Who we are

About us Who we are

Mary Ellen Seavey Auriemma

Executive Director of Educating for American Democracy (EAD)

Mary Ellen Seavey Auriemma is the executive director of Educating for American Democracy (EAD), a national initiative working to ensure every student in the U.S. has access to high-quality civic education. Auriemma has spent her entire career in education, bringing over 20 years of experience leading strategy, coalition-building, and program growth to her stewardship of EAD.

Previously, Auriemma served as an executive director of state and district partnerships at the College Board, where she led a multi-million-dollar portfolio and influenced strategic planning with district and state partners to advance academic opportunities for millions of students throughout the country.  She began her career as a high school social studies teacher in rural Missouri, where she launched her district’s first AP® U.S. Government and Politics and AP® U.S. History courses and helped expand civic learning opportunities for students.

She holds a B.A. in Political Science from Villanova University, an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Missouri–St. Louis, and an M.S. in Educational Leadership from the University of St. Francis.

Steering Commitee

Working in close collaboration with the Executive Director, EAD Steering Committee members serve as centers of excellence for EAD implementation and sponsor exemplary projects that achieve implementation with integrity of the EAD Roadmap in domains such as curriculum, professional development, civic learning plans, state standards, and research. This model for implementation is distributed, iterative, collaborative, and empowering of practitioners throughout the country.

  • Danielle Allen, Director, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University
  • David Bobb, President, Bill of Rights Institute
  • Louise Dubé, Executive Director, iCivics
  • Liz Evans, Program Director for Civic Education, School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University
  • Chester E. Finn, Jr., Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
  • Kurt Graham, President, Adams Presidential Center
  • Joseph Kahne, Dutton Presidential Professor of Education Policy and Politics, University of California, Riverside
  • Jane Kamensky, President, Monticello
  • Peter Levine, Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Jonathan M. Tisch College at Tufts University
  • Beth Ratway, Senior Technical Assistance Consultant, American Institutes for Research
  • Shannon Salter Burghardt, Founding Teacher, Building 21 Allentown, Pennsylvania

The Educating for American Democracy initiative’s discovery phase (October 2019 – February 2021) involved a diverse collaboration among over 300 academics, historians, political scientists, K–12 educators, district and state administrators, civics providers, students, and others from across the country. We are extremely grateful for all those who gave of their time, enthusiasm, perspectives, and expertise to the project.

This initiative was led by the Educating for American Democracy (EAD) Principal Investigators—Danielle Allen of Harvard University, Paul Carrese of Arizona State University, Louise Dubé of iCivics, Jane Kamensky of Harvard University, Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg of CIRCLE, Peter Levine of Tufts University, and Tammy Waller of the Arizona Department of Education—with support from the following groups of individuals.

Watch the official launch event of the Educating for American Democracy Roadmap and Report
Moderated by Judy Woodruff, Anchor and Managing Editor, PBS NewsHour

Watch the Event

Principal Investigators

Danielle Allen

Danielle Allen

Director, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University

Danielle Allen is James Bryant Conant University Professor and Director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. She is a political philosopher and public policy expert, who focuses on democracy innovation, public health and health equity, justice reform, education, and political economy.

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She also directs the Safra Center’s Democratic Knowledge Project, a K-16 civic education provider. Her books include Our Declaration: a reading of the Declaration of Independence in defense of equality, Cuz: an American Tragedy, and Talking to Strangers: anxieties of citizenship since Brown v. Board of Education. She has chaired numerous commission processes and is a lead author on influential policy roadmaps, including Pursuing Excellence on a Foundation of Inclusion; Roadmap to Pandemic Resilience; Pandemic Resilience: Getting It Done; and Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century. She was for many years a contributing columnist for the Washington Post, and writes for the Atlantic.

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Danielle Allen is James Bryant Conant University Professor and Director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University.

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She is a political philosopher and public policy expert, who focuses on democracy innovation, public health and health equity, justice reform, education, and political economy. She also directs the Safra Center’s Democratic Knowledge Project, a K-16 civic education provider. Her books include Our Declaration: a reading of the Declaration of Independence in defense of equality, Cuz: an American Tragedy, and Talking to Strangers: anxieties of citizenship since Brown v. Board of Education. She has chaired numerous commission processes and is a lead author on influential policy roadmaps, including Pursuing Excellence on a Foundation of Inclusion; Roadmap to Pandemic Resilience; Pandemic Resilience: Getting It Done; and Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century. She was for many years a contributing columnist for the Washington Post, and writes for the Atlantic.

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Paul Carrese

Founding Director, School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University

Paul Carrese is the founding director of the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University. For nearly two decades he was a professor of political science at the United States Air Force Academy.

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He is author of The Cloaking of Power: Montesquieu, Blackstone, and the Rise of Judicial Activism (University of Chicago, 2003) and co-editor of three other books – on George Washington, constitutionalism, and American grand strategy. His most recent book is Democracy in Moderation: Montesquieu, Tocqueville, and Sustainable Liberalism (Cambridge, 2016). He has held fellowships at Harvard University; the University of Delhi (as a Fulbright fellow); and the James Madison Program, Politics Department, Princeton University. He recently served on the founding advisory board of the Program on Public Discourse at UNC Chapel Hill.

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Paul Carrese is the founding director of the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University.

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For nearly two decades he was a professor of political science at the United States Air Force Academy. He is author of The Cloaking of Power: Montesquieu, Blackstone, and the Rise of Judicial Activism (University of Chicago, 2003) and co-editor of three other books – on George Washington, constitutionalism, and American grand strategy. His most recent book is Democracy in Moderation: Montesquieu, Tocqueville, and Sustainable Liberalism (Cambridge, 2016). He has held fellowships at Harvard University; the University of Delhi (as a Fulbright fellow); and the James Madison Program, Politics Department, Princeton University. He recently served on the founding advisory board of the Program on Public Discourse at UNC Chapel Hill.

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Louise Dubé

Louise Dubé

Executive Director, iCivics

Louise Dubé serves as the Executive Director of iCivics. As the largest provider in the nation, iCivics champions and re-imagines civic education. iCivics is the winner of many awards including Fast Company’s 2017 Top 10 Most Innovative Education Companies, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.

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Previously, Louise served as Managing Director of Digital Learning at WGBH where she helped launch PBS Learning Media, a platform reaching over 1.5 million educators. Before WGBH, Louise had a successful career in educational publishing and instructional technology for over 20 years. Louise won the 2017 People’s Voice award from the Diane Von Furstenberg – Diller Foundation as well as the 2018 Civvys – American Civic Collaboration National award from Bridge Alliance. She was also recognized as a 2019 Donaldson Fellow by the Yale School of Management. Louise began her career as an attorney in Montreal, Canada, and holds a law degree from McGill University, as well as an MBA from Yale University. In the early 1990s, she served as a co-founder of CASES, a New York alternative-to-incarceration program where education helped re-shape lives.

