Welcome to the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools

The Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools is a coalition of 40 organizations committed to improving the quality and quantity of civic learning in American schools. The Campaign's goal is to increase and improve civic learning in grades K-12 by working for policies that implement the recommendations of the Civic Mission of Schools report. This includes efforts to bring about changes in national, state, and local education policy.

The idea of the civic mission of schools is not new. Many of our founding fathers advocated the establishment of public schools as the only way of preserving American democracy. We encourage you to explore our site and to learn more about the work of the Campaign and its coalition of partner organizations.

New Study Released: Effective Civic Learning Builds 21st Century Skills

The Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools and the American Bar Association (Public Education Division) are proud to announce the release of a new study that shows effective civic learning builds the 21st Century Skills important to a student's success in College, Career and Citizenship."Paths to 21st Century Competencies Through Civic Education," was authored by Dr. Judith Torney-Purta (University of Maryland), an internationally respected education and psychology scholar; with Dr. Britt Wilkenfeld. The results of the study show that those students who receive quality civic learning experiences showed the highest scores on demonstrating 21st Century Competencies.

• Read the executive summary
  
• Read the full study

Civic Education on the Daily Show!

In early March, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart featured former Supreme Court Justice (and current CMS co-chair) Sandra Day O'Connor discussing the importance of the civic mission of schools. Click here to watch the video.

Campaign Conducts OpEd Blitz Nationwide!

The Campaign launched a major publicity effort to place Opinion Editorials in newspapers across the nation on or about September 17th, Constitution Day. Prominent authors were recruited to pen op-eds on the vital importance of civic learning and the need to restore the civic mission of schools. Dozens of op-eds have been published as part of this drive. Authors have included Campaign Advisory Committee Co-Chairs Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Congressman Lee Hamilton, as well as a range of other prominent Americans from both political parties and our state campaigns across the nation. Click any of the names below to read the op-eds.

National Op-eds:

• Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Congressman Lee Hamilton (Christian Science Monitor)
• Secretary Norm Mineta (San Jose Mercury News)
• Majority Leader Dick Gephardt (St. Louis Post Dispatch)
• Senators Richard Lugar and George McGovern (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette)
  
• Senator John Culver (Des Moines Register)
• Congressman Leon Panetta (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Congressman David Skaggs (Devner Post)
• Judge Marjorie Rendell (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Doug Bailey (The Hill)
  

State Op-eds:

• Supreme Court Justice Tom Balmer and Professor Dan Balmer (The Oregonian)
• State Superintendent Dr. Marilyn Howard (Idaho Statesmen)
• Utah Chief Justice Christine Durham (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Former Governor Brendan Byrne, Justice Daniel O'Hern, and Attorney General John Degnan (Newark Star Ledger)
• State Representative Lyla Berg (Honolulu Advertizer)
• Chief Justice Paul Reiber (Burlinton Free Press)
• Vee Gordon (Burlinton Free Press)
• Senator Hanna Gallo, Representative Susan Story, and Michael Trofi (Rhode Island)

Justice O'Connor Speaks at CMS Steering Committee Meeting

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Co-chair of the Campaign's National Advisory Committee, met with the Campaign Steering Committee on September 23rd at the Newseum in Washington, DC. Members of the Steering Committee reviewed position papers and recommendations for new projects for the Campaign to undertake to help every school in the nation strengthen their approach to civic learning.

• Click here for a picture from the meeting.