Strong Showing for CivxNow During Inaugural Hill Day
Research Roundup: Tips for Teaching Civics in the Early Grades
Coalition Member Spotlight
On the Road with CivxNow
Civic Learning in the News
New Members
Strong Showing for CivxNow During Inaugural Hill Day
Last Thursday, the CivxNow Coalition hosted its first-ever Hill Day in the nation’s Capital. Fifty civic learning advocates visited 40 congressional offices to make the case for sustainable, and ultimately, a generational investment in K–12 students’ civic development. A bipartisan cohort of Congresspeople and Senators graciously received our hopeful message during these perilous, polarized times.
Our group of students, educators, veterans, and community partners visited members of key congressional appropriations committees and respective state delegations. At stake is the current $23M annual investment in American History and Civics National Activities and Academies for the coming fiscal year (2026) that begins in October.
CivxNow members spoke to the impact of these investments, touching an estimated 4,000 teachers and 400,000 students. They expressed how a modest increase in funding would further scale civic learning opportunities for students and professional development for their teachers.
On the horizon next July is the 250th anniversary of this great nation, a clarion call for policymakers to transcend fireworks and tall ships in commemoration and ensure that our youngest Americans graduate with an understanding of the rights and responsibilities of American democracy.
Kindergartners entering school this fall represent the Class of 2038, our next civic milestone when the U.S. Constitution turns 250. Can we guarantee that they will graduate with a deep understanding of the Declaration of Independence, a document longtime civics supporter Jack Miller likens to our national mission statement? Similarly, the Constitution is our longstanding strategic plan for governance. Imperfect, yet alterable by design, it is imperative that our youngest citizens understand the separate and shared powers across our three branches of government, the amendment process, and the Bill of Rights addendum as a condition of state ratification.
Depressing statistics of poor civic knowledge represent a self-fulfilling prophecy given civics’ marginalization in schools and paltry public investments, including less than 50 cents per student at the federal level. We can and must do better for our national posterity.
The CivxNow Coalition put its best foot forward last week in the Capital, doing civics for civics. After all, our students, teachers, and practitioners are the on-the-ground experts of effective civic learning practices and how our schools, districts, and communities stand to benefit from additional federal investment. We are deeply grateful for our partners who came from near and far to take part in this inaugural effort, sharing their authentic insights of the life-changing impact of civics in districts and states.
For most of us, entering the ornate congressional office buildings with staffers and members dressed in fancy suits is very intimidating. Add the fact that our field is resource-starved, and we present little more than the power of our stories and the vast constituencies we represent. But these offices belong to us as citizens. A plaque I encountered upon entering the office of Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi affirmed this principle: “This office belongs to the people of the 8th Congressional District of Illinois.”
We delivered a civics lesson of our own during the first ever CivxNow Hill Day: The Declaration of Independence is our birthright, and the Constitution a compact of democratic governance with “We the People.” Congress must ensure that the rising generation proudly takes this baton at America250 and works within our institutional frameworks to “build a more perfect union.”
Yours in civics,
Shawn Healy
Chief Policy and Advocacy Office, iCivics
Research Roundup:Tips for Teaching Civics in the Early Grades
Jessica Wolff and Nan Mead of the Center for Educational Equity demonstrate that civic learning is developmentally appropriate for elementary students in the latest DemocracyReadyNY report titled, “Civic Learning Is a Whole-Child, Whole School Endeavor.” However, civic learning suffers in the early grades from a dearth of time and resources, inadequate teacher preparation and support, and unequal opportunities for marginalized students.
Wolff and Mead offer eight recommendations to overcome these challenges:
The early grades are formative and an opportunity to establish healthy civic habits. They are among students’ first experiences engaging with community beyond family.
Elementary students should have opportunities to experience civic activities with proper guidance, like classroom-based projects.
Early civic learning opportunities must be developmentally appropriate and differentiated to the unique needs of each learner. A neighborhood cleanup campaign qualifies.
Elementary schools should focus on civic values and develop a sense that each student is an integral member of the community. Wolff and Mead write, “Civic education is a whole-school endeavor.” The larger school experience, including the bus, cafeteria, and playground, shapes students’ civic identity.
Civic learning opportunities must be multidisciplinary and multimodal: Social studies should have dedicated instructional time, but civic learning opportunities abound across the curriculum (e.g., laws of probability in math). Additionally, civic learning must include a mix of direct instruction and student-centered activities such as class discussions of local issues.
