Updates from the Education Action Group

A League of Women Voters representative presented a report on the activities that LWV can provide to schools when willing participants are identified. She reminded us that teachers have an extraordinary number of lessons to incorporate into their required curricula and that not everyone has the time or interest to incorporate additional material.

The representative brought examples of two resource books, along with a teacher's guide that can be used to enrich social studies/government lessons. She described many examples of special enrichment opportunities for students that teachers can provide or facilitate as classes or extracurricular activities.

• Kids Voting USA - ways to model voting for youth
  
• Sandra Day O'Connor's iCivics - an online resource
• Sequim - Mock Trial – an extracurricular activity, Criminal Trial this year
• Election reminders with daily school announcements
  
• Youth and Government - held at the YMCA of Port Angeles
• Students can earn a Community Service LETTER for 400 hours of work on a chosen subject/project
• Chamber of Commerce - Civics Competition

The LWV representative will send links to several sites available free to all. She reminded us that even though the average adult citizen can only score 30% on a Government literacy test, similar “lost information” scores also occur in most other subject areas.

LWV is completely non-partisan. The leadership considers issues the group agrees to research over time and then takes a position. This is never on a particular candidate or strictly partisan issue.

The LWV helps with voter registration at schools and throughout the community. A kids' voting activity can be presented as the adult registers in order to introduce the voting process.

The LWV representative distributed the RCW for Washington State's HS Civics:

• RCW 28A.230.094 What schools have to do
• RCW 28A.150.211 Making materials available
• RCW 29A.08.210 Notes
• RCW 28A.150.210 Civics as Basic Education

Actions for our committee:
Providing refresher courses in Government 101 would be a good goal. The enrichment textbook resources were of special interest to the group. They are clear and easy to use. We want to discuss further whether there is a way to raise money to provide a packet to each elementary school. We would need to determine:

• Teacher Interest?
• Cost?
• Number of schools in the County?
  
• Distribution?
• Training?
• Follow-up?
  These materials are also available online, free, and downloadable.
  
• Are there ways to assist the LWV? Volunteers? $$?

Links to some of the LWV materials and instruction videos will be sent when received.

Darlene distributed some useful information enabling us to take immediate action:

• Americans of Conscience Checklist: Take Action NOW - you can subscribe to Checklist - Americans of Conscience
• OSPI- Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction - all about our Public Schools, including all curriculum guidelines.
  Home | OSPI
• A new poster that will guide the PAHS this year:

           THE RIDER WAY
           Respect
           Integrity
           Determination
           Engagement
           Responsibility
          Spells our RIDER!