The civic learning strengths of Nursery Road Elementary School, a public school pre-K through grade 5, include

• the many voices involved in developing a civic mission and in starting a student council
• the responsible role the students take in the school
• specific examples of civic learning in the curriculum, augmenting school experiences with community involvement and field experiences.
  

Overall, the Civic Mission of Schools found it to be an excellent example of effective civic learning developing out of a set model.

Becoming part of theFirst Amendment Schools project in 2002 was a change agent for the school, says principal Mary Kennerly, although she acknowledges Nursery Road was already incorporating many civic learning elements, including conflict resoultion and community involvement in decision-making.

Through the school's involvement in First Amendment Schools, "we learned a lot and were able to do a lot," says Kennerly.  "One of the things we were required to do which was extremeley helpful was to put together an action plan.  Teachers, parents, guidance counselors, school administrators all sat down and set out where we wanted it to go.

 Now that we're a First Amendment School alumnus, we still set down every year with our action plan and assess what we have accomplished and where we are going next."

In addition, the First Amendment Schools' four guiding principles helped Nursery Road identify main concepts and organize activities around civic learning themes. 

Somewhat to Kennerly's surprise, the response to the emphasis on civic engagement was positive.  "First Amendment rights haven't always been something appreciated, supported, or discussed here, but we had a lot of support from parents and teachers," she said.  "We did a lot with the project that emphasized patriotism means supporting what the nation stands for, not necessarily one or two current issues."

The state Department of Education also visited the school and issued a complimentary report on its achievements.  Nursery Road was found to be meeting academic standards, as well as addressing the social and emotional growth of children.

In addition, since embracing a civic mission, the school saw improvement in student discipline and a significant increase in parent participation.    

 
CURRICULUM

State and district social studies standards include a civic componant in every grade level, Kennerly explains.  As a result, the curriculum covers a fair amount of civic knowledge -- the history of the constitution, how the government works, and the definition of "citizenship."

In addition, teachers have initiated civic learning in other aspects of the curriculum, especially related to literature.

Second graders read a book about how Rosa Parks used her First Amendment rights, and what they meant to her and the history of our country.  Older students read about a fifth grade girl who decides to publish her own school newspaper and gets in trouble.  The book illustrates concepts surrounding freedom of the press.

In addition, teachers have built reflective writing on civic-related matters into the curriculum.  The third graders made a poetry book that focused on different elements of the First Amendment. 

In the fourth and fifth grades, students grapple with expressing disagreement in a respectful way by writing and delivering a persuasive speech; the best are presented in an assembly.

Finally, teachers try to take students at least once a year to see a government entity in process -- a school board, legislature, or another group of elected adults in a meeting.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Currently, ongoing professional development for civic learning is still in its early stages, although the district provides two professional development specialists in literacy and science. 

Twice a year different teachers are selected to go to Washington, DC for a First Amendment School training. 

The workshops are wonderful, Kennerly says.  Teachers return inspired, and they share what they've learned formally and informally with other teachers.  "It's motivating to know you're working on a project with other people around the country," she says.

In addition, faculty spends a fair amount of time together.  Several times a year they have hourlong staff development after school, and they pick an in-service day for training, but also planning things they wanted to do, making decisions, and problem-solving.

"Good problem-solving and decision-making as a faculty has not been the easiest thing," admits Kennerly.  "But we have been using civics skills ourselves, making use of petitions and conflict resolution skills.  It is just as challenging for adults to use freedom of speech to be both direct and respectful."

Along with civic skills, staff is strengthening their content knowledge, too, about the history of the First Amendment and how it has affected decisions about education. 

They've studied court cases around the pledge of allegience and students' rights in schools. 

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

Because Nursery Road has a fairly diverse student population, staff thoguht it was important to reinforce the idea that everyone has equal access to rights under the Constitution, and everyone has the same privileges.  Little by little, Nursery Road was able to purchase a flag from every part of the world; they hang in the cafeteria and have received many compliments from families.

Other civic learning innovations have included a First Amendment cheer team, led by a male faculty member.  "The first meeting was at 7:30 on a Wednesday morning. 

One-hundred-and-fifty students showed up," says Kennerly.  "That was fine.  We kept everybody on the team."

The cheer team performs at all assemblies, and they wrote a song about the Constitution the entire school sings.  

In addition, second graders made a quilt about the First Amendment.  "Every child had a square on the quilt reflecting his or her thoughts on the First Amendment," explains

Kennerly.  "All around the edging we had the First Amendment written.  There was a dedication party, and the students invited their parents." 

Not to be outdone, the third graders made a flag out of the handprints of all the students.  The artwork was entered into the state fair and won a first prize.

As a school, the children have been involved in some pretty good service projects, Kennerly adds.  The biggest project was to spend two days at a local high school registering everyone who would be turning 18 the following year to vote.

The students then took the idea one step further.  Since Nursery Road is a polling place, students worked in shifts to make sure voters had an enjoyable experience.  They brought chairs, distributed leftover Halloween candy, provided childcare, and offered tickets so voters could get out of line without losing their places. 

"Students wanted to encourage people to come back again and use their right to vote," says Kennerly.

Finally, the school set up a "First Amendment room," where students' projects are displayed.  The room includes a First Amendment-related library and free materials. 

Student government meets in the First Amendment room, and teachers use it frequently for planning and team meetings.  "It's a comfortable, welcoming space," says Kennerly.