Takeaways from the first PA Civics Educator Forum

Nearly 60 educators and 20+ community partners joined us at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Sept. 27th for the first ever PA Civics Educator Forum. Sessions were led in four tracks (knowledge, skills, action, and elementary education). Nationally recognized teacher Shannon Salter of Building 21 in Allentown provided the keynote speech (watch it here), in addition to an interactive session that invited teachers to share the successes, challenges, and opportunities for improvement in Act 35, the requirement that all PA districts must give students a civics assessment before graduation. That data will inform PA Civics' ongoing work with the PA Department of Education and both parties and chambers in the state legislature to evaluate potential administrative or legislative improvements.

A special thank you to the Bill of Rights Institute and CivxNow for their financial support of this conference, which allowed teachers to attend for free.

We are aiming to present another conference in the western part of Pennsylvania in early 2025. We will keep you updated when registration is available!

The PA Youth Mock Election is back this fall

Over 50 schools have signed up for the PA Youth Mock Election, representing 21 counties. We provide sample ballots from each county, customized to your school's address, so students gain hands-on practice casting votes for real candidates. C70 also provides digital instructions for how classrooms can participate, plus access to C70's nonpartisan Interactive Voter Guide for students to research their choices. Sign up before the Nov. 5th election and we'll send you your ballot.

Fight polarization with our statewide dialogue, 10/24

Can We Talk? is C70’s effort to combat polarization and social isolation. It equips students with the tools to have productive dialogue with people from different backgrounds on a range of issues. We have 12 different lesson plans that range from 15-40 min. They can be used in sequence or free-standing. And before doing a lesson, students can review the ground rules for productive dialogue. We are offering an inter-school, inter-regional event on Oct. 24th where students can interact with others who might not agree with them politically. You can register students here, and our team is available to consult before or after to help introduce students to these skills.