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Louise Dubé serves as the Executive Director of iCivics. As the largest provider in the nation, iCivics champions and re-imagines civic education.

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iCivics is the winner of many awards including Fast Company’s 2017 Top 10 Most Innovative Education Companies, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Previously, Louise served as Managing Director of Digital Learning at WGBH where she helped launch PBS Learning Media, a platform reaching over 1.5 million educators. Before WGBH, Louise had a successful career in educational publishing and instructional technology for over 20 years. Louise won the 2017 People’s Voice award from the Diane Von Furstenberg – Diller Foundation as well as the 2018 Civvys – American Civic Collaboration National award from Bridge Alliance. She was also recognized as a 2019 Donaldson Fellow by the Yale School of Management. Louise began her career as an attorney in Montreal, Canada, and holds a law degree from McGill University, as well as an MBA from Yale University. In the early 1990s, she served as a co-founder of CASES, a New York alternative-to-incarceration program where education helped re-shape lives.

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Jane Kamensky

Jane Kamensky

Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History, Harvard University and Pforzheimer Foundation Director, Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard Radcliffe Institute

Jane Kamensky is Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History & Pforzheimer Foundation Director, Harvard University & Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

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Her most recent book, A Revolution in Color: The World of John Singleton Copley (2016), won four prizes, including the New-York Historical Society’s Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize, and was a finalist for several others. She is also one of the co-authors of A People and a Nation (11th edition, 2017), long one of the leading American history textbooks across the United States. A former Commissioner of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, she currently serves as a Trustee of the Museum of the American Revolution. In addition to her work with the EAD project team, she is a member of the faculty committee of Democratic Knowledge Project at Harvard’s Edmond J. Safra Center.

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Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg

Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg

Director, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University

As Director, Kei leads all of CIRCLE’s research activities while charting a vision of how that research can inform policy and practice to strengthen youth civic engagement. Kei is particularly interested in providing various organizations and communities with research that would help increase civic and political engagement among ethnic minority and immigrant populations.

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Kei earned her doctorate degree in 2008 from Loyola University Chicago in Clinical Psychology and has extensive experience in working with youth of diverse backgrounds both as a researcher and a practitioner. Throughout her graduate career, she focused her research on positive youth development, including civic engagement. Prior to joining CIRCLE, Kei taught as Visiting Instructor of Psychology at Knox College, where she became involved as an active collaborator for the Center in Galesburg, a community-based citizen organization. In collaboration with the Center in Galesburg, Kei designed a course in Community Psychology in which she taught college students about various types of engagement and actively involved them in the local community.

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As Director, Kei leads all of CIRCLE’s research activities while charting a vision of how that research can inform policy and practice to strengthen youth civic engagement.

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Kei is particularly interested in providing various organizations and communities with research that would help increase civic and political engagement among ethnic minority and immigrant populations. Kei earned her doctorate degree in 2008 from Loyola University Chicago in Clinical Psychology and has extensive experience in working with youth of diverse backgrounds both as a researcher and a practitioner. Throughout her graduate career, she focused her research on positive youth development, including civic engagement. Prior to joining CIRCLE, Kei taught as Visiting Instructor of Psychology at Knox College, where she became involved as an active collaborator for the Center in Galesburg, a community-based citizen organization. In collaboration with the Center in Galesburg, Kei designed a course in Community Psychology in which she taught college students about various types of engagement and actively involved them in the local community.

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Peter Levine

Peter Levine

Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Jonathan M. Tisch College at Tufts University

Peter Levine is the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship & Public Affairs in Tufts University’s Jonathan Tisch College of Civic Life. Trained as a moral/political philosopher, Levine has spent most of his career conducting applied empirical research and organizing professional efforts related to civic life in the United States, including sustained work on civic education, voting rights, public deliberation, social movements, and the measurement of social capital.

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His nine books include the forthcoming What Should We Do? A Theory of Civic Life (Oxford University Press). He helped to found and then led CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement), which is now part of Tisch College. He was a co-author of the Civic Mission of Schools report (2003) and the College, Career and Citizenship (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards (2013). He serves on the NAEP civics committee and the boards of Discovering Justice, Everyday Democracy, the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, and Street Law, Inc.

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Peter Levine is the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship & Public Affairs in Tufts University’s Jonathan Tisch College of Civic Life.

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Trained as a moral/political philosopher, Levine has spent most of his career conducting applied empirical research and organizing professional efforts related to civic life in the United States, including sustained work on civic education, voting rights, public deliberation, social movements, and the measurement of social capital. His nine books include the forthcoming What Should We Do? A Theory of Civic Life (Oxford University Press). He helped to found and then led CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement), which is now part of Tisch College. He was a co-author of the Civic Mission of Schools report (2003) and the College, Career and Citizenship (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards (2013). He serves on the NAEP civics committee and the boards of Discovering Justice, Everyday Democracy, the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, and Street Law, Inc.

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Tammy Waller

Director of K-12 Social Studies and World Languages, Arizona Department of Education

Tammy Waller is the Director for K-12 Social Studies and World Languages at the Arizona Department of Education and the co-manager of the statewide Civic Education and Community Engagement Program. She also teaches at the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University.

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Prior to joining ADE 5 years ago, Tammy taught 7-12th grade social studies for 25 years in various schools in the Phoenix area and coached both Speech and Debate and Mock Trial. She is a state and national trainer for various civic education organizations and is a member of the Council for Social Studies State Supervisors and the National Council for State Supervisors of Foreign Language. A member of both the National Council for the Social Studies and the National Council for History Education, she currently sits on the board of the Arizona Council for the Social Studies. She is a 2000 Arizona Teacher of the Year Finalist and Arizona Law Related Educator of the year.

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Tammy Waller is the Director for K-12 Social Studies and World Languages at the Arizona Department of Education and the co-manager of the statewide Civic Education and Community Engagement Program.

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She also teaches at the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. Prior to joining ADE 5 years ago, Tammy taught 7-12th grade social studies for 25 years in various schools in the Phoenix area and coached both Speech and Debate and Mock Trial. She is a state and national trainer for various civic education organizations and is a member of the Council for Social Studies State Supervisors and the National Council for State Supervisors of Foreign Language. A member of both the National Council for the Social Studies and the National Council for History Education, she currently sits on the board of the Arizona Council for the Social Studies. She is a 2000 Arizona Teacher of the Year Finalist and Arizona Law Related Educator of the year.

