Expanding civics education

For Delaware educators like Chanell Rogers, civics education is more than classroom instruction; it is a holistic tool that impacts the everyday lives of students and communities.

"Civics is so much more than teaching the branches of government or how a bill becomes a law," said Rogers, dean of students at Lancashire Elementary School in the Brandywine School District. "It's about empowering students to find their voice, think critically, and become engaged members of their communities."

Thanks to centers like UD's Delaware Center for Civics Education (DCCE), civics lessons are becoming a powerful tool to improve statewide literacy and comprehension. Through professional development programs such as DCCE's flagship program, the Democracy Project Summer Institute and the new Literacy for We the People Summer Institute (LWTP), DCCE has partnered with the state to train up to 500 educators in the art of civic instruction.

This longstanding partnership has connected government officials, educators and students to prioritize democratic principles in K-12 learning for nearly 25 years. Both programs provide Delaware teachers with practical classroom resources and innovative strategies to develop more informed and engaged students.

Now, the work is expanding. Over the course of the summer, DCCE worked directly with 90 educators from 24 districts and 42 schools across all three Delaware counties through the Democracy Project, the LWTP Summer Institute, the Library of Congress professional development, and a bus trip to Washington, D.C. The trip was tied to DCCE's Library of Congress grant initiative, which brought award-winning teachers together to design new Declaration-centered model lessons across all grade levels.