The Leon County Civic Education Pilot

Restoring the Civic Mission of Florida's Schools

The Leon County School District (LCS) has viewed the new middle school civics course requirement as more than an opportunity to implement a semester of civics. District leadership and teachers have seen it an occasion to strategically rethink the role of civic education across all schools and all grades. As a result, the district has begun the implementation of an innovative conceptual framework that spans all of its elementary, middle and high schools. Guided by teacher working groups, the curriculum will unfold over the coming three years. It will emphasize active learning of both the principles and the mechanics of democratic governance. It will be a curriculum that offers the prospect of high school graduates who are engaged, knowledgeable, and civically competent members of our community.

In developing this framework, the district has been guided by the principles outlined in the 2002 report, The Civic Mission of Schools. In preparing that report, a national panel of experts reviewed all of the available research and concluded that effective approaches to civic education have the following characteristics:

• A deliberate, intentional focus on civic outcomes such as students' propensity to vote, to work on local problems, to join voluntary associations, and to follow the news.
• Explicit advocacy of civic and political engagement. In the process of teaching civic education, educators should encourage their students to participate personally in politics and civil society, including at the local level, although without advocating a particular position or party.
• Active learning opportunities that offer students the chance to engage in discussions of issues and take part in activities that can help put a "real life" perspective on what is learned in class. These activities can range from collaborative or independent research projects and presentations to simulations, mock trials and elections, service-learning projects, and participation in the student government.
• An emphasis on the ideas and principles that are essential to constitutional democracy, such as those found in the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, and how they influence our schools, religious congregations, the workplace, and local, state, and national governments. Students should grasp the relationship between these documents and the problems, opportunities, controversies, rights, and responsibilities that matter to them in the present.

Drawing on these principles, key elements of the district's plans include the following:

• Implementing a year-long seventh grade civics course in the fall of 2008 incorporating We The People and Project Citizen
• Implementing the elementary editions of We The People and Project Citizen
• Supplementing "Kids Voting" with a regular program school-based Mock Elections
• Developing and implementing an elementary level Mock Local Government
• Developing and implementing an elementary or middle school level Mock Legislative Election & Session
• Implementing FLREA's Mock Court and working with K-12 Learn & Serve to develop and implement service learning experiences in the elementary or middle school
• Working with the Leon County Legislative Delegation to replicate Hillsborough-Palm Beach Cointies' "There Ought to Be a Law" for middle and high school students
• Establishing an annual recognition program that acknowledges the accomplishments of students, teachers, and partners

The Florida Joint Center for Citizenship will partner with LCS in this effort. The Joint Center will recruit and coordinate community resources required to support the district's initiative. The Joint Center will also serve as the district's analytical partner for assessment of student outcomes. In this, the district plans to test students utilizing materials from the National Assessment of Educational Progress in Civics. Florida Learn and Serve and the Florida Law Related Education Association will also support the district's effort.