PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — An “Inaugural Parade” of pint-size marchers passed through the halls of Manchester Academic Charter School, on the North Side.

The students did their homework, watching the Presidential Inauguration on TV.

Flanked by 8th grade “Secret Service agents,” the eighth grade president-elect and vice president-elect made their way toward the gymnasium, where classmates waited for the swearing-in ceremony.

Manchester Charter CEO Vasilios Scoumis said it’s not just a mater of getting out of class.

“It’s one thing to see it on TV, but it’s another thing to kind of participate,” Scoumis said. “And if you can’t go to Washington, D.C. to participate, at least you can be part of it here at the school.”

Eighth grade Vice President Curt Tomco says he likes President Obama.

“Barack Obama needs that extra four years to help finish his plan of lowering the deficit,” he said.

But eighth grade President Brandon Harris says his model is Bill Clinton.

“What he did was lower the deficit in his four years as president,” he said.

Once the formal duties were dispensed with, festivities began with students taking to the gymnasium for their “Inaugural Ball.”

But hip-hop music was favored over traditional waltzes.

Second grade teacher Clinetta Jackson says the activities are a celebration of the political process.

“It gives them a chance to get dressed up in their fancy clothes, and dance and celebrate each other,” she said.

As for partisan bickering, that’s a lesson for another day.

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