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Executive Committee

  • Danielle Allen, Director, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University
  • Paul Carrese, Founding Director, School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University
  • Louise Dubé, Executive Director, iCivics
  • Michelle M. Herczog, Coordinator III, History-Social Science, Los Angeles [California] County Office of Education
  • Emma Humphries, Chief Education Officer and Deputy Director of CivXNow, iCivics
  • Jane Kamensky, Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History, Harvard University and Pforzheimer Foundation Director, Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard Radcliffe Institute
  • Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Director, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University
  • Peter Levine, Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Jonathan M. Tisch College at Tufts University
  • Adam Seagrave, Associate Professor and Associate Director, School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University
  • Tammy Waller, Director of K–12 Social Studies and World Languages, Arizona Department of Education

Steering Committee

Chair:

  • Louise Dubé, Executive Director, iCivics
  • Danielle Allen, Director, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University
  • Tim Bailey, Director of Education, Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
  • David Bobb, President, Bill of Rights Institute
  • Paul Carrese, Founding Director, School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University
  • Mary Ellen Daneels, Lead Teacher Mentor and Instructional Specialist, Robert R. McCormick Foundation
  • Sarah Drake Brown, Board Member, National Council for History Education
  • Tom Gentzel, Executive Director and CEO Emeritus, National School Boards Association
  • Jarvis Givens, Assistant Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education
  • James Grossman, Executive Director, American Historical Association
  • Jeremy Gypton, Teacher Programs Manager, The Ashbrook Center
  • Michelle M. Herczog, Coordinator III, History-Social Science, Los Angeles [California] County Office of Education
  • Emma Humphries, Chief Education Officer and Deputy Director of CivXNow, iCivics
  • Jane Kamensky, Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History, Harvard University and Pforzheimer Foundation Director, Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard Radcliffe Institute
  • Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Director, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University
  • Averill Kelley, CSIEME Doctoral Student, University of Nevada, Las Vegas & Former Educator, Clark County [Nevada] School District
  • Carrie Kotcho, A. James Clark Director of Education and Impact, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
  • Kelly Leahy, Assistant Professor & Year-One EAD Project Director, Newhouse School of Communication at Syracuse University & iCivics
  • Peter Levine, Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Jonathan M. Tisch College at Tufts University
  • Maria Marable-Bunch, Associate Director for Museum Learning and Programs, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution
  • Ace Parsi, Senior Consultant, Equity Journey Partners
  • Lawrence Paska, Executive Director, National Council for the Social Studies
  • Donna Phillips, Director, Academic Innovations, District of Columbia Public Schools
  • Allen Pratt, Executive Director, National Rural Education Association
  • Prisca Rodriguez, ELL Educator, District of Columbia Public Schools
  • Natacha Scott, Director of Educator Engagement, iCivics
  • Adam Seagrave, Associate Professor and Associate Director, School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University
  • Rogers M. Smith, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania
  • Adrienne Stang, K–12 History and Social Studies Coordinator, Cambridge [Massachusetts] Public Schools
  • Alhassan Susso, 2019 New York State Teacher of the Year, New York State Education Department
  • Laura Tavares, Program Director, Organizational Learning and Thought Leadership, Facing History and Ourselves
  • Tammy Waller, Director of K–12 Social Studies and World Languages, Arizona Department of Education

American History Task Force

Co-Chair:

  • Jane Kamensky, Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History, Harvard University and Pforzheimer Foundation Director, Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard Radcliffe Institute
  • Tammy Waller, Director of K–12 Social Studies and World Languages, Arizona Department of Education
  • Valencia Abbott, History Social Studies Educator, Rockingham [North Carolina] Early College High School
  • Peter Adams, Senior Vice President of Education, News Literacy Project
  • Erica Armstrong Dunbar, Professor, Department of History at Rutgers University
  • Amanda Cobb-Greetham, Professor, Native American Studies Department, University of Oklahoma
  • Donald Critchlow, Professor, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University
  • Allen Guelzo, Senior Research Scholar, The Council of the Humanities, Princeton University
  • Madeline Hsu, Professor, Department of History at The University of Texas at Austin
  • Philip C. Mead, Chief Historian and Curator, Museum of the American Revolution
  • Lincoln Mullen, Associate Professor, Department of History and Art History at George Mason University
  • David O’Connor, Education Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
  • George Sanchez, Director, Center for Democracy and Diversity at the University of Southern California
  • Paul Solarz, 5th Grade Teacher, Westgate [Illinois] Elementary School
  • Adrienne Stang, K–12 History and Social Studies Coordinator, Cambridge [Massachusetts] Public Schools

Content Curation Task Force

Chair:

  • Natacha Scott, Director of Educator Engagement, iCivics
  • Tim Bailey, Director of Education, Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
  • David Bobb, President, Bill of Rights Institute
  • Jennifer Brown, Founder, Empowered Learning, LLC
  • Mary Ellen Daneels, Lead Teacher Mentor and Instructional Specialist, Robert R. McCormick Foundation
  • Alexandra Foley, Diverse Democracy Fellow, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University
  • Korin Forbes, Former K–6 Social Studies Content Specialist, Mesa [Arizona] Public Schools
  • Michelle M. Herczog, Coordinator III, History-Social Science, Los Angeles [California] County Office of Education
  • Emma Humphries, Chief Education Officer and Deputy Director of CivXNow, iCivics
  • Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Director, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University
  • NDia Morningstar Riegler, Educator, Boston [Massachusetts] Public Schools
  • Lincoln Mullen, Associate Professor, Department of History and Art History at George Mason University
  • Ace Parsi, Senior Consultant, Equity Journey Partners
  • Justin Pottle, Curriculum Lead, Democratic Knowledge Project
  • Shannon Salter Burghardt, Founding Teacher, Building 21 Allentown, Pennsylvania
  • Adam Seagrave, Associate Professor and Associate Director, School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University
  • Laura Tavares, Program Director, Organizational Learning and Thought Leadership, Facing History and Ourselves
  • Samuel Texeira, Educator, Chicago [Illinois] Public Schools
  • Matthew Wdowiarz, Educator, Winfield [Illinois] School District

Implementation Task Force

Co-Chair:

