Kealakehe High School, a 9-12 public high school on Hawaii's Big Island, established its Citizenship First program at its opening in 1997. 

Its teacher-development Citizenship Course (taken all 4 years at this high school) has a specific focus on five strands: philosophy, civic values, mindfulness, service learning, and relationships, which in themselves send a message to students that citizenship is multi-dimensional.

The greatest strengths in the program as described are student voice -- there is much active learning and production of knowledge related to civic learning.  In addition, students are connected to the community through service-learning and news broadcasts that are produced at the school and shared over television at two times per day.

The framework for the program evolved out of a series of brainstorm sessions that took place between Principal Wil Murakami and the teachers who were planning to work at the new school. 

During these discussions, Mr. Murakami and the teachers wanted to tackle some of the essential questions that define what a school truly stands for. 

How could educators impact not only what students should know and be able to do, but also what they would care about? 

How could they infuse the curriculum with the “great ideas” upon which our great country was founded? 

What would they need to do to give students a chance to discuss and explore ethics, various philosophies, the importance of character, and so on? 

 In short, how could we help develop not only smart students but, more importantly, good citizens who would help make this world a better place?  In an effort to answer these questions, the “Citizenship First” program was developed.

CURRICULUM


The school-wide Citizenship First curriculum includes five main strands.

Philosophies and Ethics 

Students study ethical frameworks and philosophies from around the world and throughout history, and have in-class activities to discuss various situations and ethical points of view. 

Rather than be encouraged to accept one ethical framework over another, students are exposed to different ideas, different philosophies and ways of thinking.  

Civic Values

Videos and lessons are used to promote universal values like respect, responsibility, courage, truth, etc. that have allowed our democratic republic to succeed.  Students also study the lives and actions of heroes and programs/organizations that exemplify these civic values.

Additionally, students practice making their voice heard through student body elections, Kids Vote, online and paper surveys and also by demonstrating the qualities of a good citizen through activities and discussions in class.  

Mindfulness

In order to be a productive and responsible citizen, one must be informed about issues and concerned about other people.  Kealakahe calls this attitude mindfulness. 

Its Citizenship program focuses on issues that relate to the local community, state, and world.  Students study history, often in the context of current events to make the issues part of a relevant and dynamic educational experience that encourages them to become caring and compassionate young people who can put their civic values into action. 

Service-Learning

In addition to learning about the civic responsibilities of a good citizen, students also participate in service-learning.  Projects include hosting a youth relay for life where over the last three years students have raised over $80,000 to help fight cancer; helping with the local Ironman triathlon; planting a tree on campus in memory of American veterans; raising over $4000 for UNICEF over two years; collecting cans and money for the local food bank; and raising about $8,600 for the American Red Cross/Hurricane Katrina Relief. 

Kealakehe emphasizes that responsible citizenship requires one to be productive and give back to the school and community.   

Relationships

Kealakehe High School’s vision statement is: “Harmony and Unity through Dynamic Education and Community for Everyone, Everytime.” 

One goal of Citizenship is to provide our students with a common school-wide experience that fosters the development of “harmony, unity and community.” The whole school starts the day by everyone standing for an “ID/dress code” check/focusing activity, watching the public service announcements together, and discussing common issues.

As a result, the school community is able to share in a common message and a common culture. 

Furthermore, since students stay with the same Citizenship teacher and class for all four years of their high school career, students build strong relationships with at least one adult on campus and with one group of students.

Social Studies teachers Yannabah Lewis and David Huitt write, "The goal of our Citizenship First program is to make young people aware that there are different philosophies and other ways of viewing things rather than the predominately materialistic values they are often taught by popular culture.

"At the very least, young people will then have the freedom to make a real choice regarding how they want to live—it won’t simply be a matter of defaulting to the pursuit of pleasure because they know nothing else."

POLICIES

In Citizenship, students can earn up to one social studies credit over 4 years if they earn a grade of 85% each year.  There is also a make-up policy where students who are below 85% can demonstrate good citizenship by completing certain lessons and also performing volunteer service. 

Kealakehe High School requires students to be “citizens in good standing,” which includes passing Citizenship, in order to participate in co-curricular activities like dances and commencement exercises.  Through this policy, the school expresses the value it places on Citizenship, especially at activities that require a great deal of volunteer time from adults.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Most professional development decisions are made at the school-level; however, it is involved in joint/district-wide trainings and initiatives, largely related to NCLB and focusing on English and Math Teachers. 

To further its civic mission, Kealakehe often chooses to create profesional development around civic learning and character education topics.  For example, as a school it decided to bring in David Dillon to train both teachers and students on deliberation, and Dr. Art Costa to teach the Habits of Mind.