Hey Elementary Teachers! We have civics resources!

Posted on August 8, 2016 by stevemasy

Over the past few years, at the request of teachers and in an effort to address ongoing issues with social studies at the elementary level, the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship has worked to create resources for K-5 elementary teachers. Under the visionary work of our curriculum director. Ms. Valerie McVey, and in collaboration with teachers from across the state of Florida, we have three main tools for you to consider.

Our K-5 Modules are extended lessons plans that are aligned with the Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for Social Studies, as well as with the Language Arts Florida Standards (LAFS). If you are not a Florida teacher, you can adapt these lessons for use in your own classroom simply by reviewing the alignment to your own state standards, keeping in mind that the LAFS benchmarks are essentially a redraft of Common Core as well. These modules involve a great deal of work with text and text skills while exploring an essential question around a civics topic.

The Civics Correlation Guide to Current K-5 Reading Series is intended for Florida teachers and uses all of the current Reading series that have been adopted in Florida from Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt, Pearson, Studies Weekly, and McGraw-Hill. You can search by benchmark and/or publisher, and you can see just how strong the correlations are. If you are not from Florida, I encourage you to review Florida’s elementary civics benchmarks here to see if you can use this resource in your own classroom.

Civics in a Snap! For when you have just enough time to help your kids learn about being good citizens!

Civics in a Snap is our newest resource, developed in the summer of 2015 in collaboration with elementary teachers from Dade and Pinellas Counties here in Florida. The intent of these lessons, which are also aligned with language arts standards, is to provide teachers with quick 15 to 20 minute lessons aligned with Florida’s elementary civics benchmarks. Our hope and belief is that every teacher can find 15 minutes in a week to teach kids what it means to be a citizen!

So, how do you access all this awesome stuff? Well, our good friend from Bay, Alana Simmons, was kind enough to create this overview, and we want to share this with you. Simply follow the directions below to complete your free registration and explore to your heart’s content! You can access the sign up page here!

Questions about any of our resources, materials, or civics in Florida and beyond can be directed to Steve Masyada here at the FJCC!

Graham Center Event: Making Elections Work in the Sunshine State and Beyond

Posted on July 27, 2016 by stevemasy

On August 1st, the Graham Center at the University of Florida will be hosting an incredibly relevant event in this election season, Making Elections Work in the Sunshine State and Beyond. You can RSVP to the event here. From the event announcement:

This one-day, all-day event, taking place on August 1, will highlight the advances Florida and the nation have made in administering elections since the 2000 election. Planned participants include co-chairs of the President’s Commission on Election Administration; U.S. Election Assistance Commission commissioners; election administrators from Florida and other states (including current Secretaries of State); prominent scholars at the University of Florida and other institutions; campaign consultants; and members of the media.

The event is sponsored by the Department of Political Science at the University of Florida, the Informatics Institute, the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections, and the Bob Graham Center for Public Service. You can RSVP to the event here. The event will be streamed live on the Bob Graham Center for Public Service’s website at www.bobgrahamcenter.ufl.edu.

Program

8:30 a.m. – Breakfast

9 a.m. – Welcome

9:15 a.m. – Panel 1: State of Florida and the Nation since 2000

10:30 a.m. – Break

10:45 am – Panel 2: Election Technology

12 p.m. – Lunch & Mock Election

1:30 p.m. – Panel 3: Voter Registration

2:45 p.m. – Break

3 p.m. – Panel 4: On the Lookout for Litigation

4:15 p.m. – Closing

5 p.m. – Reception

This looks to be an excellent and engaging discussion of the last decade and a half of Florida and national electoral history. The Graham Center always hosts excellent events, and this will definitely be worth your time. Our own Dr. Terri Fine, an expert herself on electoral politics, will be in attendance.

You can RSVP to the event here. The event will be streamed live on the Bob Graham Center for Public Service’s website at www.bobgrahamcenter.ufl.edu.

Everyday Democracy Grant Opportunity!!

Posted on July 26, 2016 by stevemasy

Everyday Democracy is an organization that seeks to involve all citizens as change agents in their communities. Every citizen, no matter who they are, should have the opportunity to make a different in their community. To help in that work, Everyday Democracy has established a new and exciting grant opportunity! Take a look below, and please be sure to visit the grants page to apply for the support!