  • Danielle Allen, Director, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University
  • Louise Dubé, Executive Director, iCivics
  • Frederick Hess, Resident Scholar and Director of Education Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
  • Desmond Blackburn, CEO, New Teacher Center
  • David Bobb, President, Bill of Rights Institute
  • David Buchanan, Director of Massachusetts Programs, iCivics
  • Paul Carrese, Founding Director, School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University
  • Leo Casey, Executive Director, Albert Shanker Institute
  • Chester E. Finn, Jr., Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
  • Tom Gentzel, Executive Director and CEO Emeritus, National School Boards Association
  • Robert Jagers, Vice President of Research, CASEL
  • Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Director, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University
  • Ace Parsi, Senior Consultant, Equity Journey Partners
  • Lawrence Paska, Executive Director, National Council for the Social Studies
  • Donna Phillips, Director, Academic Innovations, District of Columbia Public Schools
  • Allen Pratt, Executive Director, National Rural Education Association
  • Natacha Scott, Director of Educator Engagement, iCivics
  • Tammy Waller, Director of K–12 Social Studies and World Languages, Arizona Department of Education

K–5 Task Force

Co-Chair:

  • Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Director, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University
  • Jane C. Lo, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education, Michigan State University
  • Natacha Scott, Director of Educator Engagement, iCivics
  • Danielle Allen, Director, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University
  • Ann Marie Gleeson, History and Social Science Assessment Developer, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
  • Alexandra Foley, Diverse Democracy Fellow, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University
  • Jane Kamensky, Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History, Harvard University and Pforzheimer Foundation Director, Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard Radcliffe Institute
  • Katherina Payne, Department of Curriculum and Instruction Associate Professor, The University of Texas at Austin
  • Lynette Stant, 2020 Arizona Teacher of the Year and Teacher, Salt River [Arizona] Elementary School
  • Rebecca Valbuena, Former Teacher on Special Assignment, K–5, Glendora [California] Unified School District
  • Aisha Vasquez Jackson, Director, East Tampa [Florida] Academy

Pedagogy for Constitutional Democracy Task Force

Co-Chair:

  • Emma Humphries, Chief Education Officer and Deputy Director of CivXNow, iCivics
  • Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Director, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University
  • Tim Bailey, Director of Education, Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
  • Kara Cisco, Social Studies Educator, St. Louis Park [Minnesota] High School
  • Ilene Berson, Professor of Early Childhood, University of South Florida
  • Mary Ellen Daneels, Lead Teacher Mentor and Instructional Specialist, Robert R. McCormick Foundation
  • Doug Dobson, Senior Fellow, Lou Frey Institute
  • Abby Pfisterer, Education Specialist, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
  • Kimberly Huffman, Social Studies Instructor, Adjunct Professor of Political Science, James Madison Fellow
  • Averill Kelley, CSIEME Doctoral Student, University of Nevada, Las Vegas & Former Educator, Clark County [Nevada] School District
  • Magdalena Mieri, Director of Special Initiatives and Program in Latino History and Culture, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
  • Daniel Osborn, Program Director, Primary Source
  • Ace Parsi, Senior Consultant, Equity Journey Partners

Political Science & Civics Task Force

Co-Chair:

  • Michelle M. Herczog, Coordinator III, History-Social Science, Los Angeles [California] County Office of Education
  • Adam Seagrave, Associate Professor and Associate Director, School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University
  • Danielle Allen, Director, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University
  • Rebecca Burgess, Research Fellow and Program Manager, Program on American Citizenship at American Enterprise Institute
  • David Bobb, President, Bill of Rights Institute
  • Meena Bose, Executive Dean, Public Policy and Public Service Programs, Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra University
  • Rosa Brooks, Professor of Law and Policy, Georgetown University Law Center
  • Cathy Cohen, Professor, Department of Political Science at University of Chicago
  • Marshall Croddy, Former President, Constitutional Rights Foundation
  • Joseph Kahne, Dutton Presidential Professor of Education Policy and Politics, University of California, Riverside
  • Peter Levine, Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Jonathan M. Tisch College at Tufts University
  • Frank Pisi, Director, History-Social Science, Sacramento [California] County Office of Education
  • Cathy Ruffing, Senior Director, Teacher Professional Development Programs and Curriculum, Street Law, Inc.
  • Rogers M. Smith, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania
  • James Stoner, Hermann Moyse Jr. Professor and Director, Eric Voegelin Institute at Louisiana State University
  • Aisha Vasquez Jackson, Director, East Tampa [Florida] Academy

C3 Working Group

Chair:

  • David Buchanan, Director of Massachusetts Programs, iCivics
  • Peter Levine, Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Jonathan M. Tisch College at Tufts University
  • Lawrence Paska, Executive Director, National Council for the Social Studies
  • Natacha Scott, Director of Educator Engagement, iCivics
  • Stefanie Wager, President, National Council for the Social Studies
  • Tammy Waller, Director of K–12 Social Studies and World Languages, Arizona Department of Education

State Guidance Working Group

Co-Chair:

  • David Buchanan, Director of Massachusetts Programs, iCivics
  • Tammy Waller, Director of K–12 Social Studies and World Languages, Arizona Department of Education
  • Scott Bush, Senior Coordinator of K–12 Social Studies for the TEKS Resource System, Education Service Center Region 13, Austin, Texas
  • Shaka Dickerson, Dean of Students, DeMatha Catholic High School, District of Columbia
  • Joy Hatcher, Social Studies Program Manager, Georgia Department of Education
  • Amit Kobrowski, K–12 Social Science Specialist, Oregon Department of Education
  • Ted McConnell, Senior Policy Advisor, CivXNow
  • Michelle McLaughlin, K–12 Social Studies Education Consultant, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
  • Fran O’Malley, Project Director, Democracy Project, Institute for Public Administration, Biden School of Public Affairs and Administration, University of Delaware
  • Harris Payne, Retired Director of Social Studies, Nebraska Department of Education
  • Beth Ratway, Senior Technical Assistance Consultant, American Institutes for Research
  • Stefanie Wager, President, National Council for the Social Studies

