It’s that time of year to choose students for the Senate and House of Delegates page program.

According to a press release from Del. Roslyn Tyler, who represents part of Lunenburg in the state Senate, “Each year the speaker of the House of Delegates appoints 13 and 14 year olds from across the commonwealth to serve as House pages during the regular session of the General Assembly. These young people assist the members of the House of Delegates, the House Clerk’s staff and other legislative staff in the daily duties required for the successful operation of the House of Delegates during the session,” Tyler said in the release.

“The page workday begins promptly at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. A lunch break is provided. There is no weekend work except for the last Saturday of session. Pages deliver documents throughout the Capitol complex and perform errands for members and staff of the House of Delegates during each day’s floor session and at committee meetings. Pages are also selected for assignments in specific House offices including the Speaker’s Office, the Clerk’s Office, the Bill Room, the Copy Center and the Governor’s Office. Pages are trained for these assignments during the first two days of their employment. Every effort is made to provide each page with a variety of work assignments. All work assignments are important to the legislative process and should be performed in a professional manner.”

Tyler said while at work, pages are under the supervision of the clerk and the information & communications services director, the page coordinator and assistant page coordinator and two head pages who served as pages the previous year. “After work pages have approximately two hours of unsupervised free time from 5-7 p.m. reserved for eating dinner. It is mandatory that all pages reside at the hotel. There are two chaperones on duty at the hotel from 5-8:30 a.m. each day, Sunday through Friday.”

A mandatory study hall is held at the hotel every Monday through Thursday evening from 7-9 p.m. Certified teachers supervise the pages and help individual students as needed. Study hall teachers do not provide classroom instruction and do not administer tests and exams.

“Pages are responsible for arranging with their schools and teachers the preferred method of taking tests and exams. They must also make arrangements with their schools and teachers to maintain their schoolwork, including any tutoring that is required. Pages are responsible for making their own weekend travel arrangements.”

“It is important that prospective pages understand that they are to conduct themselves in an adult manner and should always be on their best behavior as they are representing their delegates, families and schools. Serving as a page is a wonderful experience and an educational opportunity. However, it is also a 40-hour per week paid position for which they are making a firm commitment to report to work every day. Requests for time off to participate in extracurricular activities will not be granted. Their commitment requires hard work, initiative, responsibility and a positive attitude.”

According to Tyler, the speaker and the clerk “expect excellent behavior from the pages and rely on a strong support network between the pages, their families, teachers and the clerk’s staff.”

The Speaker’s Office, Clerk’s Office staffs, and delegates strive to ensure that each page’s employment with the House of Delegates is both enjoyable and educational.

The deadline for submission is 5 p.m. on Oct. 17.

Page applicants must be 13 or 14 years old on Jan. 10, 2018 to be eligible.

To access more information and applications, visit https://capclass.virginiageneralassembly.gov and search “page program” in the search bar.

“Please contact my office at (434) 336-1710 or email us at rctyler75@verizon.net for any questions, concerns or nominations.”