Summer is here! Teachers across the country are getting ready to participate in a variety of professional development events hosted by our partners. These will be remote, in-person, and hybrid events centered around our most popular curricula, We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution and Project Citizen. Below are some highlights of the opportunities available this summer. 

In Virginia, VA Civics will conduct a remote summer institute session designed to "build skills and confidence based on situations that teachers will likely encounter when teaching from the We the People curriculum." Topics include media literacy, collaboration and community, and equity and inclusivity. Contact the state coordinator for Virginia, Emily Voss, for more information. 

The Indiana Bar Foundation will host an in-person summer institute covering concepts such as democratic principles and government philosophies, citizenship in a divided nation, civil rights court cases and legislation, and citizenship rights, responsibilities, and engagement. Contact the state coordinator for Indiana, Tim Kalgreen, for more information. 

The Wyoming We the People program from the John P. Ellbogen Foundation and the North Dakota We the People program from the North Dakota Humanities Council, under the leadership of Wyoming State Coordinator Matt Strannigan, are conducting an in-person summer institute where "participants attend lectures and sessions dedicated to teaching methods appropriate to the We the People curriculum” and “participate in a simulated congressional hearing modeled on the We the People culminating activity."  

The Project Citizen Research Program, a research grant from the U.S. Department of Education, allows the Center for Civic Education and its partners to offer free professional development for middle and high school teachers new to the Project Citizen curriculum. The program is now in its second year, and our regional partners will conduct five summer professional development events.