Featured Program
We the Educators
A monthly civic learning series for educators
Our Work
Signature Programs
Civic Spirit partners with the entire school ecosystem in order to infuse civic learning opportunities through school curriculum and culture.
Educators Cohort
The Educators Cohort is a selective 10-month program for educators committed to advancing their knowledge and skills as civic educators and bringing new approaches to their school. Through a combination of learning gatherings, individual coaching, and an implementation project, the Educators Cohort provides comprehensive support and a community of trusted colleagues.
Civic Spirit Day
Civic Spirit Day brings together students from Civic Spirit schools to connect and work collaboratively to explore a topic or question related to civic life and design solutions to shared civic issues. Students from a range of religious, socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds build relationships and practice problem-solving across differences. This year we are launching TWO Civic Spirit Days, one for Middle School students, and one for High School students.
Student Delegates
The Student Delegates Program is a unique opportunity for a select group of student leaders from Civic Spirit schools to train as Civic Ambassadors. Students develop leadership skills, practice problem-solving and build bonds across distinct demographic diversity. Programming is based on our 3 pillars of civic education -civic belonging, civic skills, democratic fluency- and is framed around our 4 components of civic learning and skill-based training —history & primary sources, media literacy, civil discourse and problem-solving.
Pedagogical Coaching
Coaching is an individualized practice meant to support educators through collaborative processes and experiences. The educator and coach work to align civic education opportunities with each schools’ individual mission. Coaches facilitate professional development days, lead school workshops, develop cross-school events and support both lesson and curriculum design.
We the Educators
In a morally charged and politically evolving environment, Civic Spirit offers We the Educators, a monthly series of seminars and workshops, to support educators to implement meaningful civic learning opportunities in their classroom. Participants will leave with practical resources, strategies, and new connections with fellow educators from other schools.
Student Design Challenges
Student Design Challenges are opportunities for students from diverse schools & backgrounds to explore key issues in American life. Each 90-minute challenge will bring students together to engage in text study, active listening, collaborative problem-solving, and the creation of a "deliverable product" to bring back to their community.
Professional Development Offerings
Civic Spirit’s Professional Development workshops provide teachers with a framework for teaching civics. We offer workshops on teaching with texts and dialogue around divisive topics as we feel these are the two key skills needed to create engaged citizens who can navigate the 21st century landscape. These workshops can be provided on their own, or combined into one session. We would also be happy to create a customized workshop for your school or work on individualized scope and sequencing that helps foster civic knowledge, skills and engagement in your school setting.
Student Programs & Civic Design Challenges
Civic Spirit partners with the entire school ecosystem in order to infuse civic learning opportunities through the school curriculum and culture.
Prayer for America
In partnership with public art luminary, For Freedoms, students were invited to use their creative voice to share their hopes for our country. Two students shared their prayers at the May 2019 Civic Spirit Day, and passages from all the prayers were assembled together to create a beautiful “digital mosaic” of the students’ voices.
Media Literacy Challenge
In partnership with The Flip Side, a digital project designed for remote learning asks students to analyze, evaluate, and communicate a civic issue from two opposing lenses.
Media Literacy Day
Civic Scholars from De La Salle and Luria Academy of Brooklyn convened to learn strategies and tools that support the analysis and evaluation of media. Each participant concluded the session by pledging to use at least one tool the next time they read their news feed.
Interfaith Coffee Hour
Jewish and Muslim teens meet monthly to practice empathetic listening, share thoughtful story telling and use a design thinking approach to develop problem statements and possible solutions. This year’s pilot group is focusing on the far-reaching consequences of oil spills. Teens are using religious texts to ground their mission of environmental protection.
Voting and Values
In partnership with Vote by Design and YVote, students across the Civic Spirit network examined what is required of a leader responding to crisis and how to reframe the decision-making process of voting around the qualities associated with effective leadership. Students created their own “Candidate Scorecard” to help them thoughtfully frame future listening and decision making.
Bridge to College
In partnership with Bridge USA, recent high school graduates joined a remote workshop to learn practical and actionable skills around civic engagement at their university. The workshop concluded with participants developing a concrete action plan for becoming civically involved on campus.