Last week, the Illinois Democracy Schools Network kicked off its 2021-22  programming with Dr. Shawn P. Healy, Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy at iCivics, to explore how schools can expand civic learning across disciplines to fulfill the civic mission of schools. Dr. Healy’s presentation:

• dispelled common myths about civic learning with data and research
• analyzed Democracy Schools Network (DSN) data to track how the elements of Democracy Schools are currently being used in the DSN across content areas.
• explored opportunities for expansion of civic learning using the Educating for Democracy Roadmap.

If you missed the webinar, you can access a recording on the Illinois Civics Hub Webinar Archive.

Dr. Healy was the ideal guest to start this series. As many of you know, Dr. Healy led the DSN as the Director of the Democracy Program at the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Under his leadership, the DSN grew to over 70 schools throughout the Land of Lincoln, committed to civic learning through an examination of instructional practices and organizational structures. Illinois Civics Hub (ICH) at the DuPage Regional Office of Education is excited to be the new home of the Democracy School Initiative through generous funding from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation and build on Dr. Healy’s work.

Throughout the webinar, a variety of resources were shared by Dr. Healy, DSN Advisory Council members,  and participants to support civic learning across disciplines.

• • For more information about how various states are supporting civic learning, visit the site for CivXNow and register for their Civic Education Policy Summit next week.
  • For future PD about Civic Learning Across Disciplines, including topics related to Media Literacy, Service Learning, and Deliberation, visit the ICH Professional Development Calendar.
  • Dr. Healy cited many reports in his presentation including:
    • The Republic is (Still) at Risk, and Civics is Part of the Solution from Tisch College/CIRCLE
    • The Importance of Teaching Civic Responsibility in America from the Rand Corporation.
    • The 2018 NAEP Civics Assessment and Dr. Healy’s analysis

The Illinois Civics Hub also debuted a NEW resource for Responding to Questions about the Teaching of Social Studies.

The Illinois Civics Hub and Democracy Schools Network are hosting free after-school PD this fall from many of the organizations highlighted above, including the News Literacy Project, the Stanford History Education Group, and Facing History and Ourselves. A description for each webinar and information to register for professional development credits through the DuPage Regional Office of Education is available on the Illinois Civics Hub Professional Development Calendar.