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We the People: Project Citizen is a curricular program for middle
grade, high school and post-secondary students that promotes competent
and responsible participation in local and state government. The program
helps young people learn how to monitor and influence public policy. In
the process, they develop support for democratic values and principles,
tolerance, and feelings of political efficacy.
Entire classes of students or members of youth organizations work
cooperatively to identify a public policy problem in their community.
They then research the problem, evaluate alternative solutions, develop
their own solution in the form of a public policy, and create a
political action plan to enlist local or state authorities to adopt
their proposed policy. Participants develop a portfolio of their work
and present their project in a hearing showcase before a panel of
civic-minded community members.
Project Citizen focuses on the role of state and
local governments in the U.S. federal system. The curriculum involves an
entire class of students or members of a youth organization, in a series
of structured, cooperative learning activities that are guided by
teachers, organization leaders, and adult volunteers. Working in
cooperative teams, the students learn to interact with their government
through a five-step process that includes:
1. identifying a problem in their community that requires a
public policy solution
2. gathering and evaluating information on the
problem
3. examining and evaluating alternative
solutions
4. developing a proposed public policy to address the
problem
5. developing an action plan to get their policy adopted by
government
Students’ work is displayed in a class portfolio containing
a display section and a documentation section (pictured
above).
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