Civic Learning Award: Oak Grove Middle School
Oak Grove Middle School
County of: San Diego
Civic Learning Award of: Distinction
Recognized for: A Constitution-themed curriculum is part of their required Social Studies class, and Project Citizen which gives students guided practice in being active civic participants in their communities.
Civic Learning Description
Oak Grove Middle School offers programs like We the People to promote critical thinking and long-term civic participation by allowing older students to learn the historical basis for issues they face today. Through Project Citizen, students identify problems in their communities, explore solutions using civic inquiry, and take a leadership role by presenting their community plans to local policy makers.
Research-Based Civic Education Practices
This school demonstrates the following research-based best practices in civic education:
- Provide instruction in government, history, law and democracy, and avoid teaching only rote facts about dry procedures.
- Discuss current local, national and international issues and events in the classroom, particularly those that young people view as important to their lives.
- Conduct community service that is linked to the formal curriculum and classroom (Service-learning).
- Encourage student participation in school governance.
- Encourage students’ participation in simulations of democratic process and procedures such as voting, trials, legislative deliberation, and diplomacy.
For more information on research-based best practices, visit the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools website
Contact Information
Ms. Lyz Bystedt
lbystedt@jdusd.org
(619) 937-1065