SERVING AMERICA:PROMISING PRACTICES FOR BUILDING LITERACY AND CIVIC LEARNING

First AnnualCivics Literacy

Conference

Monday, May 23, 2016Boston, Massachusetts

Serving America: Promising practices for Building Literacy and Civic Learning | May 23, 2016

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CONTENTS

Welcome Letter...........................................................3

Agenda........................................................................4

Workshop Session Descriptions..............................5-9

Site Map....................................................................10

Presenters.................................................................11

Special thanks to:

Mitchell Chester, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of

Elementary and Secondary Education

Jean MacCormack, President of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate

Representative Alice Peisch,Chair of the Joint Committee on Education

Meira Levinson, Professor,Harvard Graduate School of Education

Staff from theMA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

and theEdward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate

Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate

210 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts

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May 2016

Dear Colleagues,

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate welcome you to the inaugural Civics Literacy Conference, “Serving America: Promising Practices for Building Literacy and Civic Learning.” Senator Edward Kennedy dedicated his career to serving America. The Serve America Act that bears his name increased opportunities for national and community service for Americans of all ages. The Edward M. Kennedy Institute and this conference carry forward his spirit and challenge us to consider how we can make it a way of life for the next generation. The essential question guiding the presentations today is:

What can educators and the state do to support civics learning and engagement for all students?

The goals of the conference are to understand the role civic learning plays in maintaining our democracy, increase civic knowledge and engagement among K-12 students, and make the natural connections between this discipline and literacy. Presenters will include K-12 educators as well as representatives from state, education, and community organizations. The workshop sessions during the morning and afternoon are organized around the six strands identified as “promising practices” in the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools report, Guardian of Democracy: the Civic Mission of Schools:

1. Instruction in government, history, economics, law, and democracy 2. Discussion of current events and controversial issues 3. Service learning 4. Extracurricular activities 5. School governance 6. Simulations of the democratic process

In addition to a workshop presentation by Representative Alice Peisch, Chair of the Joint Committee on Education, as well as workshops by many other leaders in civic education, we are fortunate to have Meira Levinson, professor of education at Harvard Graduate School of Education and author of Making Civics Count and No Citizen Left Behind, who will present current research on building civic learning and engagement.

We hope that you will take full advantage of the remarkable exhibits and programs that the Kennedy Institute has to offer. Take part in the interactive digital tour. Engage in a debate. Witness an historic debate. Above all, we hope that the experience today will renew your own commitment to serve our nation and to engage all of our students in that same spirit.

Sincerely,

Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D. Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education

Massachusetts Department ofElementary and Secondary Education75 Pleasant Street, Malden, Massachusetts 02148 Telephone: (781) 338-3000 TTY: N.E.T. Relay 1-800-439-2370

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AGENDA

8:00AM–8:45 AM Registration

8:45AM–9:00AM Welcome

Jean MacCormack President, Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate

Introduction and Overview of the Day Brooke Clenchy

Senior Associate Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

9:00AM–9:45AM Opening Plenary Session Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D.

Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

9:45AM–10:00AM Transition to Workshop Sessions

10:00AM–11:15AM Workshop Sessions A

11:15AM–11:30AM Transition to Senate Chamber

11:30AM-12:15PM Plenary SessionMeira Levinson

Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education

12:15PM–1:15PM Lunch

1:15PM-1:30PM Transition to Workshop Sessions

1:30PM–2:45PM Workshop Sessions B

2:45PM–3:00PM Transition to Senate Chamber3:00PM-3:30PM Simulated “Great Senate Debate”

Edward M. Kennedy Institute Staff

Following the conference, please fill out the evaluation at: bit.ly/CivicsConfEval

Presentation materials are available at: bit.ly/CivicsConf_Materials

In addition to the feedback on this conference, please give us your input on the essential question for the conference that will guide our continued work to support civic education: What can educators and the state do to support civics learning and engagement for all students? sgiz.mobi/s3/CivicsEd

Follow the conference on Twitter: #civics16

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WORKSHOPS | Session A Descriptions

SESSION 1-A Location: Studio C1

Agents of Change Presenters: Megan Tincher, Jimmy Odierna, Ken Brooke (Needham Public Schools)Strands: 2. Discussion of current events and controversial issues 3. Service learningThe Greater Boston Project course at Needham High School engages students in civic learning and exploration through historical and modern issues. Students research and discuss current events in the area, present on these issues and engage in additional research to design and execute a plan of action to address a particular issue. This session will address how teachers can help students research, explore, and act on issues of civic engagement in their community through classroom instruction. This session will detail short and long-term practices and projects that both encourage students to look at issues with the goal of empowering them to become their own agents of change.

