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School Leadership Actions

Elements

Creating Culture and Support for Excellence for All

Inquiry as the Primary Mode of Learning

Practice of Constitutional Democracy and Student Agency

Assess, Reflect, Improve

Stakeholders

Student Engagement

Educator Actions

School Leadership Actions

Community, Family, and Caregiver Engagement

School Leadership Actions

School leaders have a commitment to hiring, assessing, and developing a staff that can carry out the civic mission of the school as well as attend to equity and school staffs’ and students’ identity and lived experiences.

Creating Culture and Support for Excellence for All

 

 Inquiry as the Primary Mode of Learning Practice Constitutional Democracy and Student Agency Assess, Reflect, Improve
1SLAa. BUILD systems that consider the diversity of learners and develop clear expectations of success for all students both in and out of the classroom and extra curricular activities.

 

 2SLAa. OFFER evidence-based instructional training and mentoring to all teachers and educational support staff to support students in civic inquiry school wide aligned to content standards and course mandates. 3SLAa. PROVIDE students the opportunity to practice civic skills in the school community (e.g., participatory budgeting, student government, student voice committees, and student newspapers). 4SLAa. Align assessment school wide by creating regular opportunities for all staff to engage in collaboration and conversations relating to school improvement
1SLAb. ADOPT a mindset that ALL certified and non certified staff model a growth mindset related to citizenship and civic responsibility through student interactions, policies and practices.

 

 2SLAb. PROVIDE professional development to create common language and practices to facilitate digital citizenship and media literacy throughout the district K-12. 3SLAb. UTILIZE concrete strategies and suggestions to design learning opportunities that enable all learners to engage in civic life in and out of school. 4SLAb. CREATE opportunities for students to share reflections about their learning and extracurricular experiences with families and community through events like student-led parent conferences.
1SLAc. LEVERAGE the diversity and lived experiences of all staff (certified and non-certified) to serve as civic role models for students through daily interactions, organizational structures, polices, and practices.

 

 2SLAc. ALIGN civic inquiry experiences school wide K-12 to help students develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for citizenship and civic engagement in a diverse society. 3SLAc. CELEBRATE classroom and extra-curricular success in practicing constitutional democracy and student agency through school newsletters, school board meetings, and social media. 4SLAc. FACILITATE opportunities for staff to collaborate, analyze student work, behavior, and community engagement to improve outcomes school wide.
1SLAd. IMPLEMENT leadership and opportunities for all staff (certified and non-certified) collaboration through mechanisms like a faculty senate, instructional leadership teams, subcommittees, and unions in order to develop skills needed to create an environment for school wide civic learning.

 

