Civic Engagement Training Program
The
Institute's Civic Engagement service-learning
programs include: CDYC - The Community Development
Youth Corps and KIND - Kids Initiating Neighborhood
Development. The goal of these programs is to
empower young people to take an active role in their
community using service-learning strategies to
develop academic skills, responsibility, character,
and Civic Engagement.
Description
The Community
Development Youth Corps and KIND are Civic
Engagement service-learning programs infused into
the curriculum that supports the learning goals of
courses such as English, Social Studies, Social
Sciences, and Science. The Community Development
Youth Corps supports the eight standards identified
by the National Council for Social Studies as
"Expectations for Excellence" in Civic Engagement.
Students
participating in these Civic Engagement
service-learning programs investigate and evaluate
the needs of their community to identify areas for
action. Partnerships are established with members of
the community to assist students in designing and
implementing service-learning projects.
Program Development
The
Institute's Civic Engagement service-learning
programs have continued to expand and develop since
their inception in October 1996. Based on the
premise that students need to know "how" to be
participatory, active citizens and need to have a
variety of opportunities to practice Civic
Engagement skills within the community, the models
have evolved to a level that allows for smooth and
simple replication and implementation into other
schools.
The original
project participants consisted of three Philadelphia
high schools (Bartram, Kensington, and Simon Gratz)
and included approximately seventy-five students.
The pilot grew during the 1998-99 school year to
include four additional high schools within the
city, thirteen middle schools, and a suburban high
school. Overall, 700 young people were involved in
active citizenship through real world problem
solving.
The 1997-98
school year saw the beginnings of the Community
Development Youth Corps model in England. The
program, sponsored by Community Service Volunteers
(CSV) began with two schools, Battersea Technology
College in Wandsworth and Walworth School in
Southwark. Both schools are located in economically
depressed areas and have a record of behavior and
truancy problems. Using the model developed during
the first year of the Philadelphia project, the CDYC
in England was able to show positive results
including an increase in verbal and written
communication skills and student participation in
class. The CDYC model in England was then expanded
to include a more diverse population of students
from primary and secondary schools in the city of
London and surrounding areas.
The CDYC
Facilitator's Guide has been translated for use by
teachers in Lithuania and Sweden. The IGESL has used
the KIND and CDYC models to train hundreds of
AmeriCorps members in preparation for their work
promoting service-learning in Pennsylvania and New
Jersey schools.
Civic
Engagement Training Information
Civic
Engagement Training Manuals
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