Guest Column
Colorado State Senator and National Center for Learning and Citizenship (NCLC) Board Member SUE WINDELS shows her commitment to citizenship education in Colorado by "rolling up her sleeves and calling in the experts." The result is a new "Civic Canopy" that supports civic engagement in Colorado.
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Back to top.What States Are Doing
GEORGIA recently adopted new regulations regarding instruction in U.S. and Georgia history and government, including a requirement for a high school-level course in citizenship education (State Board of Education Rule 160-4-2.07).
http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/_documents/doe/legalservices/160-4-2-.07.pdf
Back to top.Good Reads
Former U.S. Senator and National Service-Learning Commissioner Chairman John Glenn and Children's Defense Fund founder and President Marian Wright Edelman's commentary in Education Week (free registration required) asserts that "preparing young people to be citizens requires us to embrace CIVIC LEARNING as a core purpose of education."
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2005/02/16/23edelman.h24.html
The Futures Project has produced a new report, "Correcting Course: How We Can Restore the Ideals of Public HIGHER EDUCATION in a Market-Driven Era." It says increased competition among universities and trends toward privatization are threatening the public mission of state universities and colleges.
http://www.futuresproject.org/publications/Correcting_Course.pdf
In this paper, "Emerging Repertoires of Political Action: A Review of the Debate on Participation Trends in Western Societies," Dietlind Stolle from McGill University and Marc Hooghe at the University of Leuven present an overview and analysis of the debate on CIVIC PARTICIPATION in Western societies. They also examine the relationship between declining participation in traditional forms and the rise of new forms of participation.
http://www.soc.kuleuven.ac.be/pol/docs/publicaties/Emerging%20Repertoires.pdf
Back to top.New Center Publications
NCLC recently released the COLORADO SERVICE-LEARNING TRAIL GUIDE, which demonstrates how service-learning can help teachers and administrators meet Colorado's academic standards. This toolkit includes project examples, resources and evaluation tools.
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Back to top.NCLC News
With a recent grant from the State Farm Companies Foundation, NCLC will help states develop policies that sustain high-quality PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT for service-learning. Grant activities will include the promotion of stronger leadership for service-learning among policymakers and education leaders.
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The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is seeking nominations for an award created last year in honor of its former president, the late FRANK NEWMAN. The award recognizes states or territories for demonstrated excellence in education policymaking. The deadline for nominations is March 5.
http://www.ecs.org/00CN2389
A scholarship fund established in Frank Newman's name will provide scholarships and mentoring to college students who have shown leadership potential through community service and scholastic achievement. The FRANK NEWMAN LEADERSHIP FUND and the annual awards program will be overseen by Campus Compact, an organization Newman co-founded in 1985.
http://www.ecs.org/00CN2390
Back to top.Meetings & Events
The National Service-Learning Conference will take place March 16-19, 2005, in Long Beach, California. NCLC is hosting a day-long administrators-only session, "LEADING FOR CHANGE in Tough Times: Maintaining a Focus on Service-Learning and Citizenship Education," on March 17. Advanced registration is required. Additional information is available on the National Youth Leadership Council's National Service-Learning Conference Web page.
http://www.nylc.org
Save the date of July 11-12, 2005, in Denver, Colorado, for the 5th Annual EDUCATION LEADERSHIP COLLOQUIUM (ELC) on the Civic Mission of American Education, where teams will focus on supporting effective citizenship education, service-learning and professional development for teachers. Then join the ECS National Forum on Education Policy, July 12-15, which will focus on a range of issues, including the latest on No Child Left Behind, arts education, early learning and much more.
http://www.ecs.org/NationalForum2005
Back to top.Names in the News
JUDITH TORNEY-PURTA, professor of human development at the University of Maryland and senior advisor to NCLC, received a 2005 Decade of Behavior Research Award for her work on the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Civic Education Study. The study surveyed 140,000 young people in 28 countries, making it the largest and most rigorous international study on civic education.
http://www.apa.org/science/psa/jan5dob.html
Back to top.Updates from NACE
Citizenship Matters regularly features new information available on the NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR CIVIC EDUCATION's (NACE) Web site. NACE comprises over 200 group and individual members committed to advancing civic knowledge and engagement.
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Back to top.Other Useful Web sites
The Council of Michigan Foundations has an innovative educational program called LEARNING TO GIVE: Teaching the Importance of Voluntary Action for the Common Good in a Democratic Society, which seeks to empower young people to make a difference in their school, community and world. This Web site offers lesson plans, activities and resources to educate youth about the power of philanthropy.
http://www.cmif.org/Youth_LearningToGive.htm
Back to top.International Focus
The INTERNATIONAL YOUTH INITIATIVE aims to help young people learn about issues affecting the world and take socially responsible action to improve the lives of their peers locally, nationally and globally -- to become global citizens. Interactive, Web-based tools are available to support collaborative activity and communication among young people.
http://www.civicsinstitute.org/initiatives/IYI.html
Back to top.
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