Join the EAD Rural Hub as they welcome Dr. Jimmeka Anderson, founder of I AM not the MEdia, Inc., for a FREE online webinar titled, Reliable by Design: Teaching Students to Access Quality Information. This dynamic session is designed to equip educators with the tools and strategies to guide students through today’s complex media landscape. This webinar will empower teachers to foster critical thinking, source evaluation, and digital literacy skills, ensuring students can confidently identify and access trustworthy information in an age of misinformation.

July 8 at 5 PM CDT

Registration and more information on entire series in this flyer.



Motivating Agency, Sustaining the Republic

Monday, September 22

8:00 AM – 2:30 PM

NIU Conference Center

1120 E. Diehl Rd.

Naperville, IL 60563

Breakout Sessions Include:

• AI for Research and Writing: Or How I Learned to Embrace AI Without Fearing Plagiarism and Losing My Mind
• Bridging Divides Through Civil Discourse: Empowering Students to Find Common Ground
• Can the President Do That? Resources for Teaching About Executive Power
• Civic Harmony: Navigating Multiple Perspectives in our American Constitutional Democracy
• Civic Virtue and Civil Society: Fostering Informed and Active Citizenship
• Civics Resources for Dialogue and Inquiry
• Legal Precedent in Unprecedented Times
• Methods for Engaging Multilingual Learners in Civic Inquiry
• Model UN: A Civic Learning Powerhouse
• Q&A on the Role of the Courts in Our System of Checks and Balances
• Religious Upstanders in Nazi Germany
• SCOTUS Preview
• Unlock Your Students' Civic Superpowers
• What’s in the Mix for 2026? Looking to the Midterms

For more information and registration links, click HERE.



Join KQED this summer for online PD to enhance your practice with media literacy.

• Center Belonging and Student Voice Through Audio Storytelling : July 30, 10am-12pm PDT
• AI Meets Student Voice: Ethical Guidelines for Student Media Creation: August 5, 4-5:30pm PDT
• Transformative Stories: Create Audio Essays with 826 National and KQED: August 13, 4-6pm PDT

Click here for a full listing of offerings.



The latest analysis from CIRCLE’s post-2024 election youth poll examines young people’s trust in institutions and its implications for engaging youth in our democracy. It finds that:

• Youth distrust major national institutions like Congress and social media/tech companies. They’re more likely to trust their local government, police, and peers.
• The majority of youth have at least five institutions for which they have some or a great deal of trust.
• Black and Latino youth are less trusting of civic and political institutions.
• Youth trust institutions like Congress and the Presidency when they believe those institutions are being responsive to their needs and taking action.

Explore the Full Data and Analysis



The Illinois civics Hub is a proud partner of America's 100 Docs, the history versus history showdown that puts our most historically significant records in your hands

and gives you the opportunity to help determine which of those records was the most impactful in shaping the America we know today.

Now, all Americans have a chance to participate in America's 100 Docs – a game that invites you to vote on our nation’s top records from the holdings of the National Archives. The game serves as an unofficial kickoff to the big 250th anniversary celebrations in July of 2026. Your votes will help determine the top 16 documents that make it to a final voting challenge in early 2026, when only ONE will be voted as America’s most significant document.

This online game provides a fresh and exciting way to learn history while having fun along the way. Whether you are a history buff, patriot, gamer, or lover of democracy, America's 100 Docs puts the power of history in your hands.

Join us: be part of history, and part of the action – visit 100docs.vote to play today!



The U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last month are the latest developments in a fraught diplomatic relationship that dates back to the 1950s. Retro Report's video explores the legacy of Operation Ajax, carried out by the C.I.A. and British intelligence to overthrow Iran’s prime minister and restore a U.S. ally to power during the Cold War. 

Explore Video and Resources



Data Science 4 Everyone and the National Council for Social Studies are organizing a joint summit on Tech and AI Ethics in Chicago, IL on August 1-2. The rapidly emerging technology in computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), data science, artificial intelligence (AI), and quantum computing is set to quickly shift the function of the vast majority of existing jobs across all industries, and create many new ones we cannot yet predict. Many U.S. workers will quickly see their professional and personal lives become more algorithmically assisted and data-dependent.

