Democracy Schools Network

Monthly Update

September 2023

YOU'RE INVITED...

Thursday, September 28, 2023

8am – 2pm

Hilton Doubletree | Lisle, IL

Presentations by our civic partners, including:

Illinois Holocaust Museum, Retro Report, Constitutional Democracy Project, Chicago History Museum, American Bar Association, Learning Tech Center, Mikva Challenge, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Facing History, University of Illinois at Chicago, and more!

Sampling of Sessions:

• Using the Internet to Check the Internet
• Civics with Stories
• Enhancing Civics through Games
• Action and Advocacy through the Arts
• Creating Space for Student Voice (and Action)
• Investigating Social Justice Issues in the Mathematics Classroom
• How to Create a School-Community Partnership with a Speaker Series
• Water Quality: A STEM and Society Issue
• Youth Resistance in Nazi Germany
• Learning to Teach with AI, One Small Bite at a Time
• What's in Store for 2024?

Registration has closed for this event. We'll provide highlights for all in October's Monthly Update!

Barbara Lindauer, Collinsville High School (2016 Illinois Democracy School) Social Studies Department Chair, was honored with the Superintendent’s Quality & Excellence Award on August 15, 2023, during the Collinsville Community Unit School District #10 staff welcome back event at Collinsville High School.



The award is presented annually by the district superintendent in two categories: certified staff and non-certified staff. Individuals are nominated by district colleagues and chosen by Superintendent Dr. Mark B. Skertich based on their merits and accomplishments. Ms. Lindauer was honored in the certified staff category. Criteria for the Superintendent’s Quality & Excellence award include rapport with students; relationship with peers; professionalism; classroom activities and use of content knowledge (certified staff); going above and beyond in their profession; and community involvement.

Earn Your Microcredentials: Become a Guardian of Democracy Educator

The Illinois Civics Hub has partnered with the Lou Frey Institute at the University of Central Florida to provide educators with the opportunity to earn their microcredentials in the proven practices of civic education embedded in the middle and high school civics course requirements in Illinois. Courses include:

• Current and Controversial Issue Discussions—Learn from academic experts Dr. Diana Hess & Dr. Paula McAvoy as you explore the purpose, role, and function of discussion strategies as pedagogical tools to equip young people to be engaged citizens. This course will enhance the practice of educators with strategies and resources to create a classroom climate in which there are equitable opportunities for ALL students to engage in dialogue about essential questions across the curriculum.

• Simulations of Democratic Processes—Learn from academic experts Dr. Walter Parker & Dr. Jane Lo as you explore how democratic processes and procedures occur as part of the regular functioning of government, in each of the three branches of government, and at each level of government. This course will guide you through the purpose, planning, and implementation of three simulations: town hall meetings, legislative hearings, and moot courts.

• Informed Action through Service Learning—Learn from academic experts Dr. Joseph Kahne and Jessica Marshall as you explore the purpose, role, and function of informed action through service learning as a pedagogical tool to equip young people with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to be active members of their community. In this course, you will interact with strategies and tools you can use in your classroom to support student-centered informed action through service learning.

• NEW- Constitutional Democracy as Content and Practice—Learn from academic experts Dr. Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Dr. Shawn P. Healy, and Dr. Bonnie Laughlin Schultz as you explore how the Educating for American Democracy Roadmap can help teach constitutional democracy as both content and practice across disciplines K-12.

Registration information is available on the Guardians of Democracy homepage. Those who successfully complete the 5-week online course will earn a Bronze Certified Guardian of Democracy Educator badge via Badgr and the University of Central Florida Center for Distributive Learning.

Participants can earn 15 PD hours through the DuPage Regional Office of Education for an additional fee.

There are three strands of courses for each proven practice of civics education. Graduate credit is available through the University of St. Francis for completing all three courses. For more information, please visit the Guardians of Democracy homepage.

Check out our website for PD opportunities, resources and inspiration.

illinoiscivics.org