NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Matthew Green, a student at Redbank Valley High School, has been selected as a member of the inaugural Equity in Civics Youth Fellowship.
(Green, front row, second from left, poses with the other 11 students who were recently chosen to iCivics Youth Fellowship. Photo courtesy of iCivics.)
The fellowship a year-long program that will engage high school students from across the country to both explore how to make civics more inclusive and relevant to Americans of all backgrounds and to become civic leaders.
Created through a collaboration between iCivics and Generation Citizen, the fellowship will give students the opportunity to work with experts in civic engagement, advocacy, social and traditional media, and digital literacy to help build leadership and communication skills so that they can become student ambassadors for equity in civic education.
Funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the fellowship is part of a broader initiative of iCivics and Generation Citizen to explore the challenges that civic education has when it comes to diversity in an effort to improve civic teaching for K-12 school.
Throughout the course of the 2019-2020 school year, the fellows will participate in in-person and virtual workshops and trainings designed to prepare students to tell their story about equity in civics in compelling ways. They will work on group projects around advocacy at the state level, engage in group discussions on equity, civic education, civic engagement, and design civic action projects around the upcoming census and voter engagement
In addition, fellows will also work closely with the newly formed Equity in Civics Steering Committee, which was created through this broader initiative, to discuss student concerns about equitable civic education and student preparedness for civic life.
Matthew is one of 12 other students who was chosen to take part in the fellowship. Applicants were nominated by teachers and mentors for the program and then submitted a self-assessment and essay for consideration.
The first cohort of the fellowship includes students from major urban centers on the east and west coasts, rural communities, suburban communities, and a cross-section of socioeconomic and racial backgrounds.
“Redbank Valley is very fortunate,” Green said, “Our educators give us many opportunities to experience civics first hand. However, not all schools are able to provide these opportunities. This program aims to fix that.”
Green also stated that the fellowship will empower students around the country to speak out about issues that they feel are important.
Green and the rest of the fellows just returned to New Bethlehem from Washington D.C. for a weekend-long series of meetings and workshops at Georgetown University that kicked off the fellowship. While in the nation’s capital, they learned from experts such as the director of public engagement and government affairs at the Center for Educational Equity (CEE) at Teachers College, Joe Rogers; experts in digital literacy such as Benjamin Stokes of American University; as well as leaders from civic leadership nonprofits such as Young Invincibles and Student Voice.
“We created the Equity in Civics Youth Fellowship to address one of the most significant challenges that we in civic education face. For far too long, civics has been taught from only one perspective,” said iCivics Executive Director Louise Dubè. “We look forward to working with all of our fellows, helping them grow as advocates — and learning from them.”
“Youth voice is absolutely critical to empowering individuals to believe that they matter in our society. Our goal is to elevate the diversity of our students’ perspectives and experiences throughout the entirety of this experience.” said Amber Coleman-Mortley iCivics Director of Social Engagement and Fellowship Program Director.
About iCivics
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor founded iCivics in 2009 to transform the field through innovative, free educational video games and lessons that teach students to be knowledgeable, curious, and engaged in civic life. Today, iCivics is the nation’s largest provider of civic education curriculum, with our resources used by over 100,000 educators and more than 6.25 million students each year nationwide.
Visit www.icivics.org to learn more.
