.

They took their findings to the people — their classmates. The students met with each class and discussed the candidates, passed out a flyer and prepared them for the process of voting in an election.

Their teachers then continued the discussion, talking about what a privilege it is to be able to elect our leaders and to take that right seriously. They concluded their discussions with the importance of thinking for yourself and not let anyone influence your choice.

Principal John Maynard supported the TAG students’ efforts and spoke to the them about the importance of being non-partisan.