Civic Learning Across Three States: Massachusetts, New York City, and Rhode Island Co-Host Virtual Civics Events (March 7-11, 2022)
Organizers from Massachusetts Civic Learning Week, New York City Civics Week, and Rhode Island Civic Learning Week have joined forces to promote civics education across all three states in order to prepare all members of our communities to be thoughtful, informed, and engaged members of our democracy.
[February 28, 2022] -- For the first time, the Massachusetts Civic Learning Coalition (MCLC), New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) and Rhode Island Civic Learning Coalition (RICLC) have partnered to provide civic learning opportunities across the three states during the week of March 7-11, 2022.
That week, the NYCDOE will be celebrating youth voice, civic empowerment, and the importance of registering to vote through the city’s fourth annual Civics Week and Student Voter Registration Drive. Simultaneously, the MCLC will hold its second annual Civic Learning Week, and the RICLC will host its inaugural Civic Learning Week, both of which seek to inspire and empower all of us to see ourselves as participants and changemakers in our democracy. Organizers from all three states have partnered to co-host several events which are highlighted below.
In New York City, Civics Week is part of the Civics for All initiative, which includes efforts to get every eligible young person ready to vote and to encourage all young people—regardless of age or eligibility—to understand that their voice matters and that they can create change as active participants of their community. The NYCDOE believes civics education is an essential part of every student’s core academic program, and Civics for All programming is implemented across the City year-round. Schools participate in Civics Week by highlighting Civics for All resources in classrooms and participating in a wide range of programming. In addition to registering for remote events, attendees can also participate in a city-wide poster contest, read comic books which the NYCDOE designed in collaboration with renowned comics creators, and attend virtual field trips hosted by local museums.
In Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the theme of this year’s Civic Learning Week is “Building Communities Through Civics.” To confront society’s most pressing issues, our democracy must also address the increasing political polarization and loss of trust in our democratic institutions we observe today. Facing these challenges requires civics education. Civic education provides students with the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions they need to be champions of democracy who build, strengthen, and sustain their communities. Organized in partnership with students, teachers, and community organizations from across the two states, the week’s events (35+ in Massachusetts and 15+ in Rhode Island) include movie screenings, youth-led panel discussions, Q&A sessions with civic leaders, book readings, democratic simulations, curriculum and pedagogy workshops, social media challenges, and more. Events such as “Youth Stand Up: A Conversation with Civic Leaders”, “Living Room Conversations at the Boston Public Library: Civic Renewal”, and “Zoom with a Judge!” will provide civic learning opportunities to all - including students, educators, and members of the general public.
The partnership has led to a number of collaborations across the states. For example, the MCLC and NYCDOE are co-hosting a session titled “Putting Educating for American Democracy (EAD) Into Practice in the Classroom,” which will introduce participants to key concepts from the national Educating for American Democracy history and civics roadmap and highlight EAD-aligned resources that can be used to spark inquiry in the classroom. In addition, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is working with the New York Historical Society to organize an event called “Women and Civic Engagement in the 1960s and 70s” which will feature classroom-ready resources an primary source-based strategies about women of diverse backgrounds who played critical roles in the collective action of the 1960s and 70s.
“This year we are excited to expand our Massachusetts Civic Learning Week to engage more students, teachers, school leaders, families, legislators and members of the broader community,” said Natacha Scott, Director of the Massachusetts Civic Learning Coalition. “We hope that this week brings attention to the importance of civic education and engagement by offering participants the opportunity to experience some of the amazing work and programming led by organizations across our Commonwealth.”
A full schedule of Massachusetts Civic Learning Week events can be found here. For more details about Massachusetts Civic Learning Week, including quotes from state legislators, please see this press release. A full schedule of Rhode Island Civic Learning Week events can be found here. For more information about NYC Civics Week, please visit this link. To speak with event organizers, please contact Natacha Scott at natacha.scott@icivics.org.
ABOUT THE MASSACHUSETTS CIVIC LEARNING COALITION
The Massachusetts Civic Learning Coalition (MCLC) is a non-partisan coalition of 50+ nonprofits, educators, think tanks, universities, and other partners committed to preparing all students to become more civically aware and involved by ensuring that civics is a core component of every young person’s educational journey. The MCLC’s mission is to advance civic education and engagement in Massachusetts by convening a broad range of stakeholders committed to building support for innovative legislation, funding, and policies that facilitate high quality and equitable learning opportunities for students, teachers, and the wider public. The coalition envisions a Commonwealth where all students have equitable opportunities for high quality civic education that prepare them to be thoughtful, informed, and engaged members of their communities locally and beyond. Read more about the MCLC here.
ABOUT NYC CIVICS FOR ALL
The New York City Department of Education’s Civics for All is a citywide multi-component initiative providing curriculum resources, programming, and professional learning with models for civic education that are interactive, project-based, and relevant to students’ lived experiences. The NYCDOE believes that civic education is an essential part of every student’s core academic program and that teaching the democratic process is necessary to build a more engaged, active community member. Read more about Civics for All here.
ABOUT THE RHODE ISLAND CIVIC LEARNING COALITION
The Rhode Island Civic Learning Coalition (RICLC) is a multiracial, multiethnic, and multigenerational coalition committed to ensuring that all Rhode Islanders, including young people and those most marginalized from our democratic system, have equitable access to high-quality civic learning opportunities. We envision a democracy in which all people are empowered, participate and are heard. We are a growing nonpartisan group of youth, community organizations, educators, universities, and other partners committed to preparing all students to become more civically aware and involved. What binds us together is our commitment to advancing high quality and equitable civic learning opportunities. Read more about the RICLC here.