SESSION 2-A Location: Studio C2

Welcome, Senators! The EMK Institute SIM Experience Presenters: Sarah Yezzi, Nate Gundy, Ed O’Connell (Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate)Strands: 1. Instruction in government, history, economics, law, democracy 2. Discussion of current events and controversial issues 3. Service learningThe EMK Institute engages students in the process, content, and language of lawmaking in the Senate Immersion Module (SIM). Students build understanding of complex issues as they build a law, and practice valuable critical thinking and collaboration skills. This session looks at pre-work curriculum comprehension; demonstrates the SIM sub-committee process and differentiation strategies; and discusses the synthesis and persuasive-writing opportunities in the SIM speech-writing process.

SESSION 3-A Location: Studio B1

Political, Not Partisan: How to Teach Controversial Issues Without Becoming the Center of Controversy Presenter: Meira Levinson (Harvard Graduate School of Education)Strands: 2. Discussion of current events and controversial issuesControversial public issues are engaging (almost by definition!) because they capture real and meaningful disagreements about how we should lead our collective lives. This session will offer multiple techniques for engaging students in researching and discussing controversial issues. We will also discuss how teachers can avoid becoming centers of controversy themselves.

SESSION 4-A Location: Studio B2

Teaching for Democracy – How Edu-gaming and Active Learning Can Create Opportunities to Teach Practical Democracy Lessons to All Students Presenters: Louise Dubé (iCivics), Tim Matthews (Newton Public Schools); Valerie McVey (Florida Joint Center for Citizenship, University of Central Florida)Strands: 1. Instruction in government, history, economics, law, democracy 3. Service learning 6. Simulations of the democratic processTeaching about the election is challenging this year. Students are eager to learn, yet teachers need quality, non-partisan tools to teach about this core democratic process. iCivics’ free Win The White House game takes students behind the scenes of how our nation will elect the next president in 2016. The session will discuss how games for learning such as Win the White House can support literacy development through such activities as matching message to audience, developing close reading skills, matching arguments to core issues, and assessing the impact of messaging on audiences.

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WORKSHOPS | Session A Descriptions (continued)

SESSION 5-A Location: Studio A1

Service-Learning – What Is It and Why Do it?Presenter: Kristen McKinnon (Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education)Strands: 1. Instruction in government, history, economics, law, democracy 3. Service learningService-learning is a teaching and learning approach through which students learn and apply new academic knowledge and skills to understand and address community needs and problems. This engaging instructional methodology, which can be implemented across all content areas, has been shown to increase student engagement, achievement and civic participation. In this workshop, participants will gain a clear understanding of what service-learning is and how it differs from other community-oriented learning strategies and experiences. Participants will learn the three basic principles of quality service-learning and explore examples of successful service-learning projects.

SESSION 6-A Location: Studio A2

A Civic Leader’s Perspective on Civic Learning and Engagement Presenter: Representative Alice Peisch (Chair, Joint Committee on Education, MA House of Representatives)Strands: 1. Instruction in government, history, economics, law, democracy

2. Discussion of current events and controversial issues 3. Service learning 4. Extracurricular ctivities 5. School governance 6. Simulations of the democratic process

Representative Alice Peisch, who has represented the 14th Norfolk District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 2003 and serves as the Chair of the Joint Committee on Education, will present and engage in discussion with participants on what the state and educators can do to better promote civic engagement and learning for students. In addition to addressing this issue from a policy perspective, she will share the role of civic learning in shaping her path to become a leader in crafting and guiding key legislation on a range of education issues over many years.

SESSION 7-A Location: Senate Chamber/Gallery

Edward M. Kennedy Institute Programming Presenters: EMK Staff (Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate)Strands: 1. Instruction in government, history, economics, law, democracy 6. Simulations of the democratic processThis session will include two major features of the EMK Institute. One feature is a guided tour of the Institute’s interactive exhibits where participants will preview the exhibit and digital tablet content students encounter as part of the Senator-in-Training tour. Another feature is a live floor debate in the Institute’s Senate Chamber. This simulated Senate session provides an introduction to a bill currently under consideration by the U.S. Senate.

Future Senator: (designed for students from grades 3-5) Preview the Future Senator program – part of the school tour experience for students in grades 3-5. Students explore the question of whether the school day should be extended, with help from a video featuring Ruff Ruffman and Senator Kennedy. Meet the “expert witnesses” students interview as they explore the issue, and cast your vote in the Senate Chamber.

