Programs

svpdpLogoSchool Violence Prevention Demonstration Program

 
v In Your State

 
v Introduction

 
v Calendar

 
v Native American Initiative

 
v Professional Development

 
v Program Evaluation

 
v Contact US

 
> Sites

 
v Anchorage, AK

 
v ANCHORAGE AND RURAL ALASKA

 
v Birmingham, AL

 
v Globe (Apache), AZ

 
v Elk Grove, CA

 
v Los Angeles, CA

 
v Denver, CO

 
v Jefferson County, CO

 
v Miami, FL

 
v Orange County, FL

 
v Inter-Island, HI

 
v Appalachia, KY

 
v Henry County, KY

 
v Baltimore, MD

 
v Choctaw, MS

 
v Newark, NJ

 
v Clovis, NM

 
v New York City, NY

 
v Allentown, PA

 
v Providence, RI

 
v Lakota, SD

 
v Appalachia, TN

 
v Southeast, TN

 
v Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe, WI

 
v MEMPHIS TENNESSEE

 
v FAIRBANKS, ALASKA

 
v Vermont Peace Academy, VT

 
v Ripon, WI


Please Endorse the Center's Programs

We the People Literacy Guides

Now available for free download!
Level 2
Level 3

NEH Institute on Political and Constitutional Theory: National Academy for Civics and Government
July 10-July 31 2010 (Los Angeles, CA)

The Center for Civic Education, through a grant provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, is pleased to announce a three-week NEH Summer Institute ... [More]


$1,000 Scholarship Competition
Click here to Learn More!

We the People
High School Level
Student Text

  • New Companion Website
  • Audio Overview
  • 1995 Edition, 2009 Edition Comparison
  • Announcement
  • Table of Contents [PDF]
  • New sample lesson [PDF]
  • New Congressional District Level Questions [PDF]

  • Now available

    Project Citizen Level 1
    Spanish-Language Edition




    http://www.neiu.edu/...
    The Inspirational Story of Brian Schultz's Project Citizen Students

    Click here to learn more!

    Conversations on Civics Podcast

    The Center's latest audio series devoted to civic education.

    Episode 1: Ambassador Joseph Sullivan

    Listen

    RSS Feed


    Music for 60-Second Civics is provided by Music Alley from Mevio.com. Terms of use can be found here.

    Education for Democracy Podcast

    A new monthly audio series from the Center for Civic Education
    Episode 3: Project Citizen National Showcase
    Listen

    Subscribe

    Music for 60-Second Civics is provided by Music Alley from Mevio.com. Terms of use can be found here.


    Civics Report Card

    Download Reports


    Elements of Democracy

    Join us in the 
    Campaign to Promote Civic Education  
    and help the next generation preserve and improve our constitutional democracy.


    The Center for Civic Education website receives an A+ from
    March 2008


    The Center for Civic Education is a Civnet Partner


    SCHOOL VIOLENCE PREVENTION DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM

     

    ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

     

    Alaska’s Educational Resource Center (SERRC), in partnership with the Center for Civic Education, provides professional development for teachers and facilitated student use of the School Violence Prevention Demonstration Program (SVPDP) in schools in Anchorage, Alaska. Each year, since the Anchorage School District adopted SVPDP materials as recommended text for their social studies program, between 17 and 25 Anchorage School District teachers have received extensive training. Those teachers have carried the strong message of violence prevention to thousands of students.

    As the 87th largest school district in the country and the largest in Alaska, with approximately 50,000 students, the district has a diverse staff and student population that is matched by the diversity of its program offerings.

     

    Anchorage School District students speak a combined 84 different languages. After English, the five most common are Spanish, Hmong, Tagalog, Samoan and Korean. This year, for the first time, minority students comprise 50 percent of the student population.

    This diversity provides students with the ability to interact with peers from many different backgrounds, expanding their knowledge of other cultures, and preparing for life in a global society.

    The Anchorage School District student population reflects the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of the state’s community. Anchorage is an educational, medical, and commercial hub for Alaska, and home to many Alaska natives as well as immigrants from around the globe.



    PROGRAM'S IMPACT ON ANCHORAGE SITE
      2008 - 2009 Program September 2001 - June 2008 Total*
    Schools 11 20 27
    Students 593 3,575 4,168
    Teachers 13 175 188
                              *Total excludes schools in the current year that have also participated in past years.

