What is Action Civics?
Funded by the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, this initiative is designed to increase civic awareness and engagement in 14 middle and high schools in the Sacramento region. Working through teams of teachers across the curriculum, Action Civics classrooms will seamlessly combine civics content, CCSS literacy standards, and 21st Century skills by engaging students in an investigative process around a problem, issue, or challenge identified by students. Teachers will lead students through the investigative process and will provide resources, tools, and strategies for students to conduct their own research, gather and weigh differing perspectives, and develop and present their own ideas.
The Action Civics Initiative includes three main components designed to support participating schools in engaging students in civics content and action civics projects: (1) Development of an Action Civics Learning Framework; (2) Provision of high-quality, sustained professional development opportunities; and (3) Development of regional and community partnerships.
These three components, coordinated by a full time Action Civics Coordinator, will provide the necessary support to participating teachers to implement the Initiative’s vision and theory of action, and, over time, will be offered to teachers outside the original set of 14 schools to enhance expansion and sustainability of the Action Civics Initiative.