Exhibits Tour: Take a guided tour of the Institute’s interactive exhibits and preview the exhibit and digital tablet content students encounter as part of the Senator-in-Training tour. Explore People of the Senate. Work together with others to try and pass the National Ice Cream Sundae Bill in How a Bill Becomes a Law. Visit the replica of Senator Kennedy’s D.C. office. Debate and negotiate current legislation

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WORKSHOPS | Session B Descriptions

SESSION 1-B Location: Studio C1

Providing Civic Literacy for Our Students in the Twenty-First Century Presenters: Roger Desrosiers (Massachusetts Center for Civic Education); Laura Honeywood (Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter School)Strands: 1. Instruction in government, history, economics, law, democracy 2. Discussion of current events and controversial issues

6. Simulations of the democratic processBy stressing a civic culture in our schools, we encourage an understanding of our government and a participatory inclination for our students. Through interactive activities and a simulated congressional hearing, students solidify their learning and manifest their application and analysis of historical and contemporary issues. Simply put, students are empowered!

SESSION 2-B Location: Studio C2

Debating the News: Using Current Events as Evidence to Form Arguments About the World Presenters: Dr. Sarah Mayper, Marisa Suescun (Boston Debate League)Strands: 1. Instruction in government, history, economics, law, democracy 2. Discussion of current events and controversial issuesIn this workshop, participants will experience how to use current events as a springboard for engaging students in a multi-faceted and evidence-based class debate that can sustain multiple arguments. Participants will engage in a full class debate using current events as evidence, see examples of other evidence based activities that use current events, and explore possible extension activities that can lead to student civic action and leadership. Participants will reflect on their experiences as learners and connect to how they might apply these strategies in their own classrooms and literacy instruction.

LATE MORNING PLENARY SESSION | Location: Senate Chamber

Civic Learning and Engagement in Research and Practice

Presenter: Meira Levinson (Harvard Graduate School of Education)Strands: 1. Instruction in government, history, economics, law, democracy

2. Discussion of current events and controversial issues 3. Service learning 4. Extracurricular ctivities 5. School governance 6. Simulations of the democratic process

Civics, perhaps ironically, has come to be treated as a second-class citizen in education. Districts, states, and nationwide actors devote fewer resources to curriculum, professional development, and other types of supports for civic education than to fields like math and literacy. In this plenary session, Meira Levinson will offer research-based evidence for why civic education is important, what we know about promising practices, and models for how to promote civic learning and engagement across the curriculum. She will also share insights into means for promoting equitable civic learning and engagement for all students.

Meira Levinson is Professor of Education at Harvard University, following eight years as a middle school teacher in the Atlanta and Boston Public Schools. Her most recent books include Dilemmas of Educational Ethics, Making Civics Count and No Citizen Left Behind, which won awards in political science, philosophy, social studies, and education. Professor Levinson has long been committed to civics education in Massachusetts and around the country. She was a contributing writer for the C3 Frameworks and the Guardians of Democracy report. She also helped develop and pilot Boston’s eighth grade Civics in Action curriculum and Facing History’s Choosing to Participate program. She earned a DPhil in political theory from Nuffield College, Oxford, and her BA in philosophy from Yale University.

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SESSION 3-B Location: Studio B1

Taking Informed Action Presenter: Peter Levine (Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University)Strands: 1. Instruction in government, history, economics, law, democracy

2. Discussion of current events and controversial issues3. Service learning

In the C3 (College, Career, and Citizenship) framework, the culmination of all the stages of inquiry is “taking informed action.” What does that mean at various grade levels and in various social studies disciplines? What kinds of assignments count as taking informed action? What obstacles do teachers face? This session will be an open, moderated discussion that will draw heavily on the experiences and ideas of the participants and address connections to literacy instruction.

SESSION 4-B Location: Studio B2

High Quality Academic Work through Service Learning: Mobilizing Students to Research, Edit, Design and Publish Local Histories Presenters: Rich Cairn (Collaborative for Educational Services); Laurie Risler (Center School, Longmeadow Public Schools)Strands: 1. Instruction in government, history, economics, law, democracy 3. Service LearningWell-planned service-learning projects have proven power to engage students of all abilities to gain and apply advanced academic, civic, and social skills. Local history projects offer a prime example for successful school-community partnerships. As students research, design, and publish local history projects (typically websites), they have multiple opportunities to read and analyze a wide variety of primary and secondary source materials, to listen to local historians, write and illustrate their findings in multiple media, present proposals and drafts, and discuss with community leaders. See how service-learning can meet state and national social studies and literacy standards.

