News from the Center for Civic Education
Join the Center at NCSS, It’s Almost Giving Season, New Video Provides Glimpses of Civic Learning Happening in Real Classrooms, We the People Students Promote Get Out the Vote Campaign, and More in This Month’s Newsletter
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Let’s Connect at the National Council for the Social Studies Conference!
We look forward to seeing you in person at the National Council for the Social Studies annual conference in Philadelphia on December 2–4! Did you know that our teachers and coordinators are our best program ambassadors? Join us at our booth in the exhibit hall for one hour and get a free t-shirt! Sign up here!
Also, join us during two dynamic sessions with Center staff.
- Friday, December 2, 5:10 p.m.: Deep Constitutional Knowledge Is Revolutionary will dive into the Center’s free online course “The U.S. Constitution: Its Foundation, Transformation, and Challenges.”
- Saturday, December 3, 3:35 p.m.: Challenge Accepted: Educating for American Democracy with “We the People” will explore the alignment of the We the People curriculum with the Educating for American Democracy Roadmap and engage participants in an interactive lesson simulation that deepens constitutional knowledge and civic skills.
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Help Spread the Word
We have officially kicked off the Center’s end-of-the-year fundraising campaign! Will you help us by sharing our fundraising social media posts and emails throughout the campaign and consider making a personal gift? From November 17 through December 31, including Giving Tuesday on November 29, we will share the amazing impact of civic and constitutional education on strengthening democracy and civic engagement and illustrate the Center's mission to provide life- and community-changing programs to a broad audience. We welcome all civic education champions like you to help promote the mission.
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We Need Your Help to Support the Civics Secures Democracy Act
The Civics Secures Democracy Act needs you! This bipartisan legislation will create grants for states and districts to support and expand access to civics and U.S. history education. Please visit this link and contact your members of Congress. With a strong showing of nationwide support, we have the chance to make civics the bipartisan national priority it deserves to be.
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Revised Edition of American Legacy Available in 2023
A newly revised edition of the Center for Civic Education’s popular pocket Constitution will be available in early 2023. American Legacy: The United States Constitution and Other Essential Elements of American Democracy is edited by Henry L. Chambers, Jr., the Austin E. Owen Research Scholar and Professor of Law at the University of Richmond. More than just a pocket Constitution, the newly revised edition of American Legacy will contain primary documents, court cases, speeches, essays, and other works essential to understanding American democracy. Of special interest is Maya Angelou's “I Have a Story,” an essay she wrote for the Center for Civic Education in 2012, only two years before her passing. Watch this space for news on how to order in early 2023.
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“This Is Civics” Video on Civic Learning Available Now
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National Civics Day Presentation with More Perfect
On National Civics Day, October 27, the Center joined local and national civic leaders at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library for "Our Civics: Safeguarding American Democracy," presented by More Perfect. The event emphasized research, best practices, and renewed collaboration to work across government, civil society, and the private sector to increase civic learning across the country.
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Civic Education at Its Best Shout-Out: Midterms Matter
The Center’s programs, including We the People and Project Citizen, are civic education at its best. We continue to take submissions of your photos, stories, and quotations about how civic education has impacted your lives. This month, we want to shout out Rashid Duroseau from Texas, who teaches at Democracy Prep in San Antonio. He shared:
“As adults across Texas cast their ballots, the students at Democracy Prep at the Stewart Campus participated in a campuswide mock gubernatorial election. The gymnasium transformed into a twelve-booth polling site as third- through eighth-grade students voted for their chosen candidates. The week before the event, the students reviewed each of the major gubernatorial candidates’ positions on key issues, then made initial votes with the names of the candidates redacted on the ballot. This allowed students to focus on key issues rather than allowing other factors to influence their decisions. After casting their ballots on November 8th, each scholar received an ‘I Voted’ sticker.”
“Our students are curious about how influential voting is to their everyday lives and circumstances!” shared Danysha Ligon, the DPSC librarian and civics coordinator. “It's important that our students have this opportunity to practice this fundamental American right, voting, especially as a majority-minority campus. Our young people have so much power and capability to change their communities for the better, and as a civics-oriented school, we want to give that desire a place to be recognized and exercised.”
This is an exemplary example, Rashid! Thank you for sharing and taking up the call that midterms matter.
Keep your submissions coming, and let us know how the Center’s programs help you and your students experience civic education at its best!
