Students from River Valley Middle School in Spring Green took first place. Their portfolio, “Digging Out of Deficit,” focused on funding challenges facing their school district and will travel to the Project Citizen National Showcase this summer in Louisville, Ky.
May 19, 2010 – Funding school costs, tobacco advertising that targets teens and bad behavior on school busses were among the tough public policy issues addressed by students from 19 Wisconsin elementary, middle and high schools in the 2010 Project Citizen Portfolio and Hearing Showcase.
Student portfolios on display at the Capitol.
Students from River Valley Middle School in Spring Green took first place in the competition, on May 1 in Madison. Their portfolio, “Digging Out of Deficit,” focused on funding challenges facing their school district and will travel to the Project Citizen National Showcase this summer in Louisville, Ky.
Project Citizen is a portfolio-based civic education program that promotes participation in state and local government. Designed for students in upper elementary, middle school, and high school civics education, it actively engages students in learning how to monitor and influence public policy. As a class project, students work together to identify and study a public policy issue, evaluate options, select a solution to the problem and develop an action plan to solve the problem. The final product is a table-top or electronic portfolio summarizing their findings.
The event culminates in a simulated legislative hearing, where students discuss their projects to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of how public policy is formulated. Seventeen teams presented their portfolios at the State Bar Center on Friday, April 30, and participated in simulated hearings at the State Capitol on Saturday, May 1.
A long-time Project Citizen evaluator, retired Madison attorney Thomas Boykoff offers feedback to students.
Project Citizen is administered nationally by the Center for Civic Education in cooperation with the National Conference of State Legislatures. Locally it is administered by the State Bar of Wisconsin.