    Program Highlights and Anecdotes

    • Legal system SVPDP volunteers

      • Judges and lawyers visit classrooms upon request when teachers are teaching the SVPDP components Justice and Authority from Foundations of Democracy

    • ”Cooperative Learning” embraced by students

      • The printed SVPDPcomponent materials from the Center for Civic Education are age-appropriate and visually stimulating; students are encouraged to work together, using cooperative learning-style lessons. Many of the learning activities are scenario-based and offer opportunities for parents to participate, either in a specific role or as an audience.

    In developing their understanding of civic education, students have produced plans to change their communities through action projects that influence public policies. Last year, students at Homestead Elementary School identified a safety issue that they wanted to address. They noticed that many students chose to walk on the road in the dark, both to and from school, rather than on the snow-covered sidewalks.

     Quotes

    This curriculum is the only way to teach the Constitution.  The other books available to us can’t compare.
    Annette Valdez, Fifth-grade teacher
    Abbott Loop Elementary, Anchorage

    Learning tolerance and civic responsibility will help the students understand their social studies lessons better and help the students become leaders of the school.
    Kristi Bryers, Fifth-grade Teacher
    Klatt Elementary, Anchorage

    The Center for Civic Education's curricula is a great way for students to explore issues about the Constitution and citizenship.  The activities that center around events like a town meeting or Congressional Hearing get students out of the textbook to experience in "real life" what some of these issues entail.  When I teach a lesson from the curricula, I know it's never going to be boring!  From a student after a town meeting, in which they were required to present a point of view they did not necessarily agree with: "Mrs. Truskowski, do you know how difficult it is to take another person's point of view?"  I love that quote and we discussed it as a group in all my classes the next day.  If we can all learn to understand, if not agree with, another's point of view, then we could have fewer conflicts everywhere - at school, at home, nationally, internationally.
    Julie Truskowski, Sixth-grade teacher
    Bayshore Elementary School, Anchorage

    The strength of this program is that students really like working with the materials. Cooperative learning is built in. Working with thisSVPDP curriculum is the highlight of the day for both my students and me.
    Adrianne Grenier, Fifth-grade teacher
    Williwaw Elementary School, Anchorage

    My experience with this program: I have really enjoyed teaching this program.  History and Government have never been my favorite subjects, especially as a student in school.  This program is fun, and easy to use with the students.  I have discovered a love for history and government that I have never had before.  The curriculum fits hand in hand with our adopted Social Studies curriculum.  It has been fun to watch the students learn about the history of America, their founding fathers, and why are country is the way it is today.  By engaging in the City Council Meetings and Congressional Hearings, I have witnessed very shy, with-drawn students learn to speak out and share their thoughts/opinions.  I am confident the students will leave my classroom having a much greater understanding of honesty, authority, justice, and responsibility.  I am also confident my students will have a solid foundation of the history of our country and how it originally started.  I only wish I had been taught this way when I was in fifth grade!
    Jennifer Rizer, Fifth-grade teacher
    Trailside Elementary School, Anchorage

    The students are very engaged with the SVPDP materials and subject matter. I think they are empowered by the language and ideas presented to them. They have such a strong need for fairness, especially since they are inundated with poverty, violence, and homelessness. Many are beginning to realize that there are appropriate means of ensuring fairness and that they can have an effect on their community.
    Danielle Lesdo, Teacher
    Williwaw Elementary School, Anchorage

    One thing that works well in the SVPDP program is the opportunity to learn the materials with other district teachers while being trained by an experienced teacher already implementing the program. The materials are user friendly, grade-level appropriate, and enjoyable for the students.
    Alexandra Hagler, Teacher
    Chugiak Elementary School, Chugiak

    My students have discovered the value of respect for differences of opinion, class, ethnicity, and culture. They realize that differences exist among individuals and that this diversity can be affirmative and socially enriching.
    Margaret Theonnes, Teacher
    Gladys Wood Elementary, Anchorage.

    For further information contact:
    Center for Civic Education, 5145 Douglas Fir Road, Calabasas, CA 91302
    Tel: 818-591-9321
    Website: www.civiced.org
    Joan Pardes, Site Coordinator joanp@serrc.org
    Maria Gallo, Director, School Violence Pevention Demonstration Program gallo@civiced.org


    Print This Page Printer-Friendly Version