 2SLAd. PROVIDE time for all staff to collaborate to enhance civic interactions with students in organizational policies and practices. 3SLAd. COLLABORATE with local government, community organizations, and extracurricular programs to increase equitable access to civic engagement opportunities in and out of school. 4SLAd. ARTICULATE connections between civic learning and other school and district initiatives to support local school improvement plans.
1SLAe. USE Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) tools and practices in school disciplinary policies to support students social and emotional development. 2SLAe. STRIVE to understand the process of civic learning across disciplines and through extra curricular activities, and advocate for multidisciplinary and collaborative civic teaching and learning. 3SLAe. PROVIDE professional development for both certified and non-certified teach staff on engaging students in constitutional democracy as content and practice.. 4SLAe. ENGAGE in continuous development of a positive school climate using data, resources, and feedback provided by certified and non-certified staff, prioritizing student voice and agency to enhance the school experience.
Glossary
  • Assessment Mechanisms/Formats: Different ways to measure how well you understand something. Examples of these:  tests, projects, presentations, discussions.
  • Civic Competencies: The skills and knowledge you need to be an active and informed citizen. This includes things like critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving.
  • Civic Engagement: Taking part in your community and government. This can involve things like voting, volunteering, attending meetings, being a good neighbor, or  starting your own initiative.
  • Civic Inquiry Experiences: Learning activities that encourage you to ask questions, research, and analyze issues that affect your community.
  • Civic-mindedness: Having a strong concern for the well-being of your community and a willingness to contribute to its improvement.
  • Civic Responsibility: The duties and obligations you have as a citizen, like obeying the law and participating in civic life.
  • Civics: The study of the rights, duties, and principles of citizenship. It’s about how governments work and how citizens can participate.
  • Civics Integration: Bringing civics lessons into other subjects, like science or literature, to show how they connect to real-life situations.
  • Civil Dialogue: A respectful conversation about a topic, even if there are disagreements.
  • Co-creating: Working together with others to make something new, like a project or solution to a community problem.
  • Collaborate: Working together with others to achieve a common goal.
  • College, Career, and Civic Engagement (C3): A program of National Council for Social Studies which emphasizes the acquisition and application of knowledge to prepare students for higher education, career, and civic life.
  • Communities of Practice: Groups of people who share a common interest and learn from each other.
  • Community Stakeholders: People or groups who are affected by decisions or issues in a community.
  • Community Voice: The collective opinions and needs of the people in a community.
  • Conflict Resolution: Finding a peaceful way to settle disagreements.
  • Constructive Compromise: Reaching a solution that meets some of the needs of all parties involved in a disagreement.
  • Democratic Classroom: A learning environment that encourages participation, discussion, and respect for diverse viewpoints.
  • Democratic Skills: The abilities needed to participate in a democracy, like critical thinking, public speaking, respectful listening and compromise.
  • Dialogue: A two-way conversation where everyone has a chance to be heard.
  • Dispositions: Your attitudes, behaviors, and habits related to civic life. For example, a disposition towards civic engagement would be a willingness to volunteer or participate in local government.
  • Diverse Family Structures: Recognizing that families come in all shapes and sizes, and everyone can contribute to civic life.
  • Equitable Access: Making sure everyone has a fair chance to participate in civic life, regardless of background.
  • Extracurricular Activities: Activities outside of regular classes that allow one to pursue a special interest, meet new people, and develop a new skill set. 
  • Faculty Senate: A group of teachers who represent the faculty and have a say in school policies.
  • Formative Assessment: Regularly checking understanding throughout the learning process, allowing you to adjust your learning approach.
  • Global Citizen: Someone who understands the interconnectedness of the world and takes responsibility for global issues.
  • Growth Mindset: Believing that your abilities can be developed through effort and learning.
  • Historically Underrepresented and Economically Excluded Groups: Communities whose voices haven’t traditionally been heard in government or civic life, and who may face economic challenges.
  • Informed Action: Taking action based on knowledge and understanding of the issue.
  • Inquiry Learning: Learning by asking questions, researching, and analyzing information.
  • Media Literacy: The ability to critically evaluate information you see and hear in the media.
  • Media Literacy Creators (or Producers): People who create media content.
  • More Perfect Union: This phrase comes from the preamble to the U.S. Constitution. It reflects the idea that the founders aimed to create a constantly improving system of government, better than any that had come before.
  • Norms for Individual Tasks: These are the unwritten rules or expectations for how to complete specific tasks or behave in certain situations. For example, the norm for taking a test might be to work quietly and independently.
  • Participatory Budgeting: This is a process where community members directly decide how to spend part of a budget. It allows people to have a say in how their tax dollars are used.
  • PBIS stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. It’s a framework for creating a safe and positive school environment by focusing on rewarding good behavior and providing support to prevent problems.
  • Place-based Learning: This approach to education connects what you learn in the classroom to the real world by using your local community as a context for learning.
  • Productive Disagreements: Disagreements where people listen to each other, focus on the issue, and work towards finding a solution that considers all viewpoints.
  • Recursive: This means something that repeats itself, but with changes based on what was learned from previous iterations. 
  • Schoolwide Civic Learning: Efforts to integrate civic education throughout a school, not just in civics class. This can involve things like student government, service learning projects, and discussions about current events.
  • Student Voice: Giving students opportunities to express their ideas, opinions, and concerns about their world. 
  • Wise Producers and Consumers: People who create and consume media responsibly, with an awareness of potential biases and the impact of their choices.

 

Examples of Elements in Practice

Shawnee High School is deeply rooted in civic learning—from a staff-initiated Veterans Wall Memorial with over 1000 names that are displayed, to its daily routines, thought-out processes, inclusive practices, and committed staff. This is a place where teachers are given the freedom to design their own curriculum where they incorporate controversial issues, simulations, and other proven practices in civic learning. The Social Science teacher uses mock elections and mock trials; the English teachers and science teacher find creative ways to infuse simulations; the art teacher encourages her students to create sketches that will later be turned into t-shirts to raise money and awareness for various causes, which the entire school will later study.

These teachers readily collaborate with each other and discuss controversial issues in their classes, encouraging critical thinking. The administration also trusts the social sciences to bring media into the classroom on a regular basis to help bring awareness to their ongoing service learning project about saving the levees that protect their district from the Mississippi River, and they welcome politicians from both sides of the aisle into the school so students can educate them on flooding issues. Additionally, the principal is an integral member of the Democracy School team and encourages her teachers to dream big when it comes to improving the school’s climate.