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To read more about Service-Learning, visit the ECS Issue Site on Service-Learning.

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The ECS National Center for Learning and Civic Engagement (NCLCE) assists state and district policymakers and educators developing policies that support K-12 school-based service-learning opportunities. These educational experiences help students acquire the skills, values, knowledge and practice necessary to be effective citizens. The NCLCE identifies and analyzes policies and practices that support effective civic education, creates and disseminates publications for education stakeholders, and convenes meetings to develop a collective voice for citizenship education and civic mission of schools. NCLCE also encourages policy support and system structures to integrate service-learning into schools and communities. For more information, visit www.ecs.org/nclc.

Civic Education Efforts Need to Modernize
Tom Spengler, CEO and co-founder of Granicus, a cloud applications provider for government transparency, efficiency, and citizen participation, says civic education needs to enter into the 21st century. "On the state level, government leaders rarely use mobile technology to fuel civic engagement. Legislators still largely pool citizen ideas by holding in-person meetings, such as planning public events, but these aren’t efficient for collecting large pools of data on key issues."

National Action Civics Collaborative Launches Campaign
Six organizations from around the country launched an effort to energize and improve youth civic engagement in America. Calling on Americans to reinvigorate civic education through action civics, they offered practical resources for educators interested in bringing action civics to their communities.

CIRCLE Praises New C3 Framework Standards
The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) applauded the new College, Career and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards released by the National Council for the Social

Studies (NCSS). The C3 Social Studies Framework—developed by more than 20 states and 15 social studies content organizations—was designed to help states strengthen their social studies standards.

National Civics Education Contest for Teachers Announced
Tomorrow's leaders are in school today, which is why Pearson and WeAreTeachers launched a national contest to discover the best lessons for teaching what it means to be an active, engaged citizen. Building on the goals of the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards, the National Civics Education Contest will award teachers whose outstanding civics projects, ideas, and activities cmotivate students to be informed about the social and political world around them.

CIRCLE Argues Importance of Action Civics
CIRCLE released a new paper, "Building an Evidence-Based Practice of Action Civics: The Current State of Assessments and Recommendations for the Future," by Jessica Gingold, Harvard Graduate School of Education. Gingold assembles evidence for action civics as a field and describes the organizations that engage youth in (or assess) action civics programs. Gingold examines 27 evaluation tools that they use, uncovering their common framework and implicit theory of change, which includes six outcomes.

Resurgence of Social Studies Is Needed
A writer in The Atlantic joins the growing chorus of people around the country who recognize the importance of social studies. "The most obvious and well-reported casualties of the last decade in program-slashing educational policy include traditional elective courses like art, music, and physical education. But these are not the only subjects being squeezed out or eliminated entirely from many public K-12 curriculums. Social studies—a category that includes courses in history, geography, and civics—has also found itself on the chopping block."

An Open Letter To American Citizens
Sandra Day O'Connor and John Glenn marked Constitution Day by highlighting the importance of civic engagement and announcing a joint effort to engage in a public dialogue about the importance of teaching citizenship education across disciplines. "The fundamental skills and knowledge of citizenship are not handed down through the gene pool. They must be taught and learned anew by each generation; built upon over time, as we would learn a foreign language, reading or math."

Civic Education Deserves More than One Day
NCLCE Director Paul Baumann argues that civic education deserves and needs more time in the classroom. "I don't think that any of us would agree that one day each year is sufficient to prepare students for citizenship. In fact, I'd wager that most of us agree that becoming an informed and engaged citizen takes practice—over time. A well-developed curriculum in civics and citizenship, delivered throughout all of students' schooling, is necessary to prepare students for civic life."

ABOTA Foundation Highlights Importance of Civic Education
The ABOTA Foundation released an opinion piece that highlights the importance of civic education, highlighting the dearth of basic knowledge of government among U.S. citizens. "Sadly, many young Americans know little about the Constitution, the government it created, or the laws that govern their daily lives. And, what young people don't understand, they do not value or work to protect.  Young people don't trust the political process they see in the media and have little knowledge of how to effect change.  So, they simply don't get involved."

NYLC Offers Tools for Quality Service-Learning
The National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) will explore each of the K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice in-depth, by offering relevant information, tools, and videos on the "Standard of the Month," as well as a related webinar. All of the professional development provided can be accessed 24/7 in the Generator School Network.

On the Road with NCLCE
NCLCE Director Paul Baumann and Project Leader Lisa Guilfoile have busy schedules this fall. Both will attend the ABA Law Related Education Conference in Atlanta Oct. 3-6, as well as IARSLCE's conference "Reinvigorating Our Process of Discovery" in Omaha, Nebraska, Nov. 6-8. Baumann also will be in Florida Oct. 9-10 for the Florida State College Civics Initiative, and Guilfoile will be in Wyoming for the Afterschool Alliance.