Advisory Council

  • Martha Barry McKenna, University Professor and Director, The Center for Creativity at Lesley University
  • Keith C. Barton, Professor of Curriculum & Instruction and Adjunct Professor of History, Indiana University
  • Elizabeth Bennion, Professor and Campus Director for American Democracy Project, Indiana University, South Bend
  • Ashley Berner, Deputy Director and Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, Johns Hopkins School of Education
  • Laura W. Brill, Director, The Civics Center
  • Rich Cairn, Director of Emerging America, Collaborative for Educational Services
  • David E. Campbell, Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy, University of Notre Dame
  • Chester E. Finn Jr., Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
  • Rosanna Fukuda, Educational Specialist for Social Studies, Hawaii State Department of Education
  • Abraham Goldberg, Executive Director, James Madison Center for Civic Engagement
  • Shawn P. Healy, Senior Director of State Policy and Advocacy, iCivics
  • Thomas Herman, Director, California Geographic Alliance
  • Joseph Kahne, Dutton Presidential Professor of Education Policy and Politics, University of California, Riverside
  • Jill Lepore, Kemper Professor of American History and Affiliate Professor of Law, Harvard University
  • Jane C. Lo, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education, Michigan State University
  • Martha Madsen, Executive Director, New Hampshire Institute for Civic Education
  • Maeva Marcus, Research Professor of Law and Director of Institute for Constitutional Studies, The George Washington University Law School
  • Stephen S. Masyada, Interim Executive Director, Lou Frey Institute at the University of Central Florida
  • Elizabeth C. Matto, Associate Research Professor, Center for Youth Political Participation, Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University-New Brunswick
  • Wendy May-Dreyer, Chair, Texas Civic Education Coalition
  • Ellen Middaugh, Assistant Professor of Child and Adolescent Development, Lurie College of Education, San Jose State University
  • Veronica Reyna, Director, Center for Civic Engagement and Associate Chair of the Department of Government, Houston Community College
  • Alison Rios Millett McCartney, Professor, Towson University Honors College and Department of Political Science
  • Dick Simpson, Professor, Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago
  • Steven A. Steinbach, History Department, Sidwell Friends School, District of Columbia
  • J. Cherie Strachan, Professor of Political Science, Central Michigan University
  • Judith Torney-Purta, Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland College Park
  • Janet Tran, Director of the Center for Civics, Education, and Opportunity, The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute
  • Stefanie Wager, President, National Council for the Social Studies
  • Sherri L. Wallace, Professor, Department of Political Science at the University of Louisville
  • Andrew Wilkes, Senior Director, Policy and Advocacy, Generation Citizen

Consultants and Staff

  • Tara Bartlett, Ph.D. Student and Research Assistant, Educational Policy and Evaluation and Participatory Governance Initiative at Arizona State University
  • Jacob Berkman, Co-Founder, One Allen Communications
  • Kate Bermingham, Ph.D. Candidate and Instructor, University of Notre Dame
  • David Buchanan, Director of Massachusetts Programs, iCivics
  • Amber Cruz Mohring, Owner and Lead Consultant, ACM Consulting
  • Abigail Dym, Ph.D. Student in Political Science and Education Policy, University of Pennsylvania
  • Robert Fersh, President and Founder, Convergence Center for Policy Resolution
  • Alexandra Foley, Diverse Democracy Fellow, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University
  • Maggie Gates, Manager of Communications and Development, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University
  • Richard Harris, Communications Consultant, iCivics
  • Trudy Horsting, Ph.D. Student, School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University
  • Emma Humphries, Chief Education Officer and Deputy Director of CivXNow, iCivics
  • Alex Iatrou, CivXNow Fellow, iCivics
  • Alexis Jones, Assistant Professor of History, Crown College, Saint Bonifacius, Minnesota
  • Abigail Khouri, CivXNow Fellow, iCivics
  • Abby Kiesa, Deputy Director, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) and the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University
  • Kelly Leahy, Assistant Professor & Year-One EAD Project Director, Newhouse School of Communication at Syracuse University & iCivics
  • Patricia Leslie-Brown, Manager of CivXNow Projects, iCivics
  • Joe Martin, Marketing and Communications Manager, School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University
  • Jennifer McAndrew, Director of Communications, Strategy & Planning, Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University
  • Aileen McQuillen, Senior Marketing Manager, iCivics
  • Josh Montgomery, Social Studies Methods Instructor, College of Education, University of Wyoming
  • Matthew Nelsen, Postdoctoral Scholar, The University of Chicago
  • Zoe Nuechterlein, Junior Curriculum Associate, iCivics
  • Dylan O’Connor, Student Volunteer, iCivics
  • Ace Parsi, Senior Consultant, Equity Journey Partners
  • Peter Pellizzari, Researcher, Harvard University
  • Natacha Scott, Director of Educator Engagement, iCivics
  • Stacie Smith, Managing Director, Consensus Building Institute

Stakeholder Listening Session Hosts & Participants

To ensure we received a diversity of perspectives on our work, the Educating for American Democracy initiative held over a dozen feedback listening sessions that included hundreds of participants from across the country. We appreciate the time and efforts of all those who attended a session or partnered with us to host a session. Some of these individuals include:

  • Peter Adams, Senior Vice President of Education, News Literacy Project
  • Madison Allen, 11th grade student and 2021 Equity in Civics Youth Fellow, Maryland
  • Kathy Assini, Teacher and 2014 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year
  • Revathi Balakrishnan, Teacher and 2016 Texas Teacher of the Year, Round Rock [Texas] Independent School District
  • Jill Bass, Chief Education Officer, Mikva Challenge
  • Stuart Baum, Research & Program Associate, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
  • Angela Belrose, Social Studies and Library Science Curriculum Specialist, Jefferson County [Alabama] Public Schools
  • Ilene Berson, Professor of Early Childhood, University of South Florida
  • Michael Berson, Professor of Social Science Education, University of South Florida
  • David Bobb, President, Bill of Rights Institute
  • David Bosso, Teacher and 2012 Connecticut Teacher of the Year
  • Brian Brady, Chief Executive Officer, Mikva Challenge
  • Cristin Brawner, Executive Director, David Mathews Center for Civic Life
  • Lindsay Bressman, Executive Director, Civic Spirit
  • Felix Calederon, 12th grade student and 2020 Equity in Civics Youth Fellow, North Carolina
  • David Callaway, Education Consultant, Religious Freedom Center
  • Belinda Cambre, Instructor, University Laboratory School, Louisiana State University
  • April Campbell, Director, Office of Indian Education, Oregon Department of Education
  • Miranda Campbell, Student, Louisiana State University
  • Christina Carrasquilla, Senior Lecturer, Arizona State University
  • Paul Carrese, Founding Director, School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University
  • Jen Cassidy, Director, Ohio History Center & Ohio Village, Ohio History Connection
  • Leah Charles-Edouard, Senior Manager of the Academy for American Democracy, The New-York Historical Society
  • Melissa Collins, Teacher and 2020 National Teacher Hall of Fame Inductee, Shelby County [Tennessee] School District
  • Jessica DeHart, Teacher, East Baton Rouge [Louisiana] Parish School System
  • Serena Denetsosie, Deputy Associate Superintendent, Office of Indian Education, Arizona Department of Education
  • Eric Descheenie, Advisor, Government & Tribal Relations
  • Chris Dier, Teacher, Benjamin Franklin High School, New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Caleb Dunson, Freshman and 2020 Equity in Civics Youth Fellow, Yale University
  • Kimberly Eckert, Teacher and Director of Education Development, West Baton Rouge Schools and Louisiana Department of Education
  • Ryan Empson, History Instructor, University Laboratory School, Louisiana State University
  • Inez Feltscher Stepman, Senior Policy Analyst, Independent Women’s Forum
  • Alexandra Foley, Diverse Democracy Fellow, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University
  • Morgan Gibson, 8th grade student and 2021 Equity in Civics Youth Fellow, Massachusetts
  • Monica Goncalves, Social Studies Teacher, Linden [New Jersey] Public Schools
  • Nikolas Gonzales, World History Adjunct Professor, Digital Learning Specialist, Bunker Hill Community College History Department, Boston [Massachusetts] Public Schools
  • Matthew Green, 12th grade student and 2020 Equity in Civics Youth Fellow, Pennsylvania
  • Jay P. Greene, Distinguished Professor, Department of Education Reform at University of Arkansas
  • Laura Hamilton, General Manager of Research Centers, Educational Testing Service
  • Alexandra Henderson, 12th grade student and 2020 Equity in Civics Youth Fellow, Louisiana
  • Frederick Hess, Resident Scholar and Director of Education Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
  • Jolena Hinchman, Middle School Teacher, Great Falls [Montana] Public Schools
  • John Hobson, Lead Coach for Social Studies, Albemarle County [Virginia] Public Schools
  • Vicki Hobson, Instructional Coach, Albemarle County [Virginia] Public Schools
  • Erica Hodgin, Co-Director, Civic Engagement Research Group (CERG) at University of California, Riverside
  • John Holbein, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Politics, and Education, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia
  • Michael Hussey, Assistant Director for Education, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution
  • Theodore Johnson, Senior Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
  • Jessica Jolliffe, Assistant Director, Humanities, Austin [Texas] Independent School District
  • Shannon Jones, 8th Grade History Teacher, Austin [Texas] Independent School District
  • Luther Joseney, Teacher, Boston [Massachusetts] Public Schools
  • Joseph Kahne, Dutton Presidential Professor of Education Policy and Politics, University of California, Riverside
  • Jane Kamensky, Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History, Harvard University and Pforzheimer Foundation Director, Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard Radcliffe Institute
  • Julia Kaufman, Senior Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation
  • Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Director, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University
  • Camara Kelly, 12th grade student and 2021 Equity in Civics Youth Fellow, Maryland
  • Caroline Klibanoff, Managing Director, Made By Us, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
  • Carrie Kotcho, A. James Clark Director of Education and Impact, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
  • Nathaniel Kraft, Teacher, Lowell [Massachusetts] High School
  • Sophie Li, 10th grade student and 2021 Equity in Civics Youth Fellow, Tennessee
  • Jane C. Lo, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education, Michigan State University
  • Patrick Madden, Executive Director, National Archives Foundation
  • Maria Marable-Bunch, Associate Director for Museum Learning and Programs, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution
  • Logan Marsh, 11th grade student and 2021 Equity in Civics Youth Fellow, Michigan
  • Daisy Martin, Director, The History & Civics Project at University of California, Santa Cruz
  • Rich Mayorga, Professor, Pima Community College
  • Marcus McNeil, 11th grade student and 2020 Equity in Civics Youth Fellow, Massachusetts
  • Michael Q. McShane, Director of National Research, EdChoice
  • Philip C. Mead, Chief Historian and Curator, Museum of the American Revolution
  • Viren Mehta, 10th grade student and 2020 Equity in Civics Youth Fellow, California
  • Magdalena Mieri, Director of Special Initiatives and Program in Latino History and Culture, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
  • Susanne Mitko, Social Studies Teacher, Missouri Supreme Court Civic Education Committee, Committee to Develop Secondary Social Studies Curriculum for the State of Missouri, and Missouri Judicial Performance Review Committee
  • Iva Moss-Redman, Educator, University of Idaho
  • Mia Nagawiecki, Vice President for Education, New-York Historical Society
  • Michael Neagle, Social Studies Educator, Lowell [Massachusetts] Public Schools
  • Jason Neiffer, Assistant Director, Montana Digital Academy
  • David O’Connor, Education Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
  • Alissa Oginsky, Manager of Teacher Learning, George Washington’s Mount Vernon
  • David Olson, Social Studies Teacher, James Madison Memorial High School, Madison, Wisconsin
  • Derek Olson, Middle School Teacher and 2008 Minnesota Teacher of the Year
  • Diana Owen, Professor and Director of the Civic Education Research Lab, Georgetown University
  • Dhruv Pai, 11th grade student and 2021 Equity in Civics Youth Fellow, Maryland
  • Michelle Pearson, Educator, Adams 12 Five Star Schools, Thornton, Colorado
  • Anthony Pennay, Chief Learning Officer, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute
  • Michael J. Petrilli, President, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
  • Abby Pfisterer, Education Specialist, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
  • Michael B Poliakoff, President, American Council of Trustees and Alumni
  • Lee Ann Potter, Director, Professional Learning and Outreach Initiatives Office, Library of Congress
  • Aiesha Pretlow, Teacher, Jefferson [Alabama] Board of Education
  • Nina Rees, President and CEO, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
  • Raneen Rehani, 12th grade student and 2021 Equity in Civics Youth Fellow, New Jersey
  • Steven Rickert, Principal, Tres Rios Service Academy, Tolleson, Arizona
  • Shaun Rieley, Director of Civics and Veterans Programs, The Philanthropy Roundtable
  • Madison Rock, Civic Health Senior Program Coordinator, Center for the Future of Arizona
  • Rachel Roncka, 11th grade student and 2020 Equity in Civics Youth Fellow, Massachusetts
  • Luess Sampson-Lizotte, VP Product Development, Humanities, Savvas Learning Company
  • Gary Sandling, Vice President, Visitor Programs, Monticello, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation
  • Elaine Santelmann, Coordinator of Science and Social Studies, Lowell [Massachusetts] Public Schools
  • Angel Santiago, Teacher and 2021 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year
  • Scott Sargrad, Vice President, K–12 Education Policy, Center for American Progress
  • Christian Scott, Social Studies Educator, Boston [Massachusetts] Public Schools
  • Natacha Scott, Director of Educator Engagement, iCivics
  • Adam Seagrave, Associate Professor and Associate Director, School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University
  • David Serio, Educator and Public Programming Specialist, Arab American National Museum
  • Logan Silva, Teacher, Potter Valley [California] Jr./Sr. School
  • Andy Smarick, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute
  • Kate Soules, Executive Director, Religion & Education Collaborative
  • Lynette Stant, 2020 Arizona Teacher of the Year and Teacher, Salt River Elementary School, Scottsdale, Arizona
  • Gabbie Stokes, 12th grade student and 2021 Equity in Civics Youth Fellow, Arkansas
  • Andrea Thares, Teacher, Riverview Elementary for Great Falls [Montana] Public Schools
  • Trygve Throntveit, Director of Strategic Partnership, Minnesota Humanities Center
  • Janet Tran, Director of the Center for Civics, Education, and Opportunity, The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute
  • Tammy Waller, Director of K–12 Social Studies and World Languages, Arizona Department of Education
  • Terri Welsh, Social Studies Content Specialist, Mesa [Arizona] Public Schools
  • Martin West, William Henry Bloomberg Professor of Education, Harvard University
  • K. Allison Wickens, Vice President for Education, George Washington’s Mount Vernon
  • Sarah Wilson, Director of Education, Autry Museum of the American West
  • Jennifer L. Wolfe, High School Social Studies Teacher, NBCT, and 2021 New York State Teacher of the Year
  • Brandy Zollman, Director of Education, Conner Prairie, Fishers, Indiana
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We the People

