Report: Florida Ranks Low in Civic Engagement

By Mark Lane, Staff Writer

January 23, 2012 12:10 AM

When it comes to civic engagement, the kids aren’t all-right.

And they’re particularly not all-right in Florida.

“We stink,” former U.S. Rep. Lou Frey said last week.

That is a succinct summary of a report released by Frey’s organization, the Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government at the University of Central Florida, along with the Bob Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida and the National Conference on Citizenship.

The 2011 Florida Civic Health Index focuses on civic involvement by “millennials,” people aged 18-29. By civic involvement, the report means everything from voting to working with neighbors on neighborhood problems.

Read the entire article at The Daytona Beach News-Journal→

Volusia Students First in State to Embark on Civics Program

By Linda Trimble, Education Writer

December 21, 2011 12:15 AM

DELAND — Illiteracy. Poverty. Beach driving.

Those are just a few of the issues some Volusia County teens may tackle in a two-year program to learn about their communities’ challenges and how citizens can help find solutions to them by working with local and state government leaders.

The 55 teens from DeLand, Mainland and Spruce Creek high schools are part of the Florida Civic Leadership Academy. Volusia is the first school district in the state to try out the program offered in partnership with the Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government at the University of Central Florida.

Doug Dobson, executive director of the institute named for a former Florida congressman, hopes Volusia will become a model for the rest of the state.

Read the article at The Daytona Beach News-Journal→

A Professional Development Opportunity for Teachers: The Dirksen Congressional Center

Call for Participation: Congress in the Classroom 2012

Deadline: April 15, 2012

Congress in the Classroom is a national, award-winning education program now in its 21st year. Developed and sponsored by The Dirksen Congressional Center, the workshop is dedicated to the exchange of ideas and information on teaching about Congress.

Advancing Civic Learning and Engagement in Democracy

Advancing Civic Learning and Engagement in Democracy: A Road Map and Call to Action was recently released by the US Department of Education. It outlines nine steps the Department will take to advance civic learning across American education. Those step include the following:

Convene and catalyze schools and postsecondary institutions to increase and enhance high-quality civic learning and engagement.
Identify additional civic indicators to better help educators understand students’ civic strengths
and weaknesses and lead to appropriate program design.
Identify promising practices in civic learning and democratic engagement—and encourage further research to learn what works.
Leverage federal investments and public-private partnerships to include civic learning and democratic engagement initiatives in federally funded education programs where permitted and feasible.
Encourage community-based work-study placements tailored to student interests in federal, state, or local public agencies or private nonprofit organizations.
Encourage public service careers among college students and graduates by using The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
Support K-12 civic learning with a new grant program would assist states, local education agencies, and nonprofits in developing, implementing, evaluating, and replicating evidence-based programs that contribute to a well-rounded education—including civics, government, economics, and history.
Engage Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other Minority-Serving Institutions—including Hispanic Serving Institutions, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander–Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities—in a national dialogue to identify best practices.

Highlight and promote student and family participation in education programs and policies at the federal and local levels.

Download “Road Map Call to Action”

Guardian of Democracy: The Civic Mission of Schools

Guardian of Democracy: The Civic Mission of Schools, is an urgent call for action to restore the historic civic mission of our nation’s schools.

This new report provides research-based evidence of the decline in civic learning in American schools and presents six proven practices that should be at the heart of every school’s approach to civic learning. It also provides recommendations for education policymakers to ensure every student acquires the civic skills and knowledge needed for an informed, engaged citizenry.

Guardian of Democracy: The Civic Mission of Schools report was produced by the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, the Leonore Annenberg Institute of Civics of the Annenberg Center for Public Policy at the University of Pennsylvania; the National Conference on Citizenship; the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement at Tufts University and the Public Education Division of the American Bar Association.

Download “Guardian of Democracy”

A Crucible Moment

A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future was recently released by the United States Department of Education and the Association of American Colleges and Universities. The report is the result of work by the National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement. It calls on the nation to reclaim higher education’s civic mission and it pushes back against a prevailing national dialogue that limits the mission of higher education to workforce preparation and training while marginalizing disciplines basic to democracy. The Task Force calls on educators and public leaders to advance a 21st century vision of college learning for all students—a vision with civic learning and democratic engagement an expected part of every student’s college education. This important report is a must read for all who care about the civic mission of schools and Democracy’s future.

Download “A Crucible Moment ”

Winter 2011 Newsletter—Issue #1

Leading think tanks release alarming new study on civic health Study shows that Florida Millennials are woefully disengaged

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —An alarming new study of civic health shows that Florida’s young adult population is less engaged in voting, volunteerism and public debate than their counterparts in other states. The results have prompted several former state leaders to set a goal of increasing the voting rate among Florida’s Millennials by 10 percent in the next election.

The study, “The 2011 Florida Civic Health Index: The Next Generation,” was conducted by the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship, the Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government at the University of Central Florida, the Bob Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida and the National Conference on Citizenship.

It was released today at a press conference on the front steps of Florida’s Historic Capitol in Tallahassee. Among those participating were former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, former U.S. Rep. Lou Frey, Florida Democratic Party Chair Rod Smith, Executive Director for the Republican Party of Florida Mike Grissom and Michael Weiser, chairman of the National Conference on Citizenship.

Civic Education as a Poverty Reduction Strategy

By Ilene R. Berson and Michael J. Berson

Civic engagement of young people has become a topic of national focus as research points to increasing disengagement of American youth from civic life. Although public schools in the United States were conceived in part to provide civic education and are uniquely positioned to strengthen civic culture, the nation has faced challenges in fulfilling its mission or potential in this respect.

Download the full article in PDF format:

NSSSA Leader 2011 Berson & Berson

Leon County Schools’ Students Excel in Municipal Brain Bowl

Tallahassee, Leon County- As the end of the first school quarter drew near, four teams of Leon County Schools fourth graders faced off in the Florida League of Cities’ Municipal Brain Bowl. The teams spent weeks studying general city government facts and specific facts related to the City of Tallahassee’s history and operations. In the end, the students from Killearn Lake Elementary earned the title of Brain Bowl Champions, with Roberts Elementary placing second, Astoria Park placing third, J. Michael Conley coming in fourth.

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