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.

Long Island Educators Cohort

The Long Island Educators Cohort is an immersive civic education fellowship for educators from Jewish day schools and yeshivas on Long Island. Providing professional learning, individual support, and a network of peers, the Long Island Educators Cohort supports fellows to develop their knowledge and skills as civic educators and introduce new approaches in their educational settings.

We the Educators

We the Educators is a virtual 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.

We the People

Our We the People series provides unique opportunities to learn from and engage with leading scholars on topics relating to American democracy, pivotal moments in the American story, and our roles as citizens today. These sessions are open to learners of all ages and stages.

Civic Spirit Clubs

Civic Spirit Clubs are school-based, co-curricular clubs that provide students with opportunities to meet regularly in-person and address local issues that are important to their community. Working with an advisor to develop a capstone project that they will present at the end of the year, students develop leadership skills, practice problem-solving, and build bonds as a group. They will also have the chance to connect with other students across our network, and learn from civic change makers across the country.

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.

Professional Development Offerings

Civic Spirit offers expansive and relevant professional development that will enrich the civic landscape at your school! Our Professional Development offerings provide educators, school administrators, and community leaders with an exploratory and immersive experience in crucial civics topics. These topics are carefully curated to align with the pressing issues in today’s classrooms and the halls of national debate.

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.

Past 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. Below are past examples of student programming across our network of Civic Spirit schools.

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.