Schools should account for interpersonal and systemic issues affecting marginalized students’ access to civic learning. For example, funding disparities often lead to a narrowed curriculum that crowds out civics. It is also important that this racially and ethnically diverse generation of students have mirrors and windows within the curriculum that reflect them and their peers, respectively.
Build upon what skilled elementary teachers already do, linking instructional practices to civic knowledge, skills, and mindsets students are developing (e.g., media literacy instruction).
Civic learning is a collaborative effort between teachers and administrators, schools, parents, and the surrounding community: “Bringing families and the community members into school decisions, fostering an environment of open communication, trust, and confidence in teachers and school leaders, can help stave off worries about indoctrination or fears of being ‘out of control’ of their children’s education.”
Coalition Member Spotlight: The Connecticut Democracy Center
There are organizations in our field that offer a virtual Swiss army knife of possibilities for the field. Few organizations embody that identity for the civic learning field as well as the Connecticut Democracy Center (CTDC).
Based in the historic Connecticut Old State House, CTDC strives to “walk our talk.” The organization leads one of the most vibrant state collective efforts in the country, engaging a variety of partners and key stakeholders during statewide Civic Learning Week programming and playing a strategic role in the creation of a state civic seal.
CTDC implements essential programs like We the People and History Day, and is the creator of Kid Governor®, the dynamic and award-winning civic education program for fifth graders that has since expanded to five other states. Kid Governor® is a ground-breaking approach to civic learning that gives fifth-graders an authentic look into state government, voting, and civic engagement, complete with a campaign, election, inauguration, and year-long term of office for the Kid Governor and their Cabinet.
Interested in partnering with CTDC or bringing the Kid Governor® program to your state? Contact Sally Whipple atsally.whipple@ctdemocracycenter.org.
On the Road with CivxNow
Citywide Project Soapbox
Mikva Challenge, in partnership with Madison (WI) Public Schools, hosted a Citywide Project Soapbox showcase on April 30 for middle and high school students. Participants delivered short stump speeches on the most important issues facing their communities. A panel of judges from partner organizations provided feedback and selected ten finalists. These finalists, in turn, showcased their talents to a public audience in a culminating plenary session. State Representative Francesca Hong (D-Madison), the ranking member of the Assembly Education Committee, affirmed the student participants for exercising their voices to her personal and professional benefit.
Media Literacy Education Policy Event
The CivxNow policy team was pleased to join Media Literacy Now who in partnership with Media Education Lab, recently conducted a landscape scan of media literacy efforts in Massachusetts schools. On May 13, a set of diverse stakeholders (including several Coalition members) gathered in Boston to learn about preliminary research findings, discuss ways to expand media literacy education across the state, and explore solutions to potential challenges or barriers. The final report and recommendations will be published later this summer—stay tuned!
Civic Learning in the News
The news cycle is pretty wild, but contains some good news on the civics front:
Chief Justice Roberts addressed the need for more civic education during a recent talk at Georgetown Law, and Newsweek took a deeper dive, talking to iCivics CEO Louise Dubè.
Amid federal tensions, EdWeek looked at the success of the work of CivxNow and the push for civic education legislation on the state level.
We remain deeply appreciative of member efforts and all that we accomplish together. Our goal is to aggregate and activate large networks of support to expand and re-imagine civic education as a force for civic strength. To our members, thank you for your partnership.
If your organization is interested in joining CivxNow or in learning more, please contact us at CivxNow@icivics.org.
Our Mission
CivxNow is a coalition of partners from diverse viewpoints working to create a culture shift that elevates civic education and engagement as a national priority in order to protect and strengthen America’s constitutional democracy. This includes building a shared commitment to ensure that all young people are prepared to assume their rights and responsibilities to participate in civic life and address the issues facing students, their families, and communities in our increasingly dynamic, polarized, and digital society.
To achieve this goal, CivxNow advocates for bipartisan federal and state legislation that supports implementation of state and local policies that reimagine and deliver relevant, inclusive, and engaging K–12 civic learning, both in- and out-of-school.
A Team Effort
The CivxNow team produces this newsletter each month.
We are grateful for the energy, time, and guidance of the CivxNow Advisory Council and to many, many others who support individual projects.
.png?upscale=true&width=1200&upscale=true&name=CivxNow%20Newsletter%20Banner%20-%20New%20Brand%20(2).png)
