‘It feels great!’: Rosland Elementary fifth-grader Teegan is excited to make a difference in 2025 Kid Governor’s Cabinet

(update: adding video, comments from Teegan Wright and his dad)

La PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Teegan Wright, a fifth-grade student at Rosland Elementary School in La Pine, will serve in the cabinet for the 2025 Oregon Kid Governor. He and other cabinet members and the new Oregon Kid Governor, Rosie from Riverdale Grade School in Portland, will be sworn in at the state Capitol in January.

"It feels great! I can suggest stuff to the governor and also focus on my platform." Wright said Wednesday.

Teegan is one of seven finalists who ran for kid governor this fall. His campaign centered on inclusion in team sports, to help students who experience trauma – an issue he has seen up close.

“I play a lot of team sports, and I’ve seen kids who are struggling in class and feeling traumatized,” Teegan said. In his experience, students who are involved with team sports tend to show improvements on the field and in the classroom, he said.

Teegan's dad, Ron Wright, said, "There's some great research out there that shows that kids that have experienced trauma, neglect and abuse, if you can get them into a team sport setting, they ended up being more calm later on in life - less violence in school, more regulated in the classrooms."

Borrowing a football term – the run-pass option (RPO) – Teegan came up with his own RPO for his campaign issue: Recognize, Prepare, Organize. As he explained it, we need to recognize the problem, prepare to meet the needs of traumatized youth, and prioritize opportunities for inclusion.

The structure and routine of team sports help kids avoid aggression and anxiety and improve their mental and emotional health, he said. “A vote for Teegan is a vote for children to thrive, on the field, in the classroom and in life,” he concluded in his campaign video.

"It will be really good for them...help them later in life," he said.

Teegan's dad, who's also his fifth-grade teacher said it's been a great learning experience for both of them.

"We both learned a lot through this process about helping traumatized kids," he said. "And it's changing how I teach in the classroom. The things that he and I are learning together has actually improved me as a coach, and changing the way I approach kids in the classroom."

Teegan said he might consider a career in government, but at this time he’s especially interested in pursuing professional sports. The young athlete has participated in football, soccer, baseball, snowboarding, golf, tennis and swimming.

Oregon became the second state to implement the Kid Governor program in 2017. It’s open to all fifth-graders, and fifth-grade classrooms across the state vote on the candidates after watching their campaign videos.

“This bipartisan program provides free toolkits and lesson plans that help celebrate Oregon democracy,” Deputy Secretary of State Cheryl Myers said. “The future of our state looks promising, thanks to these impressive future leaders.”