Democratic Knowledge Project

Educators across the U.S. continue to grapple with a shifting policy landscape and its implications for their classrooms and their learners.

ValuesinTeaching.org is designed to help teachers navigate challenging conversation and lead with their values, within and outside of the classroom. On the site, you can engage in values reflection exercises, walk through activities and explainers about navigating legal and policy risk in your learning environment, and learn strategies for having tough conversations with your learners and with other adults. The site has been recently updated to include new resources on community values and curricular adaptation decisions.

We are happy to have partnered with EdEthics and Project Zero on the Summer 2025 Create-a-Thon that led to the creation of these materials!

The Civic Learning Week National Forum in Philadelphia is next week, and we’re so thrilled to have a cohort of 38 school-based and non-profit civic educators joining us as 2026 National Civic Forum Fellows! These educators have been nominated and sponsored by civil society organizations, and will bring insights from the Forum back to support high-quality civic learning in their communities. We are deeply grateful to our sponsors: American Indian Center of Houston, Stuart Foundation, Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), and Veterans for All Voters.

The 2026 National Civic Forum Fellows are:

🔹Jessica Culver (Ozark High School)
🔹Eric Alvarez (Glenn L. Downs Social Sciences Academy)
🔹Adam Kubey (Jefferson Union High School)
🔹Carolyn Power (Riverside Unified School District)
🔹Elizabeth Karn (Life Learning Academy Charter)
🔹Elizabeth Ramos (Alta Loma High School)
🔹Jalyn Barnard (Riverside Unified School District)
🔹Judy Smith (San Lorenzo High School)
🔹Louis S. Bonsteel IV (Huntington Park Senior High School)
🔹Megan Smith (Alliance College Ready Public Schools)
🔹Tamisha Allen Smith (Salinas Union High School District)
🔹Valerie Ziegler (Lincoln High School)
🔹Wes Batcheller (Etiwanda High School)
🔹Shae Parks (Milford Senior High School)
🔹George Garner (Sumner High School)
🔹Tony Pirotta (Sumner High School)
🔹Zachary Weaver (Rotaract Global Service Club)
🔹Susan Harris-Boring (Kaiserslautern Middle School)
🔹Adrienne Stang (Cambridge Public Schools)
🔹Darcy Daniels (Nipmuc Regional High School)
🔹Thomas Trainor (Rindge Avenue Upper Campus)
🔹Emilia Toth (Democracy Maine)
🔹Michael C. Martirone (Egg Harbor Township High School)
🔹Nicole Wright (Richard M. Teitelman Middle School)
🔹Theresa Maughan (East Orange STEM Academy)
🔹Joaquin R. Sanchez (South Valley Academy)
🔹Ray B. Shackelford (National Urban League)
🔹Nancy J. Brewer (Belle Isle Enterprise Middle School)
🔹Emily Sattler (Commonwealth Charter Academy)
🔹Starleisha Michelle Gingrich (LancasterHistory)
🔹Marc Arlen Turner (Spring Hill High School)
🔹Melissa Collins (John P Freeman School)
🔹Barbara Geerdes (North East Independent School District)
🔹Julie Zahn (American Indian Center of Houston & Tunica - Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana)
🔹Erin Merrill (Pennington Traditional School)
🔹Christopher Sheehan (Twinfield Union School)
🔹Jennifer Bradley (Beaverton School District)
🔹Jerry Price (Muckleshoot Tribal School)

Projects within and outside of the classroom can promote authentic and meaningful civic learning for students of all ages. Join us at our upcoming workshop, “Civic Learning Through Projects: Getting Started,” to learn about foundational frameworks and approaches to help you implement projects in your context.

Registration is now open and is just $10!
📌 Tuesday, February 24, from 7:30-9pm ET
🔗 Register here: cvent.me/mg7gmB

📚 Did you know? The Civic Learning Institute offers a menu of personalized and interactive workshops for K-12 teachers focused on powerful strategies for civic teaching and learning. Our workshops can be delivered virtually or in-person, and cover topics such as:
✔️ Managing difficult classroom conversations
✔️ Supporting student-led civics projects
✔️ Building inclusive and participatory classrooms

🔗 Complete the interest form today to learn more: https://www.civiclearninginstitute.org/workshops

The Civic Learning Institute is an initiative of the Democratic Knowledge Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.