Two organizations dedicated to civics and history education have joined the Civics Renewal Network (CRN), a consortium of nonpartisan, nonprofit partners dedicated to strengthening civic life in the United States.
The Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Engagement, a Philadelphia-based organization, and Retro Report, which produces short documentaries and videos on historical events, have joined the partners in CRN, bringing the total to 39.
CRN was launched following a 2013 Civics Summit at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. A project of the policy center, CRN is an alliance that seeks to improve civics education by making high-quality, no-cost resources on civics, government, and history available to teachers, classes, and students through an easy-to-use, one-stop website: https://www.civicsrenewalnetwork.org/.
The educational resources are searchable by subject, grade level, standards, teaching strategy, resource type, and civic holiday. Teachers can also find information from the partners about professional development opportunities, student competitions, teacher awards, and special events.
“The Rendell Center and Retro Report provide excellent resources for K-12 that further enhance the content of the Civics Renewal Network website,” said Ellen Iwamoto, who runs the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s civics education projects. “We are delighted to be working with both organizations.”
The new partners are:
The Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Engagement: The Rendell Center was founded in 2013 by former Philadelphia Mayor and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and U.S. Judge Marjorie O. Rendell. The center, a partner of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, aims “to promote civic education and engagement” by providing “tools and opportunities for students and educators.” Among its activities, the center provides lesson plans and materials, conducts an annual essay contest for students about issues in democracy, provides a summer institute for teachers, and hosts a podcast series about judges and judicial issues.
Retro Report: Retro Report is a nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to creating short-form documentary films that connect past and present. Its materials help foster engagement and critical thinking skills with over 250 videos along with freely available lesson plans and student activities that are perfect for civics and government, U.S. and world history, and other social studies subjects.
