Collaborating across difference
Civic Spirit Day brings together students from faith-based schools to connect and collaborate.
Students from a range of religious, socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds convene to explore a topic or question related to civic life and design solutions to shared civic issues.
Throughout the day, students build relationships and practice problem-solving across differences. The experience culminates with a design challenge through which students express and present their learning.
Students create community as they learn with and from each other, and work together throughout Civic Spirit Day.
Students learn about a civic topic applicable to their lives and how to create change around that topic in a way that benefits them/their community. This happens before, during, and after Civic Spirit Day.
Students dialogue across differences, and work collaboratively to create and present their final project at the end of Civic Spirit Day.
Who is Civic Spirit Day for?
We are running two separate Civic Spirit Days, one for Middle School students (grades 6 and 7), and one for High School students (grades 9-12), and their teachers. Holding two separate days allows our team to work with local educators to tailor content to students’ needs in a more targeted, age appropriate manner that speaks to their interests as well as shared concerns and aspirations.
What are the details for this year’s programs?
The High School Civic Spirit Day will take place on Monday, May 1st, 2023 at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan. The topic this year is “Finding our Civic Voices.”
The Middle School Civic Spirit Day will take place on Thursday, May 11th, 2023 at Luria Academy in Brooklyn. The topic this year is “Civic Spaces, Empowered Voices: Designing Intentional Public Places for Teens.”
What is the cost?
Due to generous support from funders, there is no fee for participating teachers and students. This is an in-person event that includes lunch, so the only cost to schools is transportation to and from the event.
What are the participant expectations?
All students who attend are expected to sign the Student Code of Conduct before the event.
How do I sign up?
If you are interested in bringing a group of students to a Civic Spirit Day, contact Hillary Gardenswartz, Director of Student Experiences, at hillary@civicspirit.org.