CHARLOTTE -- For the eleventh grade Advanced Placement English class at Olympic High School, the Presidential Election is not a spectator sport.

After months of planning, teacher Jennie Griffith explained, "I broke them into groups and I told each group that you have to choose a presidential nominee."

"We had to come up with a political stance," said junior Sam Mouer. "We had to create a website, we had to gain endorsements."

The candidates then faced off in a moderated debate in front of the entire school. It's an experience student Michael Jones says he'll never forget.

"A presidential campaign is no easy task," Jones said. "There's a lot of stuff you have to manage, everything from personal relations to marketing for your campaign, there's a lot that goes on."

"I've learned a lot about the candidates," Mouer added. "I've learned about what's it's like to run as a candidate because Mike and I did run for President of the United States and it was really interesting."

These students also learned the importance of the Tar Heel State in the election process this year.

"I didn't think it would be so, so important," said Jean Murphy. "Because you don't really hear much about North Carolina when you look at America as a whole."

As the semester winds to a close, Griffith says the project will continue on. "We're actually going to recreate it again at the beginning of this next school year as we get really close to the November election."

It's a semester-long project that created a lifelong experience.

One of the students in the class is registered to vote and took part in Tuesday's primary election. He said the information he learned about the campaign procedure helped him when he cast his ballot.