Visit from Conshohocken Mayor Aronson brings fourth grade social studies to life

While studying local, state, and federal government, fourth graders at Colonial Elementary School reached out to Conshohocken Mayor Yaniv Aronson to see if he’d be interested in a virtual visit—and he was happy to comply.

The mayor answered questions from the different fourth grade classes for roughly half an hour, with inquiries that ranged from what inspired him to run for mayor to what he does in his spare time. They were surprised to learn that he enjoyed community outreach the most. 

“I always say that I get to do the fun stuff, and council has to do all of the really hard stuff like make laws,” he said to the students. “I get to do things like make speeches and hang out with you.”

Fourth grader Bianca Gedek acknowledged that the mayor talked about looking for ways to make the community better and how he works with the different departments, but her favorite answers touched on what the mayor does when he’s not on duty.

“I liked when he talked about what his favorite restaurants were and that during his free time he plays with his kids,” said Bianca. “It’s good to know he has time to relax.”  

The students learned that Mayor Aronson was originally drawn to the position through community service, by organizing projects like shoe collections and food drives for the Conshohocken Running Club and later the Rotary Club. It was at these events that people reached out to him to run for mayor. 

Fourth grade teacher Ashley Trier felt that the mayor’s virtual visit helped bring the students’ learning to life. “They already had the background knowledge from class, so they knew what kinds of questions to ask related to his duties,” she said. “I think tying it to their community was important.” 

Aronson is in his second term as mayor. In addition to dedicating time to the needs of Conshohocken Borough, he is also the Head of the Media Department and teaches film appreciation and media production at Montgomery County Community College.