PA Civics welcomes its 25th member organization

Hello, teachers, we hope you are enjoying your summer! When you return, the Committee of Seventy and PA Civics will have plenty of programs and resources for your classroom.

For starters, in July PA Civics welcomed two new members, the News Literacy Project and Carpenters' Hall. This brings the coalition's full membership to 25 organizations.

The News Literacy Project, the nation’s largest provider of news literacy education, and Carpenters’ Hall, the site of the First Continental Congress in 1774, join a growing list of partners that includes the Association of Former Members of Congress, the National Constitution Center, the Heinz History Center, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce and the Committee of Seventy.

“We are excited to have these two terrific organizations join our coalition,” said former Congressman and PA Civics Co-Chair, Jim Gerlach. “As we approach our nation's 250th anniversary, our 25 partners are singularly and jointly committed to helping our schools and communities produce outstanding citizens ready to meet our future challenges.”

For educators in Pennsylvania, PA Civics is a one-stop shop for resources to help you teach all types of civic education and social studies in your classroom.

Back-to-School Toolkit: Teach Civics & News Literacy With Free Resources

Speaking of the News Literacy Project... They are inviting teachers to empower students to find information that they can trust, share and act on.

With free classroom resources from the News Literacy Project, Pennsylvania educators can ensure that all students have the knowledge and ability to participate in civic society as well-informed, critical thinkers.

The News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan education nonprofit, supports middle and high school civics educators with free resources to develop students’ foundational news literacy skills. NLP’s Checkology® virtual classroom features interactive lessons, infographics, and classroom-ready activities that explore news media bias, misinformation, The First Amendment and more.

To get started, explore NLP’s Back-to-School Toolkit, which includes the News Literacy Starter Pack and engaging resources like Daily Do Now slides. All materials are free — simply register for and log in to Checkology to access the full collection. (And new this year: Checkology is now available on Clever for seamless district-wide integration!)

Jack Miller Center Earns Transformative Grant

The Jack Miller Center, a long-time member of PA Civics, recently announced a $1.7 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation. The funds will support JMC's Civics Foundations Graduate Consortium, the nation’s first university collaborative dedicated to advancing graduate education for civics and history teachers.

“This grant will help us change the model for teacher education and professional development in this country by expanding access nationwide to scholar-led, content-focused graduate coursework in the American political tradition,” said Thomas Kelly, Senior Vice President and Chief Program Officer at the Jack Miller Center and the project lead for the grant.

As national surveys continue to reveal widespread gaps in understanding of American government and democratic principles, the program seeks to address the urgent need for improved civic literacy among students through high-quality graduate-level instruction designed specifically to support civics and U.S. history teachers.