With summer more than halfway over, let’s take a page out of the books from the schools we’re working to help. Take some time to catch up on that summer reading list, including these stories and videos about civic education:
The Stanford Report gives a historical perspective on the university’s decision in 1923 to install a yearlong course on citizenship and civic education.
This story sheds light on how the YMCA in Birmingham, AL, is partnering with the local bar association to teach young people what they need to know about civics.
Even in the thick of summer, the media is still talking about the NAEP in civics:
Shawn Healy takes a deeper dive into the NAEP and looks at some of the data most news organizations missed in this Washington Post piece.
iCivics Executive Director Louise Dubé, Paul Carrese, University of Chicago president Paul Alivisatos, and Arizona State University English professor Ayanna Thompson discussed civic education with the New York Times’ David Leonhardt at the Aspen Ideas Festival. The discussion focused on the complexity of narrative in telling history and civics in this moment. Louise made the point that K–12 schools provide the perfect microcosm of our country right now, as they truly represent the makeup of our communities. Some are liberal, some are conservative, and therein lies the potential to move forward, if we can figure out reasonable solutions to our divisions on the ground.
Inside this newsletter:
August Recess Reminder
Research Roundup: CERG Paper
New Members
August Recess Reminder
The CivXNow Coalition spent the spring and first half of summer meeting with members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, making the case for increased funding for two authorized federal programs, American History and Civics Academies and National Activities. We seek to build upon last year’s tripling of funding in line with the Biden administration’s recommendation of $73M for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24).
As the calendar flips to August, members of Congress return to their states and districts for face time with constituents. We ask that you attend these public events, or better yet, schedule a personal meeting at the district or regional office. Look up your senators and representative here and here, respectively, to schedule a constituent meeting and/or review members’ public recess schedules. TheCivXNow Policy Team is also happy to assist with meeting scheduling and/or to participate.
Our federal policy online toolkit provides background information on proposed FY24 funding for civics, plus a “take action” portal that facilitates emails and phone calls to members’ offices. We request that you schedule in-person or virtual meetings this month before Congress returns for its fall session. Should the representative or senator not be available for a meeting on a day and time convenient to you, request to schedule one instead with the relevant legislative or district staff.
Inclusion of civic preparedness in vision and/or mission statements
Incorporation of civic-learning measurements in district accountability plans
District-level staffing for social studies
Student attainment of civic seals on graduation diplomas
The authors completed a similar study two years prior and found modest growth among districts including civic preparedness in vision/mission statements, yet only 18% of districts sampled include it in a substantial way. More promising is the substantial increase in districts including civic learning in accountability plans, from 13% of districts in 2020 to 54% in 2022. District-level staffing for social studies grew incrementally and still pales in comparison to other core subjects.
Finally, while the number of civic seals awarded to 11th- and 12th- grade students nearly doubled from 2020 to 2022 (5,359 to 10,104), this represents a mere 2% of eligible students. The program has yet to gain traction in most large urban districts and in rural regions.
The authors conclude with a series of recommendations, including state actions like integrating civic learning indicators into school and district accountability dashboards, developing authentic assessment measurements for civic learning, and convening a California task force on civic education for the first time in a decade.
New Members
The CivXNow Coalition continues to grow, now standing at more than 310 member organizations! The latest additions include:
The Coalition remains deeply appreciative of member efforts and of all we have accomplished together. Our goal is to aggregate and activate large networks of support to expand and reimagine civic education as a force for civic strength. To our Coalition members, thank you for your partnership.
If you are part of an organization interested in joining the CivXNow Coalition or 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.