The next generation of leaders engaging people in creating positive change has already made waves in communities across the country. Our goal is to attract 20-40 of those young leaders to take part in learning and networking at our upcoming national convening. Participants will learn, connect, and share their insights with changemakers of all ages.

Several young leaders will be awarded scholarships to enable them to attend the convening, and will have the opportunity to compete for grant money to support their leadership and organizing efforts in their local communities.

What we hope to accomplish:

Highlight the work of young leaders at our national convening

Provide opportunities for learning and networking among young leaders

Provide support for the critical work being done by young leaders across the country

Build our network among the next generation of changemakers

What is the grant competition?

Young leaders (ages 18-30) will have the chance to compete to win one of four all-expense paid scholarships to Everyday Democracy’s national convening in Baltimore, Md., December 8-10, 2016. The four finalists will present their work at the conference and compete for grants to support their work in their local communities.

By participating in this grant competition, young leaders will gain access to our tools, resources and coaching, as well as a national spotlight for the work they are doing.

How do I apply?

If you are interested in participating, send us a completed Intent to Apply form. We will follow up with you by providing the application guidelines and other details.

Through the application process, applicants will submit information telling us who they are, the work they are doing and what impact the convening and grant could have on their work.

The application process will likely include an essay and/or video submission. Submissions will be judged based on a demonstration of a commitment to the values of racial equity and inclusive community-building that Everyday Democracy champions. The submission details are still being determined. Those who submit an Intent to Apply will be the first to hear details on how to submit an application for the grant.

Who is eligible to apply?

Anyone from the U.S. who will be between the ages of 18-30 on December 1, 2016 who is doing great work to change their communities. Everyone who applies must be available and able to travel to the conference December 8-10, 2016 in Baltimore, Md.

You can download the Intent to Apply form here!

Citrus Ridge: A New PUBLIC SCHOOL Civics Academy in Florida

Posted on July 6, 2016 by stevemasy

Over the past few months, the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship has worked with teachers, administrators, and district leaders in Polk County to help with the creation of a brand new public school, one dedicated to K-8 civic education: Citrus Ridge.

Breaking Ground

Citrus Ridge, created with the support of local Congressman Dennis Ross, is a K-8 institution that will embed civic learning and civic life throughout school governance, relationships, and curriculum.

civics ridge

Citrus Ridge’s very mission statement is centered around civics and the importance of civic life:

Community
Inclusion
Variety
Innovation
Collaboration
Success

Discussing CIVICS

Our own Valerie McVey and Peggy Renihan, as well as our Teacher Practioners in Residence, have been heavily involved in the planning and work with Citrus Ridge. Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the first leadership team meeting for the school, and it was a great joy to see these teachers and administrators hard at work in learning about and understanding how the emphasis on civic life makes Citrus Ridge a unique public school.

First Steps

A heavy emphasis was placed on ensuring that school culture reflects that civic engagement and civic learning.

school culture

T.U.D.E aligns well with both the C3 Framework and with the Six Proven Practices of Civic Education, both of which will play a role in the curriculum and instruction of the school.

So what exactly is T.U.D.E? These principles draw on a number of sources for inspiration: the state of Florida’s civics benchmarks, the C3 Framework, the Six Proven Practices, and others. Take a look at them below. How do you see them reflecting the importance of civic knowledge, civic skills, and civic dispositions?

TUDE

Most excitingly, we are in the process of finding ways to integrate the concept of action civics into the school and curriculum. It will involve students in addressing problems within their school and community, developing the skills of citizenship such as collaboration, critical thinking, deliberation, and discussion, and encourage students to ‘live’ their citizenship. Some examples are: providing towels for an animal shelter, discussing more recess time versus special area versus free choice, deliberating the school dress code, and thinking critically about the causes and effects of current event that effects our community, state, or nation. Indeed, our new action civics coordinator (reviewing applications now!) will spend a great deal of time at Citrus Ridge as we start to launch this school into the civic stratosphere.

There is so much more to say and do concerning Citrus Ridge: A Civics Academy. We will keep you updated as we get closer to the start of the year and into the new school year. FJCC is excited and grateful for the opportunity to work with some excellent people on this, and let me just thank all of the team that has worked so hard to get this off of the ground. It is a great step forward for civic education in Florida and, we hope, it will be a model for this state and the nation!