NOVEMBER 2020   Moving Forward After the Election to Build a Stronger Democracy Putting it mildly, this has been a difficult election for most Americans. But this election has, perhaps, been hardest on teachers. In the leadup to November 3rd, the election became a topic that was simply too controversial for many teachers to teach. And the day after the election, the challenge for teachers got even harder as they stood in front of their classrooms — physical or virtual — and had to answer difficult questions. Teachers have been left asking the same underlying question as their students: What do we do now?   READ THE FULL ARTICLE   Inside this newsletter: •   Teachers as the Guardians of Our Democracy •   Recommendations for Equitable Civic Education in the 21st Century •   Restoring Civic Education for Civic Strength — The CivXNow Federal Policy Agenda •   California Incentivizes Civic Awareness and Engagement •   Meet the Newest CivXNow Coalition Members                   Teachers as the Guardians of Our Democracy Shawn Healy, the Director of Robert R. McCormick Foundation’s Democracy Program and CivXNow Advisory Council member, captured the important role that teachers play right now as the trusted guardians of our democracy — and the challenge they have in keeping their own political views out of the classroom. In a recent blog, Healy takes aim at claims by President Trump on Constitution Day that left-wing teachers have been indoctrinating students with propaganda in classrooms, leading to civil unrest. While the vast majority of teachers are comfortable showing students how to engage politically through voting, volunteerism, and staying up to date with the news, they are highly reticent to disclose their own party affiliation, candidate preferences, or political views. “Twelve percent of teachers and administrators I interviewed are ‘very candid’ in disclosing their views,” Healy writes, “But do so responsibly in my judgement, making space for students to disagree and creating a safe environment for classroom discussion.” READ THE BLOG       Recommendations for Equitable Civic Education in the 21st Century We’re excited to announce the release of the Equity in Civic Education White Paper on how to make civic education more equitable and relevant for today’s increasingly diverse student population. Many CivXNow Coalition members, including CERG, CIRCLE, Democracy Prep Public Schools, Facing History and Ourselves, Generation Citizen, and Mikva Challenge, were part of a team of 20 researchers, educators, and civic education practitioners who contributed to the paper and discussions about the challenges the field of civic education has faced reaching youth of color.   The project, which was led by iCivics and Generation Citizen, with funding support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, included forming a steering committee made up of a majority of people of color, conducting a listening tour across the country, and investigating biases that the organizations themselves held. That work led to the white paper. LEARN MORE & READ THE WHITE PAPER         Restoring Civic Education for Civic Strength — The CivXNow Federal Policy Agenda Growing and bipartisan consensus recognizes that civic education, equitably delivered, is a critical component of rebuilding the civic strength of our country. This is the moment to rebuild the nation’s civic strength. We need to invest in civic education. With thanks to the CivXNow Federal Policy Task Force, we have developed the CivXNow Federal Policy Agenda with eight crucial action items for restoring civic education for civic strength. The CivXNow Federal Policy Agenda stipulates that change at the local level, linked to commitment to equity, is the key lever for better civic education, and that the federal government can activate and support this change by delivering on our bipartisan policy agenda. DOWNLOAD THE POLICY AGENDA       California Incentivizes Civic Awareness and Engagement On September 10th, California’s Board of Education approved the criteria that the state’s students will have to meet in order to earn a new Seal of Civic Engagement — which was created to incentivize students to engage in active and ongoing citizenship. “To earn the seal, students must demonstrate excellence in civic learning, participation in civics-related projects, contributions to their community, and an understanding of the United States Constitution, the California Constitution, and the American democratic system,” according to a press release issued by the California Department of Education. The seal can be added to a student’s transcript, diploma, or on a Certificate of Completion.   This is the moment to rebuild the nation’s civic strength. We need to invest in civic education. With thanks to the CivXNow Federal Policy Task Force, we have developed the CivXNow Federal Policy Agenda with eight crucial action items for restoring civic education for civic strength. For more background on California’s Seal, read our interview with Joe Kahne, the Co-Director of the Civic Engagement Research Group (CERG) at the University of California, Riverside, who was one of numerous individuals and groups working on this initiative. READ THE INTERVIEW WITH JOE       JOB OPPORTUNITIES! CivXNow: Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy CivXNow via iCivics, is looking to hire a full-time Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy. This individual will lead and guide policy and advocacy work nationally, while overseeing civic education campaigns in several key states, and also play an active role in recruiting supporters to fund policy and advocacy efforts. This is an exciting opportunity for an entrepreneurial strategic thinker who is eager to lead the CivXNow policy work across the nation. REVIEW THE JOB POSTING   Emerson Collective: Portfolio Director, Education Among Emerson Collective’s (EC) important tools for change is its portfolio of philanthropic partnerships with entrepreneurs and nonprofits. As a key member of EC’s grantmaking team, this Portfolio Director will play a lead role in supporting and building the education portfolio, which consists of nonprofit organizations working on a range of efforts, including high school re-design, teacher preparation, and the creation of tools, data, and reporting to support education decision makers. REVIEW THE JOB POSTING       Meet the Newest CivXNow Coalition Members The CivXNow Coalition is growing fast. We now stand strong at 144 member organizations! Our goal is to aggregate and activate large networks of support to expand and re-imagine civic education as a force for civic strength. Thank you for your partnership. If you have local or national networks that you can activate to support legislation, policy, or hearts and minds, please contact Patricia Leslie-Brown. We are especially interested in recruiting more national organizations with large, scaled networks, state civic learning coalitions, youth voice organizations, organizations that represent rural or urban communities, and organizations that are active in K-12 after-school activities. Welcome these organizations to the CivXNow Coalition: •   Civics 101 by New Hampshire Public Radio •   Institute for Citizens & Scholars •   Maine Democracy Project •   School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at ASU     LIKE OUR NEW LOOK? Send us an email and tell us what you like about the new newsletter format or if you have suggestions to make it even more useful for you.     OUR MISSION Recognizing that preparing our youth to assume the responsibilities and understand their rights as active participants in the civic life of this great nation is essential to the health of our Republic, we pledge to help every school in the nation fulfill its historic and vital civic mission. We pledge to ensure that every young person acquires the civic knowledge, skills, and behaviors necessary for informed and authentic civic engagement.   A TEAM EFFORT   The CivXNow team produces this newsletter each month. We are grateful for the energy, time, and guidance of the CivXNow Advisory Council and to many, many others who support individual projects. The important work of CivXNow is generously funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and The Robert R. McCormick Foundation.     Follow us and use #CivXNow to join the movement!