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Project Citizen Portfolio News
Great news! States can now decide to allow teachers and students to create physical and/or digital portfolios at all levels of competition this year. Both digital and physical portfolios will be accepted for the Project Citizen National Showcase. Criteria for digital portfolios are being developed this winter.
Are you interested in supporting this? Email Emily Voss at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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Trumbull High School We the People Students Participate in Get Out the Vote
For the recent midterm elections, Trumbull High School’s We the People team partnered with Trumbull Community TV to help get out the vote to encourage every voter to practice their civic duty. The students participated in a series of quick videos for voters to learn about the statewide elections and the offices and their candidates.
Their teacher, Katie Boland, said, “I am so proud of my students for taking on this initiative with our Get Out the Vote campaign. Although none of the students were voting age for the November election, they understand that every vote matters, and they wanted to encourage people within our town to not only vote on Election Day but also to be more aware of various state and local elections happening on November 8th.” She added, “We the People challenges students to be more informed and active citizens, and this project was just one example of many!”
We applaud these students for their role in promoting active and engaged citizenship this election season!
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Kentucky’s HERO Educators Take CHARGE in the Center’s Professional Development
On November 1 and November 7, members of the Center’s programs team hosted a virtual professional development event for Kentucky teachers, librarians, and education media specialists in the Kentucky Education Development Cooperative’s HERO and CHARGE programs.
The professional development commenced with a deep dive into the Center’s flagship programs, including We the People and Project Citizen. The educators who attended understood how the Center’s programs deepen civic learning and support informed action. The educators left the professional development sessions with a wealth of educational and engaging free resources that the Center offers and that they can take back to their schools and classrooms.
Do you have teachers interested in an overview of all the Center offers students, teachers, and adult learners? Contact the Center's programs team to learn more.
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Center’s Vice President Weighs in on Civic Assessments for K-12
The Center’s Vice President and Chief Program Officer, Dr. Donna Phillips, weighs in on civic education assessments in this recent article from K-12 Dive, stating, “Great assessments can lead to great teaching. A way for students to demonstrate their civic readiness is demonstrating different competencies needed as part of our civil life.”
But will assessment mandates raise the subject’s profile? Read the article for more!
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James Madison Legacy Project Expansion Teacher Publishes Media Literacy Education Paper
In the latest issue of Social Education, James Madison Legacy Project Expansion (JMLPE) teacher Lauren Merroth coauthored a paper titled “Teaching Students to Evaluate Online Information through Current Events.” The article outlines strategies to teach students how to evaluate digital content and detect disinformation. These tips are helpful for civic educators and beyond to implement in their media literacy lessons. |
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2023 All-America City Award Applications Available Now
The National Civic League is now accepting applications for the 2023 All-America City Award. Since 1949, the All-America City Award has recognized communities that leverage civic engagement, collaboration, inclusiveness, and innovation to address local challenges successfully.
The 2023 All-America City Award will recognize ten communities working to improve young people's health and well-being, with particular attention to efforts that engage young people in this work. Democracy thrives when all people actively engage in the policies and decisions that shape their lives. They seek to identify communities that are breaking down barriers to meaningful youth participation and enacting programs that will improve the quality of life for youth and all residents.
Optional letters of intent are due on December 15, 2022, and applications are due on February 15, 2023. Twenty finalists will be named in March 2023 and will be invited to assemble a community team to present their work at the All-America City Award event in Denver from June 9–11, 2023.
For additional information, watch this informational webinar and download the 2023 application.
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Seeking We the People Volunteers
Are you interested in helping us with the We the People National Finals or National Invitational? We'd love for you to participate as a volunteer or judge! Please let us know of your interest by filling out this volunteer interest form. The National Finals will be held in Leesburg, Virginia, while the National Invitational will be held virtually. We welcome any support where you have the time and interest!
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In Memoriam, Francine M. Kean
The Center for Civic Education mourns the passing of Francine Kean, a former office manager for the Center and wife of Wyoming Project Citizen state coordinator Dick Kean. Francine and Dick were married for nearly 52 years, and their colleagues remember Fran's smile, laughter, and delightful sense of humor with fondness.
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Quick Quiz!
Colonial governors were elected in only which two colonies?
A) Delaware and Maryland
B) Connecticut and Rhode Island
C) New York and New Jersey
D) Pennsylvania and Rhode Island
Watch the video and click the button below for the result.
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This site is brought to you by the Center for Civic Education. The Center's mission is to promote an enlightened and responsible citizenry committed to democratic principles and actively engaged in the practice of democracy. The Center has reached more than 30 million students and their teachers since 1965. Learn more.
