The Civics Renewal Network (CRN), a consortium dedicated to strengthening civic life in the United States, has added three civics and history education organizations to the network, bringing the total to 39.
The three new members are the New-York Historical Society, the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, and Civics 101 Podcast, a project of New Hampshire Public Radio.
Launched after a Civics Summit was convened in 2013 at the Annenberg Public Policy Center, CRN is an alliance of 39 nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations that seek to improve civics education in schools by making available no-cost, high-quality classroom resources on civics, government and history. The group’s members share the belief that “understanding the Constitution plays a vital role in creating knowledgeable and engaged citizens” and seek to raise the visibility of civics education by offering learning materials through the one-stop, easy-to-navigate CRN website: https://www.civicsrenewalnetwork.org/.
Partner organizations have taken part in activities celebrating Constitution Day, September 17, which marks the signing of the U.S. Constitution by the Founding Fathers. Those activities have included an annual Preamble Challenge to recite or perform the Preamble to the Constitution in creative ways and naturalization ceremonies for new citizens by the U.S. courts.
“We’re delighted to welcome these new members to the Civics Renewal Network,” said Ellen Iwamoto, who runs civics programs for the Annenberg Public Policy Center. “Since its founding, CRN has grown from 26 organizations to 39. Strengthening civics education and civic life is an essential part of creating an informed citizenry, and we’re excited to have these organizations contribute their excellent resources to this effort.”
From the new partners’ mission statements:
The New-York Historical Society was established in 1804 as New York’s first museum. Today, its Education Division provides dynamic programming and curriculum resources for students and teachers across the country. We believe historical study sparks curiosity and creativity, promotes cultural understanding, and fosters an empowered citizenry to strengthen our democracy. For featured resources, click here.
The U.S. Capitol Visitor Center is the visitors’ gateway to the Capitol. Through educational programming, tours and exhibits, the center informs, involves and inspires every visitor to the Capitol. Educational materials celebrate the art, architecture and history of the Capitol. We strive to stimulate discussions of the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship in our representative democracy and explain the role that Congress plays in our daily lives. For featured resources, click here.
Civics 101 Podcast was launched by New Hampshire Public Radio on Inauguration Day 2017. Civics 101 is the podcast refresher course on the basics of how our government works, taking an expansive view of civics, exploring not only the institutions of government but also the rights and responsibilities of citizens, no matter their age. For featured resources, click here.
Other partners include the National Constitution Center; U.S. Courts; Street Law; National Archives and Records Administration; Library of Congress; Annenberg Classroom, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center; iCivics; C-SPAN Classroom; Constitutional Rights Foundation; Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History; Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate; Center for Civic Education; and the Bill of Rights Institute. For the full list of partners, see CRN.
