About the California Campaign

California Campaign Prospectus | Steering Committee | Supporters | Organization Chart

In 2011, the Campaign for the Civic Missions of Schools released its report Guardian of Democracy: The Civic Mission of Schools, this new report provides research-based evidence of the decline in civic learning in American schools and presents six proven practices that should be at the heart of every school's approach to civic learning.

The California Campaign is an effort to apply the goals and recommendations outlined in the report to strengthen civic education in California's public schools. The Center for Civic Education joins Constitutional Rights Foundation in this effort.

Recommendations to strengthen civic education:

  • Provide Instruction in Government, History, Law and Democracy.
  • Incorporate discussion of current local, national and international issues and events into the classroom, particularly those issues and events that young people view as important to their lives.
  • Design and implement programs that provide students with the opportunity to apply what they learn through performing community service that is linked to the formal curriculum and classroom instruction.
  • Offer extracurricular activities that provide opportunities for young people to get involved in their schools or communities.
  • Encourage student participation in school governance.
  • Encourage students’ participation in simulations of democratic processes and procedures.

STEERING COMMITTEE

David W. Gordon--Co-Chair
Superintendent
Sacramento County Office of Education
  
Darline P. Robles--Co-Chair
Professor Clinical Education
University of Southern California
_______________________________________________

Avi Black
Alameda County Office of Education
Keri Doggett
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Fred Jones
California Council for the Social Studies

Debbie Genzer
CA Judicial Council -
Administrative Office of the Courts

John Hale
Center for Civic Education

Carol Hatcher
Center for Civic Education

Michelle Herczog
Los Angeles County Office of Education

Cricket Kidwell (retired)
Trinity County Office of Education

Christian Lindke
Arsalyn Program

Anthonly Pennay
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation

SUPPORTERS

Below is a partial list of the numerous organizations and individuals that support the work of the California Campaign.

Local School Districts
Sacramento City Unified School District
Pleasanton Unified School District
Poway Unified School District
Kern High School District
San Diego Unified School District
Anaheim Union High School District
Fairview Elementary School, Modesto City School District

State Government
Judiciary of California - Administrative Office of the Courts
Office of the California Secretary of State

State Professional Organizations
California Federation of Teachers
California Teachers Association
California State PTA
California Council for the Social Studies
California School Boards Association
California County Superintendents Educational Services Association
Association of California School Administrators

County Offices of Education
Santa Barbara County Office of Education
San Joaquin County Office of Education
Los Angeles County Office of Education
California Three Rs Project
Kern County Office of Education
Alameda County Office of Education
Trinity County Office of Education
Fresno County Office of Education
Contra Costa County Office of Education
Kern County Office of Education

Federal Judiciary
Hon. Frank C. Damrell Jr., U.S. District Judge (retired)

Education Leaders
Hon. Delaine Eastin, Davis, California
Diane Hart, Senior Author, Teachers' Curriculum Institute

Higher Education
California State University, Office of the Chancellor
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
California Campus Compact
California State University, Sacramento
California History-Social Science Project
California State University Sacramento
Tomas Rivera Policy Institute
Institute for Democracy Education & Access - UCLA

Youth Organizations
UC 4H Youth Development Program
The Junior Statesmen Foundation
California Association of Student Councils

Non-Profit Organizations
Arsalyn Program
Buck Institute for Education
East Bay Conservation Corps
Center for Civic Education
Center for Youth Citizenship
Constitutional Rights Foundation
MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Youth and Participatory Politics (YPP)

 

 

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A project of Constitutional Rights Foundation in collaboration with the
Center for Civic Education and the Alliance for Representative Democracy.
This project is made possible by generous grants from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Skirball Foundation