“sustaining and strengthening constitutional democracy”
Rhode Island Civic Learning Week seeks to highlight the importance of civic education in sustaining and strengthening constitutional democracy in the United States. By highlighting the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions gained in the classroom that provide the foundation for an informed and engaged populace, Civic Learning Week seeks to further energize the movement to prioritize civic learning for all Rhode Islanders. The week’s events will highlight the voices of youth and teachers.
Our Why
Civic education is needed more than ever to provide each and every person across this country with the necessary tools to engage as members of our self-governing society. We know that the best civic learning happens both in and outside of the classroom, and is a lifelong endeavor touching every facet of society.
In order to underscore the need for prioritization of civic learning across the country, Civic Learning Week brings together students, educators, policymakers, and leaders in the public and private sectors to highlight and further energize the movement for civic education across Rhode Island.
Civic Learning Week builds on the success of more localized efforts that provided civic learning opportunities across three states in 2022. This collaboration by the Massachusetts Civic Learning Coalition (MCLC), New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) and Rhode Island Civic Learning Coalition (RICLC) included events prompting participation by 20,000 students, teachers, and others.
KEYNOTE SESSION
STATE OF CIVICS IN RHODE ISLAND
MONDAY, MARCH 6 | 12:30 — 1:30 PM (VIRTUAL)
Attend this event to gain an understanding of the past, present, and future of civics education in Rhode Island. This session will feature two presenters: Senior Researcher Kelly Siegel-Stechler from CIRCLE will share key findings from the recently published State of Civics Education in RI report and Julia Renaud, Associate Director of Grants and Strategic Initiatives for the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, will share the findings from the 2022 RI Civic Health Index. Finally, RI Secretary of State Gregg M. Amore will offer his State of Civics Address to address civic education successes, challenges and opportunities ahead.
Virtual events
The full calendar of virtual events is available below. Click on any of the linked titles to access the event registration, event description, or recording as applicable. For a full list of events with the presenter information and event description, view the complete Rhode Island Civic Learning Week 2023 Program.
MONDAY MARCH 6
9:30—10:30 AM
Making Change for a Living: How to Find a Career in Civic Action
12:30—1:30 PM
KEYNOTE: 2023 State of Civics in Rhode Island
2:00—2:30 PM
Rhode Island Model Legislature: A Civic Learning Experience for RI Students
4:00—5:00 PM
Understanding and implementing the new Rhode Island Social Studies Standards
TUESDAY MARCH 7
12:00—1:00 PM
Courageous Conversations: Why Media Literacy Matters
5:00—6:30 PM
Redefining Civics Engagement in our Communities
7:00—8:00 PM
WEDNESDAY MARCH 8
9:00—10:00 AM
12:30—1:30 PM
The Modern Classroom: Encouraging and engaging in public discourse in America’s urban schools
3:30—4:30 PM
Action Civics 101: a framework for student-led civic action projects
THURSDAY MARCH 9
1:00—2:00 PM
How Paid, Community Service Combines Civic Action and Career Goals
4:30—6:00 PM
Our Voice Matters: Through the Eyes of Youth Civic Leaders
7:00—8:00 PM
FRIDAY MARCH 10
1:00—2:00 PM
Conversation with Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Participating IN-PERSON EVENTS
March 7, 1:00—3:00 PM
Narragansett North Beach Clubhouse, Narragansett RI
Narragansett High School Students and Staff
Join Narragansett High School Students and Staff for this in-person presentation, which will engage, inform, and ask you to participate in a First Vote Project. Students from the Narragansett High School’s CTE programs will present a mini lesson on why Civic Education is important, and how easy it can be to share in classrooms. CTE Educator Prep students will deliver the mini lesson they developed in conjunction with the Civics teachers. On display will be the first version of a First Vote Digital Media presentation developed by the CTE Digital Media Production students and the Civics teachers. After the short presentations the students will ask you to participate in your First Vote story for inclusion with our project.
If you are not able to attend in person but would like to share your First Vote story, use this google form to upload your own video recording.
March 9, 3:00—5:30 PM
Youth Voice: Call to Action Rally
Naiommy Baret, Young Voices
Young Voices extends a special invitation to ALL youth orgs, community leaders, and stakeholders to join us for our CALL TO ACTION Rally at the State House. Let’s gather together in power as a community to raise up our voices and elevate youth experiences and stories that are impacting youth throughout the state of Rhode Island. Hear youth speak on their experiences of issues that impact their education and day to day life!
Pre-rECORDED EVENTS & Resources
Service-Learning in Rhode Island
Mary Ellen Lynch, PrepareRI and Adam Donaldson, ServeRI
Service-learning can be a strategy to enhance civic engagement, demonstrate student proficiency in academic subjects, gain work experience, and foster social-emotional learning. For an introduction to service-learning, teachers, administrators, and community partners can access a series of brief, recorded presentations that each address a question: 1) What is service learning?, 2) Where do we see service learning in Rhode Island?, 3) How do we utilize service learning to facilitate Global Citizenship Education?
2023 RI Civic Learning Week Co-hosts:
RI Civic Learning Week’s programs, events, and activities are hosted and organized by the Rhode Island Civic Learning Coalition in partnership with Courageous RI, Generation Citizen, RIDE, the RI Department of State, United Way RI, URI’s Media Education Lab, as well as teachers and students from across Rhode Island.