Project Citizen
In Vermont, local government organizations partnered with the national Project Citizen program to address concerns that youths were not involved in community affairs or government and were not voting. Project Citizen is a curricular program for middle grade students that promotes competent and responsible participation in all levels of government.
Project Citizen uses a hands-on, interactive approach to teaching about public policy. Students work in teams to choose a project issue, research it, and develop a portfolio of their findings. In each state, a competition is held at the end of the year and students are presented with awards. The state champion goes onto the nationals in Washington, DC. The program gives young people the skills to work in and influence public policy. In the process, they develop support for democratic values and principles, tolerance, and feelings of political empowerment. “The interactive approach gets all students involved in learning about civics and local government,” says Karen Horn. “Students who do not usually get involved seem to be drawn to the interactive aspects of Project Citizen.”
"[Students researching the potholes in the school driveway] had to find the pressure point: Is it the principal, the school board, the superintendent? They had to ask, How do we push the right buttons to change the public policy? One key thing students learn is how change is made; they become agents of change. They also learn communication skills to persuade the public officials and community to accept their point of view."— Bill Haines, State Coordinator, Vermont Project Citizen
Project Citizen in Vermont was initiated in 1997 by Bill Haines, a retired teacher on a local official board; Haines continues to serve as the state coordinator. The Vermont League of Cities and Towns and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) have played critical roles in program development and implementation. The curriculum also follows the standards established by the Vermont Board of Education.
“In the last several years, Vermont’s Project Citizen students have identified national issues such as tobacco advertising in magazines for students, state issues such as the difficulty Vermont’s foster children have financing a college education, and local problems such as torn-up pavement in the school driveway. Students have found solutions to these problems and have met with politicians to lobby for change. Then they watched as tobacco companies halted their advertising, a revolving scholarship fund was created for foster kids, and their road was repaved.”--Susan Youngwood, Times Argus Sunday Magazine, May 15, 2005.
“In the last several years, Vermont’s Project Citizen students have identified national issues such as tobacco advertising in magazines for students, state issues such as the difficulty Vermont’s foster children have financing a college education, and local problems such as torn-up pavement in the school driveway. Students have found solutions to these problems and have met with politicians to lobby for change. Then they watched as tobacco companies halted their advertising, a revolving scholarship fund was created for foster kids, and their road was repaved.”--Susan Youngwood, Times Argus Sunday Magazine, May 15, 2005.
Project Citizen has cost the partners in Vermont and estimated $8,000 for teacher materials, workshops, the competition and awards. One of the benefits of the program, say staff, is that it can be run on a shoestring budget—important in a state as small as Vermont. The program currently is offered to middle school students, program staff would like to expand the program to the high school level. Workshops at the annual social studies teacher conference and mailings to schools and teachers are used to spread the word about the program and promote involvement, but program staff indicates that it is difficult to compete with the many demands on the social studies curriculum.
