To empower elementary and middle school students for effective and responsible civic engagement, MCCHE is partnering with the Center for Civic Education for the Project Community program. Our goal is to deliver professional learning that integrates media literacy with hands-on engagement in public policy and an enriched experience in civic education for learners and educators alike.
In July 2025, MCCHE conducted its first annual Project Community summer institute hosting 35 educators in historic Annapolis for a week of professional learning. MCCHE collaborated with state partners in the District of Columbia, Connecticut, Virginia, and New York to deliver professional learning including demonstrations on 8 new lessons addressing challenges to accessing and analyzing reliable information in today’s media environment. Educators were paired with mentor teachers to support their discovery of new ways to facilitate student analysis of media sources, organization policy information, and use media to responsibly inform others about policy issues. This professional learning summer institute supports educators in implementing the Project Citizen curricular program to engage their students in collaboratively proposing solutions to policy problems in their communities. In addition to the classroom experience, participants were treated to visits to historic homes and museums as well as a tour of the Naval Academy in downtown Annapolis. Participants will continue to receive professional learning throughout the year as they head back to the classroom to implement their own We the People program.
MARYLAND COUNCIL FOR CIVIC AND HISTORY EDUCATION 