We the People: Project Citizen is a curricular
program for middle, secondary, and post-secondary students, youth
organizations, and adult groups that promotes competent and responsible
participation in local and state government. The program helps participants
learn how to monitor and influence public policy. In the process, they develop
support for democratic values and principles, tolerance, and feelings of
political efficacy.
Entire classes of students or members of youth or adult
organizations work cooperatively to identify a public policy problem in their
community. They then research the problem, evaluate alternative solutions,
develop their own solution in the form of a public policy, and create a
political action plan to enlist local or state authorities to adopt their
proposed policy. Participants develop a portfolio of their work and present
their project in a public hearing
showcase before a panel of civic-minded community members.
The Project Citizen program is administered with the assistance
of a national network of state and congressional district coordinators in every
state and is conducted with the assistance of the National Conference of State
Legislatures. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Education by act of
Congress. Additional funding at the state level is also provided by an
increasing number of state legislatures.
Program Participation
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Project
Citizen Portfolio Showcase
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The curriculum was first used in the 1995-96 school year as a
pilot in 12 states. Since then the domestic program has expanded to include
schools in every state as well as American Samoa, the District of Columbia,
Guam and Puerto Rico. As of November 2006, approximately 22,500 teachers have
taught Project Citizen to over 1,400,000 students.
The formula for tracking student participation is based on two
different surveys. The first was conducted in November 1997 by researchers at
the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin,
in preparing An Assessment of We the People Project Citizen: Promoting
Citizenship in Classrooms and Communities. The second was conducted by the
Center for Civic Education in February 1999.
Project Citizen in the Commonwealth
This site is intended as a resource for teachers in Virginia
that use Project Citizen and as a source of information for those that may
want to use Project Citizen.
You will find links to the various district coordinators in the state, middle
school and high school SOL correlations.
If you are interested in receiving materials and training, please
contact the state coordinator, Bill Wilson,
Director of the Madison Institutes at James Madison University.
We would like to recognize Ms. Sheryl McLaughlin's eigth grade class from Benjamin Syms Middle School for being recognized with a Superior rating at the Project Citizen National Showcase competition in New Orleans, LA. Full results can be seen here.
Critical Acclaim
"After spending the morning with some very engaging 8th
graders at Twinfield Union School, my belief is reinforced that Project Citizen
offers kids more than a course in civics education. It gives them a real-life
opportunity to develop and sharpen their decision-making abilities. I hope, for
our country's sake, that some of these Project Citizen students opt for a
career in public service"
-Senator James M. Jeffords,
speaking to the Twinfield (VT)
Union School's 8th grade
Project Citizen class "Project Citizen helps bring state
government, politics and the concept of representative democracy to life for
the next generation of America's leaders. It may not be as dramatic as
"reality TV" but it helps students gain a real life glimpse at how
they can make a difference in helping their communities."
-Senator Richard T. Moore,
Massachusetts Senate
"As
a judge and practicing attorney, I have been involved in many programs, but
none that even approached the excitement in civil participation of this
program. Project Citizen is practical experience in democracy and civil
involvement."
-Judge Gregory J. Donat,
Tippecanoe County Court I,
Lafayette, Indiana