 

Financial support is available in the form of stipends that can help cover the registration costs and other travel needs. You can find more information about the event and register here, but don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. You can complete this quick funding application if you need to. The event will be highly participatory, and all attendees will take part in the learning expectations design process in collaboration with K-12, higher-ed, and nonprofit colleagues.

Next school year, you are invited to participate in the Civic Star Challenge, an unforgettable, yearlong celebration of America’s milestone anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.



Hosted by iCivics and the Bill of Rights Institute, this nationwide challenge empowers K–12 teachers like you to explore the enduring ideals of the Declaration of Independence through creativity, discovery, and action. 

Sign up to be the first to hear when the Civic Star Challenge launches in August 2025.

Sign Up Now



In 2023-2024, reported antisemitic incidents in K-12 schools rose by a shocking 135%. Are you an educator looking for a way to stop antisemitism from escalating? Are you worried about an increase in antisemitic bullying? If so, our free, self-paced, 20-minute module, Antisemitism: What Do Educators Need To Know?, can help. The module equips educators to better understand the rich diversity of the Jewish community and to respond to antisemitic incidents. It integrates easily into professional development days and can also be taken by individual staff, administrators, and teachers. To access the module, click here. Contact Midwest Education Director Dr. Lara Trubowitz (ltrubowitz@adl.org) for additional information. 



2025 ICSS Fall Conference

Friday, October 17, 2025

Harper College, Palatine Illinois

Mark your calendars for ICSS Fall Conference!

Date: Friday, October 17, 2025

Location: Harper College, Palatine, Illinois

Conference Theme: United We Teach: The Social Studies Classroom as a Laboratory for Civic Trust

The Call for Session Proposals and Keynote Panelists will go out in late July. Registration begins in August.

Facing History & Ourselves invites you and your educators to join us this summer! Below are our in-person professional learning opportunities. For questions, please email Chicago@facinghistory.org. 

Confronting a Violent Past: Red Summer in Chicago

July 23 - 24, 2025

9:00am - 3:00pm 

Erikson Institute, 451 N. LaSalle St., Chicago, IL 60601

About the workshop: Red Summer was part of a nationwide wave of racist violence against African Americans that occurred from April to November of 1919. This watershed event is part of our shared American past and its legacy's impact today. Join Facing History to engage in discussions about Red Summer in Chicago and how to bring this history to high school classrooms.

Who should take this workshop: 9th–12th grade US history, civics, humanities, ethnic studies, and African American history teachers and curriculum specialists

Register Here

Identity and Community: An Introduction to 6th Grade Social Studies

August 7, 2025

9:00am - 3:00pm 

Erikson Institute, 451 N La Salle Chicago, Il

About the workshop: This Facing History curriculum and professional learning will support educators as they engage students in thinking critically about issues of identity and community in history and in their own lives. The activities in the unit have been designed to develop a sense of community and belonging that promotes learning and encourages students to share ideas, take risks, and help each other. 

Who should take this workshop: 6th grade social studies and humanities teachers from Chicago Public Schools and middle school humanities teachers from outside CPS

Register Here



Hometown is coming to Chicago this fall! The Supreme Court and My Hometown program is an immersive federal court learning experience from the Supreme Court Historical Society designed to teach high school students about the Judicial Branch through a Supreme Court case that originated in their hometown. This prestigious program allows students to engage with federal judges, attorneys, local professors, historians, and community members as they investigate cases and explore how a case moves through the federal (and state) court system.

More information and applications for each program can be found on the Society’s website.

Learn More



Join the AHA and thousands of people united by a shared passion for history at the 139th annual meeting of the AHA in Chicago from Thursday, January 8 to Sunday, January 11, 2026. The largest gathering of historians in the world, the conference brings together historians, including K-12 educators, working in a diverse array of settings to discuss professional issues, the latest research, new publications and resources, and much more. The AHA will partner with the Chicago History Museum to provide Illinois Professional Development credit for eligible attendees.

Registration will open mid-September, 2025. Sign up for news and updates from the AHA or join the AHA as a member to ensure you don’t miss important updates about the meeting.

K–12 teachers can register for the AHA conference at a significantly discounted rate of more than 50% off the regular cost of registration. Registration will open in mid-September 2025.