This theme explores the idea of “the people” as a political concept–not just a group of people who share a landscape but a group of people who share political ideals and institutions.

Read more about the theme in:

The Roadmap
The Resource Library
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Institutional & Social Transformation

This theme explores how social arrangements and conflicts have combined with political institutions to shape American life from the earliest colonial period to the present, investigates which moments of change have most defined the country, and builds understanding of how American political institutions and society changes.

Read more about the theme in:

The Roadmap
The Resource Library
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Contemporary Debates & Possibilities

This theme explores the contemporary terrain of civic participation and civic agency, investigating how historical narratives shape current political arguments, how values and information shape policy arguments, and how the American people continues to renew or remake itself in pursuit of fulfillment of the promise of constitutional democracy.

Read more about the theme in:

The Roadmap
The Resource Library
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Civic Participation

This theme explores the relationship between self-government and civic participation, drawing on the discipline of history to explore how citizens’ active engagement has mattered for American society and on the discipline of civics to explore the principles, values, habits, and skills that support productive engagement in a healthy, resilient constitutional democracy. This theme focuses attention on the overarching goal of engaging young people as civic participants and preparing them to assume that role successfully.

Read more about the theme in:

The Roadmap
The Resource Library
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Our Changing landscapes

This theme begins from the recognition that American civic experience is tied to a particular place, and explores the history of how the United States has come to develop the physical and geographical shape it has, the complex experiences of harm and benefit which that history has delivered to different portions of the American population, and the civics questions of how political communities form in the first place, become connected to specific places, and develop membership rules. The theme also takes up the question of our contemporary responsibility to the natural world.

Read more about the theme in:

The Roadmap
The Resource Library
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A New Government & Constitution

This theme explores the institutional history of the United States as well as the theoretical underpinnings of constitutional design.

Read more about the theme in:

The Roadmap
The Resource Library
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A People in the World

This theme explores the place of the U.S. and the American people in a global context, investigating key historical events in international affairs,and building understanding of the principles, values, and laws at stake in debates about America’s role in the world.

Read more about the theme in:

The Roadmap
The Resource Library
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The Seven Themes

The Seven Themes provide the organizational  framework for the Roadmap. They map out the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that students should be able to explore in order to be engaged in informed, authentic, and healthy civic participation. Importantly, they are neither standards nor curriculum, but rather a starting point for the design of standards, curricula, resources, and lessons. 

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Driving questions provide a glimpse into the types of inquiries that teachers can write and develop in support of in-depth civic learning. Think of them as a  starting point in your curricular design.

Learn more about inquiry-based learning in  the Pedagogy Companion.

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Sample guiding questions are designed to foster classroom discussion, and can be starting points for one or multiple lessons. It is important to note that the sample guiding questions provided in the Roadmap are NOT an exhaustive list of questions. There are many other great topics and questions that can be explored.

Learn more about inquiry-based learning in the Pedagogy Companion.

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The Seven Themes

The Seven Themes provide the organizational  framework for the Roadmap. They map out the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that students should be able to explore in order to be engaged in informed, authentic, and healthy civic participation. Importantly, they are neither standards nor curriculum, but rather a starting point for the design of standards, curricula, resources, and lessons. 

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The Five Design Challenges

America’s constitutional politics are rife with tensions and complexities. Our Design Challenges, which are arranged alongside our Themes, identify and clarify the most significant tensions that writers of standards, curricula, texts, lessons, and assessments will grapple with. In proactively recognizing and acknowledging these challenges, educators will help students better understand the complicated issues that arise in American history and civics.

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Motivating Agency, Sustaining the Republic

  • How can we help students understand the full context for their roles as civic participants without creating paralysis or a sense of the insignificance of their own agency in relation to the magnitude of our society, the globe, and shared challenges?
  • How can we help students become engaged citizens who also sustain civil disagreement, civic friendship, and thus American constitutional democracy?
  • How can we help students pursue civic action that is authentic, responsible, and informed?
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America’s Plural Yet Shared Story

  • How can we integrate the perspectives of Americans from all different backgrounds when narrating a history of the U.S. and explicating the content of the philosophical foundations of American constitutional democracy?
  • How can we do so consistently across all historical periods and conceptual content?
  • How can this more plural and more complete story of our history and foundations also be a common story, the shared inheritance of all Americans?
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Simultaneously Celebrating & Critiquing Compromise

  • How do we simultaneously teach the value and the danger of compromise for a free, diverse, and self-governing people?
  • How do we help students make sense of the paradox that Americans continuously disagree about the ideal shape of self-government but also agree to preserve shared institutions?
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Civic Honesty, Reflective Patriotism

  • How can we offer an account of U.S. constitutional democracy that is simultaneously honest about the wrongs of the past without falling into cynicism, and appreciative of the founding of the United States without tipping into adulation?
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Balancing the Concrete & the Abstract

  • How can we support instructors in helping students move between concrete, narrative, and chronological learning and thematic and abstract or conceptual learning?
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Each theme is supported by key concepts that map out the knowledge, skills, and dispositions students should be able to explore in order to be engaged in informed, authentic, and healthy civic participation. They are vertically spiraled and developed to apply to K—5 and 6—12. Importantly, they are not standards, but rather offer a vision for the integration of history and civics throughout grades K—12.

