Nebraska Partnership Roadmap

Civics Nebraska
ROADMAP PROPOSAL
Goals and Action Plan Proposals

PHASE ONE: ASSESSMENT
Timeline: Immediate

Goal: Assess Nebraska’s need in the area of civic education.
Potential action plan proposals:

Idea#1: Develop a Nebraska survey. The need for improved civic education has been established nationally, but Nebraska would benefit from a more localized analysis.
Idea#2: Gather together people identified as having lost faith in government and politics to gain a better understanding of why they are not participating in the democratic process.
Idea#3: Convene a statewide roundtable, possibly using distance learning technology, to collect data, identify gaps and determine the next course of action.

PHASE TWO: RESOURCES
Timeline: Some items could be launched simultaneously with Phase One. Some may need to wait for the Phase One assessment to be completed.

Goal #1: Bring the community into the schools and the schools into the community.
Potential action plan proposals:

Idea #1: Create a speakers bureau for schools to draw from. The speakers should be from all three branches of government and the political parties. Develop guidelines to make sure that speakers are beneficial for students.
Idea #2: Better utilize existing programs as a way to get students more involved in the community. Create a clearinghouse of civics-related programs as a resource for teachers and students. One way to do this would be to create a Web site (civicsnebraska.org?).
Idea #3: Establish guidelines to make sure that service learning is meaningful for both the student and the organization. Encourage schools to allow students to participate in political campaigns for credit.

Goal #2: Improve students’ civic awareness and participation in our process.
Potential action plan proposals:

Idea #1: Encourage meaningful student government opportunities.
Idea #2: Encourage voter registration for high school seniors.
Idea #3: Encourage students to talk about civic participation in the home.

PHASE THREE: CURRICULUM
Timeline: After the assessment is completed

Goal: Better facilitate the civics curriculum needed in the classroom.
Potential action plan proposals:

Idea #1: Hold a teacher summit on civics to identify ways to assist teachers and avoid increasing their burden. The summit should serve as an open forum for sharing ideas.
Idea #2: Recommend a curriculum that instructs students how to participate in the process and that incorporates current events.
Idea #3: Encourage civic participation across the curriculum. Just as students work on writing skills in math and science, they also should relate class subjects to civic participation.