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Jason Janczak
Recipient of 2023 Carolyn Pereira Civic Leadership Award
At this year's Annual Convening, Jason was honored for his efforts in promoting civic education and his unwavering support of the Illinois Democracy Schools Initiative. Learn more about those efforts below:
Q. Ten years ago, you were instrumental in your school's efforts to become a Democracy School. What motivated you to seek this recognition? What was revealed by that process?
A. We had some great things happening at Grayslake Central in terms of civic learning, but we felt like we were operating in a vacuum. We had a few connections with a few teachers at a few schools when it came to opportunities for civic learning, but we felt that there was more out there that could benefit our students. When I heard about the Democracy Schools Network through our friends in District 117, it sounded like a great opportunity to break out of that vacuum we were operating in and connect with schools around the area and across the state in creating engaging civic centered opportunities for our students. The data we initially received back from the students and staff told us that while our students had a pretty solid basis of understanding the historical context of the US and the importance of becoming and remaining an active citizen, they also let us know that they wanted more opportunities to engage with civic practices and discuss controversial issues.
Q. Since Grayslake Central has been a Democracy School, you have done a lot of work addressing equity issues. One of the strategies you have used with your staff is having them engage in book discussions. Could you elaborate on the nature and results of those discussions?
A. Yes, we read Not Light, but Fire with staff as a voluntary summer book club a few years back. It was a great way to start planting the seeds for the equity work that needed to be done here at Central. The discussions were rich, and we really appreciated the author's approach to moving the needle when it came to addressing equity issues in our building and district. Looking back, it was a turning point for when our work with equity really started taking hold.
Q. You also participated in a learning cohort with other Illinois Democracy Schools and Loyola University. Can you comment on that collaboration and how it impacted your school, as well as your own practice?
A. Working with our partners at Loyola has been one of the more rewarding experiences I have had in the past few years. We brought together teachers from both schools in our district (Grayslake Central and Grayslake North) for a 12-hour, intensive PD workshop (four 3-hour sessions) where we looked at the work of Zaretta Hammond and then applied her teachings to make our curriculum more culturally responsive. The end result was our teachers and administrators getting to work with experts in their field in crafting or modifying a unit or lesson to make it more culturally responsive. My biggest takeaway from our time together is that teachers in both schools now know they have partners in this work and the collaboration has continued even though the professional development component has ended.
Q. Over the years, how has Grayslake Central tried to expand civics across the disciplines?
A. It has been a slow but steady expansion of civics across our curriculum. We now have classes in math that integrate civic ideals when it comes to decision making and project planning. Civics has also made its way into our Life Fitness department as it pertains to rules creation and conflict resolution. We have work to do, but we are proud of the progress we have made over the past decade.
Q. Any take-aways from this year's Annual Convening? An idea, resource, or strategy that you've been able to incorporate into your practice?
A. My biggest takeaway came from Shawn McCusker's session on AI. There are a ton of resources out there, and Shawn did an excellent job highlighting a lot of them without overwhelming us. He did pose one question to us that continues to challenge my thinking to this day: What challenges does AI create for democracy? There are more questions than answers when it comes to unpacking that question—and one that I think Social Studies teachers will be wrestling with for years to come. I left the Convening with the realization that while AI presents great opportunities, it also comes with great responsibility—and it will fall on us as educators to teach the next generations that responsibility.
Congratulations, Jason!
We are so grateful for all your contributions to expanding civic learning opportunities for both teachers and students. Press on!
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