Scandals Aside, Pages Get an Education Like No Other

When Matthew Sheppard was a high school junior, he arrived at school by 6:45 a.m each day and sometimes finished classes by 8 a.m. Then, the Jacksonville, Fla., native headed a few blocks to the U.S. Capitol and the floor of the House of Representatives, where he served as a page, sometimes squeezing in his homework between official duties.

Serving as a House page during the 2005-06 school year changed his life, Mr. Sheppard said in an interview last week. He learned about personal responsibility and time management and turned textbook lessons in U.S. government into firsthand experiences witnessing laws being made and politicians in action.

But the page program that Mr. Sheppard valued so much is under intense scrutiny as lawmakers grapple with the fallout from the revelations that former Rep. Mark Foley sent sexually charged e-mails to several teenage boys who had worked as House pages. Mr. Foley, a Florida Republican, resigned on Sept. 29, when he was confronted by ABC News...