This past Thursday (April 20), the  Illinois Democracy Schools Network concluded its C.L.A.D. (Civic Learning Across Disciplines) webinar series with a session that featured several of the projects that DSN members have been working on during the past school year. 

The Democracy Schools Network is enthusiastic about supporting members’ ideas for improving the civic learning experience of their students.  Each year, the DSN makes grants available to its schools so that they can consider projects that improve the civic landscape in their schools.  This year’s proposals reflect many elements of the Illinois Democracy Schools model and range from classroom activities to schoolwide programs to school-community partnerships.  Listed below are the schools and team members who were involved in the projects. They reflect the innovation, student focus,  and collaborative spirit that are essential ingredients in civic engagement:

• Hinsdale South (2020): Career Education and Community Partnership with Home Depot  (Kelly Van Hout and Kathy Lencioni)
• George Washington (2017), Morton West (2017), Spoon River Valley (2022), Normal West (2016), and Senn (2017):  Citizen Math (Kyla Maletsky, Steve Miller, Matthew Fluga, April Schermann and Michael Meadows )
• Grayslake Central (2014) and Grayslake North (2014): Equity work with Loyola University (Jason Janczak and Dr. Tracey Landry)
• Collinsville (2016): Community Garden (Barbara Lindauer)
• Alton (2016): Student Forums (Regina Birch and Carla Hilgert)
• Maine East (2013) and Maine West (2009): SOAR program (Billson Rasavongxay and John Aldworth)
• Loyola Academy (2017): Biodiverse Reflection Garden (Mary McGuire, Tim Martin and John Azpell)

(If you missed the webinar, you can access a recording here.)  

This is the last webinar of the school year in this series, where we have done a deeper dive into several of the elements of the Democracy Schools’ model.  It has been an honor to host some of the top experts in the field of civic education. We hope that you will use the recordings of these sessions as a rich resource for your own professional development. (Illinois Democracy Schools Network Webinar archives.)

 The Illinois Civics Hub and the Illinois Democracy Schools Network continue to offer free after-school PD from many of the organizations highlighted above, including the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), the Stanford History Education Group (SHEG), and the Civic Education Research Group (CERG). 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. 

The Illinois Civics Hub also has a newsletter that shares our free PD that is open to all. You can subscribe here!