With the school year now well underway and the election coming up fast, we know that civic education is top-of-mind for many educators and families.

This month's newsletter is full of information to support civic engagement:

1. Election resources
2. MCLC sessions at the NCSS conference
3. Civic Learning Week dates

This fall is a prime moment to build student understanding of our electoral system and civic institutions. Looking forward to working with you all to move this work forward!

-Dave Buchanan, Co-Director

MCLC Event 1

CS4 Pre-Conference Session

Tuesday 11/19, during school

Working in collaboration with DESE, MCLC will showcase initiatives by a number of programs at schools and classrooms in the Boston area. Group sizes are estimated to range from 10-12.

Topic areas:

• DESE’s Investigating History Curriculum
• Civics Action Projects and Strategic Partnerships
• Civics in the Elementary Grades

MCLC Event 2

The Civics Renewal Network and The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate Welcome Reception for Educators

Thursday 11/21, evening



The Civics Renewal Network and The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate invite you to attend a welcome reception for educators. Please join us Thursday November 21, 2024, from 6:30-8:30PM at the Kennedy Institute for an evening of food, fun, and community. MCLC will have a table available for members to display information and resources.

MCLC Event 3

RevSpaces/MCLC Social Event

Friday 11/22, evening

RevSpaces has graciously invited MCLC to co-host a social event to highlight the importance of civic education, progress made in Massachusetts and continuing work here. Although some plans are still tentative, we expect that there will be a high profile speaker and other public officials attending. 

MCLC Event 4

Civics Projects Showcase

Saturday 11/23, morning

Working in collaboration with DESE, MCLC will offer a showcase and discussion of student civics projects (20-30 projects) identified from the student showcases held this spring and examples of teachers’ work.

Free Civics Pathways Professional Learning Opportunity

Interested in free, flexible civics professional learning for yourself or educators in your district? School year 2024-25 DESE Civics Pathways offerings are now available! All of the PD offerings are co-designed and co-facilitated by Massachusetts teachers for Massachusetts teachers, and PDPs are available for completing Pathways sessions. This fall, our live online interactive workshops and self-paced online modules will focus on facilitating the Massachusetts student-led civics project in grade 8 and high school. 

• Interactive Virtual Workshops begin on September 26 and include topics such as an introduction to the student-led civics project, managing difficult conversations, and supporting English Learners with student-led civics projects.
• Self-Guided Online Modules open on November 12 and can be completed at your own pace; they cover topics such as conducting research, connecting with stakeholders and decision-makers, and reaching a wider audience. 

The Civics Pathways are developed and facilitated by Massachusetts teachers with the support of DESE, Project Zero and the Democratic Knowledge Project at Harvard University, iCivics, and Emerging America at the Collaborative for Educational Services. For questions, email civiclearning@gse.harvard.edu.

Grade 8 Civics MCAS

There will be an operational Grade 8 Civics MCAS in Spring 2025. All grade 8 students across the Commonwealth are expected to participate in the spring 2025 test. The test is comprised of one state-level performance task and an end-of-course test. Schools are required to administer both components to all students. Additional information about test administration for the Spring test will be forthcoming.

The Department plans to release a subset of items in November from the end-of-course field test conducted last spring as well as some related state, district, and school-level data to schools that participated in the field test. Resources for the test including the test design, practice tests, and local-level classroom performance tasks are available.

All students will respond to the same state-level performance task. The Department expects to announce the performance task topic in early November.

In conjunction with the MCAS test, there is a new MCAS Alternate Assessment (MCAS-Alt) for Civics in 2025. This is an alternate assessment for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities whose IEP designate the MCAS-Alt accommodation.

 Student-led Non-partisan Civics Project Showcases

• DESE currently plans to host four showcases this year - dates and locations to be announced by mid-October.

10th Annual U.S. Media Literacy Week

October 21 - 25, 2024

Free

Inspired by Canada’s Media Literacy Week, the annual U.S. Media Literacy Week is hosted by the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE). The mission is to highlight the power of media literacy education and its essential role in education all across the country. U.S. Media Literacy Week calls attention to media literacy education by bringing together hundreds of partners for events and activities around the country. The theme for U.S. Media Literacy Week celebrates one of the five components of media literacy’s definition each day of Media Literacy Week: Access, Analyze, Evaluate, Create, and Act.

https://mlw.namle.org/

Media Literacy Resource Showcase

October 5, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Free

Are you unsure how to incorporate media literacy education into your classroom for Media Literacy Week? Are you looking for something new? This event is for you! Register for free as a 2024 U.S. Media Literacy Week participant, and you will automatically be registered for this event. Join virtually for a day of short, rapid-fire showcases featuring resources from NAMLE members, partners, and sponsors that you can bring into your classroom during U.S. Media Literacy Week, October 21-25, 2024. All showcases will offer practical information from educators on how to incorporate the resource into your classroom and curriculum. Check out the full schedule here! Showcases will run continuously throughout each window, so feel free to pop in at your convenience to learn more!

https://mlw.namle.org/event/media-literacy-resource-showcase/

Civic Digital Literacy

Developed by iCivics in partnership with the digital literacy experts at the Digital Inquiry Group, Civic Digital Literacy is a collection of nonpartisan, evidence-based, classroom-ready resources that will prepare students to skillfully verify the various pieces of information they encounter online. 

AI Policy Program

The Edward M Kennedy Institute, in collaboration with MIT Media Lab’s RAISE (Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education) initiative has established a new AI Policy Program as part of EMK’s Senate Immersion Program.

Civic Learning Institute

The Harvard Graduate School of Education has established a new Civic Learning Institute that offers engaging, interactive online courses on issues in civic education for teachers and leaders in K-12 and higher education

AI and Human Rights Curriculum The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed a new AI and Human Rights Curriculum. Set up an account here.

Want some help publicizing an event, resource or other announcement? MCLC can help. Submit info on your event or announcement via the Submit My Event form.