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Helping Students Participate

  • How can I learn to understand my role as a citizen even if I’m not old enough to take part in government? How can I get excited to solve challenges that seem too big to fix?
  • How can I learn how to work together with people whose opinions are different from my own?
  • How can I be inspired to want to take civic actions on my own?
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America’s Shared Story

  • How can I learn about the role of my culture and other cultures in American history?
  • How can I see that America’s story is shared by all?
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Thinking About Compromise

  • How can teachers teach the good and bad sides of compromise?
  • How can I make sense of Americans who believe in one government but disagree about what it should do?
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Honest Patriotism

  • How can I learn an honest story about America that admits failure and celebrates praise?
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Balancing Time & Theme

  • How can teachers help me connect historical events over time and themes?
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The Six Pedagogical Principles

 EAD teacher draws on six pedagogical principles that are connected sequentially.

Six Core Pedagogical Principles are part of our Pedagogy Companion. The Pedagogical Principles are designed to focus educators’ effort on techniques that best support the learning and development of student agency required of history and civic education.

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This resource aligns with the core pedagogical principle of:

EAD teachers commit to learn about and teach full and multifaceted historical and civic narratives. They appreciate student diversity and assume all students’ capacity for learning complex and rigorous content. EAD teachers focus on inclusion and equity in both content and approach as they spiral instruction across grade bands, increasing complexity and depth about relevant history and contemporary issues.

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This resource aligns with the core pedagogical principle of:

Growth Mindset and Capacity Building

EAD teachers have a growth mindset for themselves and their students, meaning that they engage in continuous self-reflection and cultivate self-knowledge. They learn and adopt content as well as practices that help all learners of diverse backgrounds reach excellence. EAD teachers need continuous and rigorous professional development (PD) and access to professional learning communities (PLCs) that offer peer support and mentoring opportunities, especially about content, pedagogical approaches, and instruction-embedded assessments.

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This resource aligns with the core pedagogical principle of:

Building an EAD-Ready Classroom and School

EAD teachers cultivate and sustain a learning environment by partnering with administrators, students, and families to conduct deep inquiry about the multifaceted stories of American constitutional democracy. They set expectations that all students know they belong and contribute to the classroom community. Students establish ownership and responsibility for their learning through mutual respect and an inclusive culture that enables students to engage courageously in rigorous discussion.

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This resource aligns with the core pedagogical principle of:

Inquiry as the Primary Mode for Learning

EAD teachers not only use the EAD Roadmap inquiry prompts as entry points to teaching full and complex content, but also cultivate students’ capacity to develop their own deep and critical inquiries about American history, civic life, and their identities and communities. They embrace these rigorous inquiries as a way to advance students’ historical and civic knowledge, and to connect that knowledge to themselves and their communities. They also help students cultivate empathy across differences and inquisitiveness to ask difficult questions, which are core to historical understanding and constructive civic participation.

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This resource aligns with the core pedagogical principle of:

Practice of Constitutional Democracy and Student Agency

EAD teachers use their content knowledge and classroom leadership to model our constitutional principle of “We the People” through democratic practices and promoting civic responsibilities, civil rights, and civic friendship in their classrooms. EAD teachers deepen students’ grasp of content and concepts by creating student opportunities to engage with real-world events and problem-solving about issues in their communities by taking informed action to create a more perfect union.

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This resource aligns with the core pedagogical principle of:

Assess, Reflect, and Improve

EAD teachers use assessments as a tool to ensure all students understand civics content and concepts and apply civics skills and agency. Students have the opportunity to reflect on their learning and give feedback to their teachers in higher-order thinking exercises that enhance as well as measure learning. EAD teachers analyze and utilize feedback and assessment for self-reflection and improving instruction.

X
This resource aligns with the core pedagogical principle of:
EAD teachers commit to learn about and teach full and multifaceted historical and civic narratives. They appreciate student diversity and assume all students’ capacity for learning complex and rigorous content. EAD teachers focus on inclusion and equity in both content and approach as they spiral instruction across grade bands, increasing complexity and depth about relevant history and contemporary issues.

X
This resource aligns with the core pedagogical principle of:

Growth Mindset and Capacity Building

EAD teachers have a growth mindset for themselves and their students, meaning that they engage in continuous self-reflection and cultivate self-knowledge. They learn and adopt content as well as practices that help all learners of diverse backgrounds reach excellence. EAD teachers need continuous and rigorous professional development (PD) and access to professional learning communities (PLCs) that offer peer support and mentoring opportunities, especially about content, pedagogical approaches, and instruction-embedded assessments.

X
This resource aligns with the core pedagogical principle of:

Building an EAD-Ready Classroom and School

EAD teachers cultivate and sustain a learning environment by partnering with administrators, students, and families to conduct deep inquiry about the multifaceted stories of American constitutional democracy. They set expectations that all students know they belong and contribute to the classroom community. Students establish ownership and responsibility for their learning through mutual respect and an inclusive culture that enables students to engage courageously in rigorous discussion.

X
This resource aligns with the core pedagogical principle of:

Inquiry as the Primary Mode for Learning

EAD teachers not only use the EAD Roadmap inquiry prompts as entry points to teaching full and complex content, but also cultivate students’ capacity to develop their own deep and critical inquiries about American history, civic life, and their identities and communities. They embrace these rigorous inquiries as a way to advance students’ historical and civic knowledge, and to connect that knowledge to themselves and their communities. They also help students cultivate empathy across differences and inquisitiveness to ask difficult questions, which are core to historical understanding and constructive civic participation.

X
This resource aligns with the core pedagogical principle of:

Practice of Constitutional Democracy and Student Agency

EAD teachers use their content knowledge and classroom leadership to model our constitutional principle of “We the People” through democratic practices and promoting civic responsibilities, civil rights, and civic friendship in their classrooms. EAD teachers deepen students’ grasp of content and concepts by creating student opportunities to engage with real-world events and problem-solving about issues in their communities by taking informed action to create a more perfect union.

X
This resource aligns with the core pedagogical principle of:

Assess, Reflect, and Improve

EAD teachers use assessments as a tool to ensure all students understand civics content and concepts and apply civics skills and agency. Students have the opportunity to reflect on their learning and give feedback to their teachers in higher-order thinking exercises that enhance as well as measure learning. EAD teachers analyze and utilize feedback and assessment for self-reflection and improving instruction.

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