In our current educational climate, the historic civic mission of our nation’s public schools seems to have become absent from curricula across the country. Recognizing this as a problem, the Civic Ed Project, a nonprofit organization that prepares youth for active citizenship, has undertaken a new initiative to help revive the teaching of civics in the classroom. The new project dubbed Civic Schools invites students, teachers, administrators, parents, and community partners to collaborate and rethink how to promote civic engagement and learning in schools. Through a Civic Health Assessment, Civic Circles, Professional Development, and a Civic Schools Network, Civic Schools seeks to identify the best practices in order to inspire lifelong participation in democracy through efforts that begin inside and out of the classroom.
Civic Schools is currently undergoing its piloting phase in several Boston-area secondary schools.