SESSION 5-B Location: Studio A1

Student Government: Giving Students a Real Voice in Decision Making Presenters: Donna Taylor (ESE-State Student Advisory Council); Kristen Almquist, Katherine Barnes,

Allysa Riveria, Rucellie Jimnez, Katherine Cabral (Chelsea High School);James Madden (The Community Builders); Emily Levine (Horizons for Homeless Children)

Strands: 3. Service Learning 5. School GovernanceMassachusetts can take pride in being one of a handful of states with full voting rights for a student on the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the only state where the student Board member is elected by his/her peers. The State Student Advisory Council (SSAC) has a distinguished history in representing secondary school students in the Commonwealth, and provides opportunities for students to learn and grow while demonstrating their individual leadership qualities. During this session, current and past SSAC members along with Chelsea High School student leaders will share their experiences, discussing what the impact of involvement in student government has meant to their life path as well as what schools can do now to give students a real voice in decision making.

SESSION 6-B Location: Studio A2

Action Civics: Developing the Next Generation of Civic Leaders Presenter: Arielle Jennings, Ed.M. (Generation Citizen)Strands: 1. Instruction in government, history, economics, law, democracy

2. Discussion of current events and controversial issues 3. Service learning

This interactive workshop will explore an experiential, service-learning approach to civic education called Action Civics where students learn civics by doing civics and use their voice to make real change in their communities. Facilitated by Generation Citizen, a nonprofit leader in Democracy Education, participants will learn strategies for incorporating Action Civics in their school or district in a way that aligns with literacy standards and enhances history, social studies or ELA curricula in order to reach all students.

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SESSION 7-B Location: Senate Chamber/Gallery

Edward M. Kennedy Institute ProgrammingPresenters: EMK Staff (Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate)Strands: 1. Instruction in government, history, economics, law, democracy

6. Simulations of the democratic processThis session will include two major features of the EMK Institute. One feature is a guided tour of the Institute’s interactive exhibits where participants will preview the exhibit and digital tablet content students encounter as part of the Senator-in-Training tour. Another feature is a live floor debate in the Institute’s Senate Chamber. This simulated Senate session provides an introduction to a bill currently under consideration by the U.S. Senate.

Today’s Vote: (designed for students from grades 5-12) Participate in a live floor debate in the Institute’s Senate Chamber. This simulated Senate session provides an introduction to a bill currently under consideration by the U.S. Senate. Weigh the pros and cons of the bill as presented by the Institute’s staff “Senators,” offer your own statement on the issue, and cast your vote on the Senate floor. Today’s Vote is part of the school tour experience for grades 5 -12.

Exhibits Tour: Take a guided tour of the Institute’s interactive exhibits and preview the exhibit and digital tablet content students encounter as part of the Senator-in-Training tour. Explore People of the Senate. Work together with others to try and pass the National Ice Cream Sundae Bill in How a Bill Becomes a Law. Visit the replica of Senator Kennedy’s D.C. office. Debate and negotiate current legislation in Cloakroom Conversations.

CLOSING Location: Senate Chamber

Great Senate Debates: League of NationsPresenters: EMK Staff (Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate)

We will conclude the day with Great Senate Debates: League of Nations a video and live performance presentation of the factious debate over global security and national sovereignty.

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PRESENTERSAcademy of the Pacific Rim Charter SchoolLaura Honeywood

Boston Debate leagueDr. Sarah Mayper Marisa Suescun

Center School, Longmeadow Public Schools Laurie Risler

Chelsea High SchoolKristen Almquist Katherine Barnes Katherine Cabral Rucellie Jimnez Allysa Rivera

Collaborative for Educational Services Rich Cairn

Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. SenateNate Gundy Ed O’Connell Sarah Yezzi All EMK staff

Florida Joint Center for Citizenship Valerie McVey

Generation CitizenArielle Jennings, Ed.M.

Harvard Graduate School of Education Meira Levinson

Horizons for Homeless ChildrenEmily Levine

iCivics Louise Dubé

Joint Committee on Education Representative Alice Peisch

Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University Peter Levine

Massachusetts Center for Civic Education Roger Desrosiers

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Kristen McKinnon

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education—State Student Advisory Council Donna Taylor

Needham Public Schools Ken Brooke Jimmy Odierna Megan Tincher

Newton Public Schools Tim Matthews

The Community Builders James Madden

Following the conference, please fill out the evaluation at: http://bit.ly/CivicsConfEval

Presentation materials are available at: http://bit.ly/CivicsConf_Materials

In addition to the feedback on this conference, please give us your input on the essential question for the conference that will guide our continued work to support civic education: What can educators and the state do to support civics learning and engagement for all students? http://sgiz.mobi/s3/CivicsEd

Follow the conference on Twitter: #civics16

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Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education75 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148-4906

Voice: (781) 338-3000 | TTY: (800) 439 2370

www.doe.mass.edu

Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate 210 Morrissey Boulevard, Columbia Point, Boston, MA 02125

Voice: (617) 740-7000

www.emkinstitute.org

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