Leadership and Citizenship Development (CIA)

Citizens in Action takes the task of classroom discipline and places it in the hands of the students themselves. It borrows from the government and citizenship component of the MicroSociety program and implements it on a smaller scale. One period per week, students come together to rule their school.

CIA transports the traditional student council into the 21st century through interdisciplinary exploration of connections between school and the community. Negative peer groups bow to the advantages of positive peer pressure. The perfect service learning vehicle, CIA also provides a forum for developing cultural sensitivities, a practical understanding of how a democracy works and an appreciation for the rule of law. It introduces a system of student led justice and task forces that deal with real social, economic, and community issues both within the school and in the surrounding community.

CIA students own their world. They take pride in making it a good place to be. Soon enough, the task of running our world will fall to these capable young people. With help from the Citizens in Action program, you can consider them prepared.

This program, designed with supporting materials, is applicable K-12 though only upper grade students hold jobs.

Components of CIA
Teaching citizenship doesn’t work. Living it does!

• Peace Officers
  Peace officers enforce student- made laws with citations and by sending offenders to court.
• Government
  Students take ownership of problems with a student-elected legislature. They interview their constituents and formulate draft solutions in a school constitution.
• Court
  Students face the consequences of their actions when they break the law. The also learn key differences between civil and criminal trials by creating a courtroom of their own.
• Task Forces
  Students form task forces to examine important concerns of the-community-from literacy awareness to environmental dangers impacting our world to school beautification and lobby student legislators to support their causes.
• Classroom Activists
  Classroom activists raise awareness and facilitate implementation of proposed solutions to the problems of the community.

For more information on the Citizens in Action program, contact Pam Coad at (215) 407-5437 or click here to view our CIA brochure.