Project Community

HELP STUDENTS CHANGE THEIR WORLD

Empower students to work toward equitable and dynamic civic communities through Project Community.

Project Community is a curriculum for PK-12 schools and students, post-secondary students, and youth organizations that promote informed, efficacious, and responsible participation in local and state government.

In Project Community, students work together to identify a problem in their community, study policy issues related to the problem, develop a solution to the problem, and create an action plan for implementing their policy. In a culminating activity, students present their policy in a simulated legislative hearing, demonstrating their knowledge and understanding of how public policy is formulated.

Together, students collaborate to understand community issues through the lens of those most impacted. Surveys, interviews, research, human centered design, and more inform students if and how to take public policy action to address community needs.

Textbooks and Teacher’s Guides are available for grades 5-8 and 9-12. For more information, see the Project Citizen curriculum page on the the national Center for Civic Education website.

As a teacher, I love that Project Citizen is incredibly easy to lead, with such simple steps to follow, and yet is one of the most empowering projects my students engage in all year. During a particularly challenging year, introducing students to the process of researching, writing, and ultimately presenting public policy fosters such a feeling of critical hope.”

My students are learning by doing. This is giving them a perspective on government that they would never get from a book.

I really enjoyed knowing I had a positive impact on school policy and that people actually listened to what students had to say.

I really liked how we could break off and work on what we were best at individually and then put it together to make something we’re all proud of.

Examples Of Previous Professional Learning The Project Community Research Program

Join in what we hope to be the future of civic education professional learning!

A partnership between the National Constitution Center, the Center for Civic Education, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and Foundation, inGlobal Learning Design, and your host the Michigan Center for Civic Education welcome all secondary teachers to Grand Rapids to learn more about equipping and empowering our students in their civic futures.

A blended, collaborative approach, each organization will work to cultivate the skills and dispositions needed for a more vibrant future. Leave the institute and cohort with more knowledge about the Constitution (National Constitution Center), public policy (Center for Civic Education), civil dialogue (all), and more!

WHO can participate?

K-12 teachers in any setting may apply! If you teach in one of the ten states in our designated region (Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, West Virginia, and Minnesota), apply here. If you teach in a different region, contact your state coordinator. Teachers are welcome to apply with teams of teachers from their own school across all subject areas. We would love teams that are ready to solve real-world problems using multiple disciplines like science, art, math, design, language arts, and of course social studies! Don’t worry, we have you covered! There is no cost to teachers or schools to participate. In fact, participating teachers receive a modest stipend upon completion of the program.

WHEN and WHERE will it take place?

The current Cohort of the Project Citizen Research Program is off and running. We welcome your involvement as a control teacher and a supporter of civic education. Judges will also be needed for the end of year showcase! All current submissions are due NO LATER than June 1, 2026. You can find the cover letter and guidelines here.