I’M READY FOR COLLEGE AND MY CAREER…..BUT AM I READY FOR THE

REAL WORLD?

Guiding Question

How can we best develop students into active, informed, culturally sensitive, well-rounded citizens?

Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education ~Martin Luther King Jr.

HOW CIVICS IS TAUGHT IN AMERICA

79% percent of teachers think it is “definitely important” for students to be critical users of news.

Only 37% believe students must be active members of community

Source: http://www.civicyouth.org/how-civics-is-taught-in-america-a-national-survey-of-civics-and-u-s-government-teachers/?cat_id=10

NAEP TEST (NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS CIVICS ASSESSMENT)

2/3 of all American students scored below proficient.

Only 1/3 of 8th graders could identify the historical purpose of the Declaration of Independence

In 2006, in the midst of both midterm election and the Iraq war, fewer than half of Americans could name the three branches of government, and only four in ten young people (aged 18 to 24) could find Iraq on the map.

In 2008 –Only 56.8% of eligible voters voted. Nearly 100 million American who were eligible to vote did NOT!

Source: CIRCLE – The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement:

CIVIC ACHIEVEMENT GAP African-American & Hispanic

students are twice as likely as their white students to score below proficient on national civics assessments. A similar civic knowledge gap exists between America’s wealthiest and poorest students

Eligible minorities vote at about two-thirds the rate of their white counterparts.

Families that make above $75,000/year are twice as likely to vote (and six times as likely to be politically active) as families that make below $15,000/year

NORTH CAROLINA CIVIC HEALTH INDEX

Young people are the least civically engaged of any age group in North Carolina.

Voluntary and social organizations are led by a small and homogeneous group of older, college-educated, mostly white residents who are involved in religious organizations.

Few young people, Hispanics and African Americans are participating in groups or organizations.

Adults with some college education are more than twice as likely as those with no college experience to access the news frequently and engage in political discussions with others.

http://floridacivichealth.com/CompareFlorida

WHY SHOULD WE WANT COMPETENT CITIZENS

Informed and Thoughtful: Appreciates history and process of democracy with an awareness of public and community issues

Participate in their Communities: Contributes to society through public service and works together to overcome problems

Act Politically: Effectively organizes people to address social issues, solve problems in groups, speak in public, petition, or protest to influence public policy

Have Moral and Civic Virtues: Exhibits concern for the rights and welfare of others; Values diverse perspectives and personally contributes to make a difference

BENEFITS OF CIVIC LEARNING

Reduces the dropout rate

Increases understanding of public issues and participation in civic activities

Promotes a positive school climate that teaches the importance of community, respectful dialogue, leadership, and creative problem solving and collaboration.

Instills 21st century competencies that employers value such as critical thinking, collaboration, and work ethic.

SCHOOL CULTURE AND CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION

State Standards: K-12 Civic Learning

Mission and Vision Statement

Require Civic Participation

Student Government Youth Voice Class Meetings Student Newspaper Peer Tutoring Classroom Roles Reflection

Treat civic learning as interdisciplinary skills that happen across all subjects areas

Community Partnerships

Measure Progress

Select issues relevant that are linked to core curricular goals Teach students skills needed to participate in taking action on

issues Develop firm ground rules to ensure discussions are inclusive and

productive Ensure students have necessary background information to

consider multiple and complex perspectives before discussion Allow students to understand an issue to form opinions grounded in

evidence Articulate proactively to parents, administrators, and community

rationale for including issues

TEACHING CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES

Pros and Cons of Controversial Issues Promotes critical thinking, education, and informed

citizenship by presenting controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, primarily pro-con format

Teachable Moment Classroom Lessons Lessons that foster social responsibility through

controversial issues The Choices Program

Curriculum on current and historical international issues. In each unit, students consider multiple viewpoints on a contested issue.

REQUIREMENT OF HIGH QUALITY SERVICE LEARNING

Grounded in content standards, but pursues civic outcomes, rather than only academic gains

Allow students to engage in meaningful work on public issues

Give students a role in choosing their own projects

Provide opportunities to reflect on the service that prompts analysis about oneself and one’s relationship to society.

See service learning as a broader philosophy toward education, not just a program for a finite period in one course

Service Learning Service Learning

Collecting can food for a food drive

Studying nutrition and a healthy diet

Investigating food security in the community and partnering with local governments and non-profits organizations on forums to discuss the issue and how to increase food access

SERVICE LEARNING RESOURCES • National Service Learning

• Campus Compact

• TN Campus Compact

• Corporation for National and Community Service

• Campus-Community Partnerships for Health

• Guilford County-Service Learning Lesson Plans

• Guilford County Service Learning Handbook

A CASE STUDY IN NC: GUILDFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS (GCS)

• Guilford County Schools Character Development Initiative

• 3rd largest district

• 127 schools with 72,000 students

GCS DIVERSITY

41%

35.19%

13.46%

5.81%

3.83%

72,191 students (20th day enrollment)*does not include pre-K

Student Demographics 2014-2015

GUILFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS 2008 2012

Graduation Rate 79% 84.5%

Reading Test (3-8) 55% 68.1%

Math Test (3-8) 71.4% 82.1%

Science (Grade 5) 42.5% 70.4%

Science (Grade 8) 51.2% 71.7%

End of Course Test 62.7% 79.7%

Schools of Excellence 1 School 19 Schools

Low Performing Schools

10 Schools 1 School

Out of School Suspensions

7000 4312

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR LEADERS AND STUDENT RECOGNITION

• Summer Leadership Institute

• Day of Service by our Leaders (set the example) –understand the issues of the community

• Beginning Teachers Training

• Service-Learning Summer Institute

• Training for Other Departments

• Counselors/School Social Workers• High School Service-Learning Program (Cool to Serve)

• Celebration of Character

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION WITH LOCAL CHAPTERS

Youth Leadership YMCA of the USA

Close Up

Girl Scouts of America

Boy Scouts of America

Freedoms Foundation

Community Service Kiwanis—Key Club

Rotary—Interact Clubs

Ruritan—Ruri-teens

Civitan—Junior Civitan

Student Governance Model United Nations

National Association of Secondary Sch

ool Principals

National Association of Student

Councils

Youth Voice National Forensic League

National Scholastic Press Association

National History Day

American Bar Association

RESOURCES Center for Civic Education

Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE)

Character Education Partnership

City Year

Close-Up Foundation

Coalition fro Community Schools

Future Civic Leaders

Generation Citizen

iCivics

Kids Voting USA

Mikva Challenge

Lou Frey Institute for Political and Government, Florida Joint Center for Citizenship

National Conference on Citizenship

National Constitution Day

National Council for the Social Studies

National History Day

National Service Learning Partnership

Partnership for twenty-first Century Skills

Do Something

RESEARCH Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools

CIRCLE – The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement:

NCLCE – National Center for Learning and Civic Engagement:

U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Under Secretary and Office of Postsecondary Education, Advancing Civic Learning and Engagement in Democracy: A Road Map and Call to Action, Washington, D.C., 2012. Charlane Fay Starks, “Connecting

Civic Education to Civil Right and Responsibility: A Strategy for Reducing High School Dropout Among African American Students,” (2010)

Alberto Dávila and Marie Mora, CIRCLE Working Paper 52: Civic Engagement and High School Academic Progress: An Analysis Using NELS Data,” (2007)

How Civics Is Taught In America

North Carolina Civic Health Index 2010

Florida's Civic Health