A New Project To Empower High-Need Students!
“James Madison Legacy Project Expansion: Empowering High-Need Students for Informed, Thoughtful, and Productive Citizenship” is an exciting new project to improve professional development and instruction in the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution curricular program! The Center for Civic Education is working with expert teachers and consultants to develop new resources for We the People professional development and instruction that foster positive civics and social and emotional learning (SEL) outcomes among English learners, students with disabilities, and students of color. In 2023 and 2024, the Center and its partners in 12 sites are implementing We the People professional development and classroom instruction using the new resources. Dr. Diana Owen and the Civic Education Research Lab at Georgetown University are evaluating the program’s outcomes on high-need secondary students. The Center hopes that the new materials will engage, empower, and increase the civic and SEL competencies of high-need learners facing persistent achievement gaps. Thanks to the Education Innovation and Research Program of the U.S. Department of Education for supporting this project!
Opportunities to Participate!
We the People Professional Development: You may be eligible to join We the People professional development starting in the summer of 2024! Our partners in Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and 5 additional states will be offering high-quality professional development in a supportive professional learning community. Focusing on working with high-need learners, the sessions will include civics and government content and best practices to support SEL and inclusion in the social studies classroom. We will provide free materials and a stipend for completing research requirements! Contact the We the People coordinator in your state to learn more. The additional states for 2024 will be announced in the coming months!
Join our James Madison Legacy Project Expansion (JMLPE) Professional Development!
Download a pdf of our 1 page JMLPE Professional Development Flier
Subscribe to the Center’s newsletter to keep up-to-date on all our opportunities! You are always welcome to contact the We the People coordinator in your state or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at the Center for Civic Education with any questions.
Project News: 2022 Summer Curriculum Workshop a Success!
Twenty-eight middle and high school teachers from across the country came to California on June 27-30, 2022 to develop new instructional support materials in the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution curriculum. The materials incorporate principles of Universal Design for Learning, language arts education, culturally relevant pedagogy, and SEL to the make the We the People curriculum more accessible for students of color, students with disabilities, and English learners. Thirty teachers experienced in the We the People curriculum piloted the materials in their classrooms in the fall of 2022 with support from the Center and their We the People state coordinators. The materials developed by these expert teachers will make a national impact on civic education teaching and learning!
