by Colleen Bogdan and Sophia Haggerty
Summary
In 2023, CivicLex established a K-12 program to educate students about their local government and promote civic engagement within their Lexington, Kentucky community. The program included civic action workshops, a comprehensive civic curriculum, and expos where students could interact with local community organizations and public officials. This initiative fostered connections between students and civic leaders, enhanced students’ understanding of local government and the issues facing Lexington, and created opportunities for deeper civic learning.
Organization Background: CivicLex, a nonprofit organization based in Lexington, Kentucky, aims to enhance the civic health of Lexington-Fayette County by designing educational programs, hosting civic workshops, and covering local news. In 2023, CivicLex partnered with Fayette County Public Schools and the national nonprofit Generation Citizen to launch a K-12 program, adapting their work to be more youth-focused and implementing it in Lexington’s public high schools.
Snapshot
Project Goals
Richard Young, Founder and Executive Director of CivicLex, sought to localize civic education and make it more accessible for Lexington youth. By launching the K-12 program, CivicLex intended to:
- Adapt the civic education workshops for high school students
- Connect students and teachers with local elected officials and community organizations to form lasting connections
- Make local government less intimidating and more accessible by teaching students the basics of civics
Project Resources
The project’s funding comes from grants, individual donors and members. It costs around $100,000 per year.
Impact
One of CivicLex’s strategies involved adapting its Civic Education workshops for high school students. Curated content was taught in 48 classrooms across the Fayette County Public School District, including information about the structure and function of the Lexington-Fayette County Government and the city budget. To make local government more approachable, council members recorded video messages to feature in the workshops.
A cohort of six teachers, one from every public high school in Lexington-Fayette County, was established to enhance the existing curriculum for their classrooms.
While developing this curriculum and hosting workshops, CivicLex realized that students and teachers needed more opportunities to interact with their community beyond classroom instruction. Consequently, civic expos and instructor “externships” were introduced. CivicLex organized five Civic Expos, allowing 2,800 students to connect with 129 community organizations to familiarize themselves with local issues and leaders. As part of the “externship,” CivicLex also took teachers to community departments to help them understand local government and community leaders.
How it Happened
Richard Young, a practicing artist with nearly a decade of experience in civic engagement and community development, is the Founder and Executive Director of CivicLex. He is dedicated to making civic engagement more accessible for Lexington youth and connecting young citizens with their local government. Through the public input process, CivicLex discovered that many people felt uncomfortable engaging in civic discourse. The project aimed to bring local government to the people, rather than the other way around, to alleviate this intimidation.
What Worked
1. Increased student engagement with local government and civic organizations
CivicLex’s expos attracted 2,800 high school students and 129 community organizations. A survey conducted after the expos revealed that some students contacted these organizations afterward, leading to volunteer opportunities or employment. This demonstrated that lasting connections were formed between the students and their community. Additionally, community organizations reached out to CivicLex due to their impactful work with students.
2. “Externships” created for teachers due to increased interest
After touring Lexington’s local government and state departments, the initial group of teachers expressed that this experience would be a valuable resource for teaching civics. This activity, termed an “externship,” was first held in Spring 2024 and will continue in Fall 2024.
What Could Have Worked Better
1. Challenges of using a pre-fabricated curriculum
Stephanie Mobley, Director of Civic Education, has expressed that it was difficult for teachers to fit the Generation Citizen civic curriculum into their classrooms due to the existing course load determined by the district framework and state standards. The Generation Citizen curriculum is designed to be taught sequentially. If a teacher decides that a particular civics lesson is timely, they must follow the sequential order and teach the preceding lessons first. This requirement posed additional challenges for teachers using the Generation Citizen curriculum, as it disrupted synchronization with their teaching partners. Mobley stated that “trying to squeeze in lessons is very challenging” when the existing curriculum is already full.
2. Lack of financial support
CivicLex is a nationally recognized organization, but because it is so localized, finding financial support beyond grants and local donations is challenging. Mobley notes that additional funding could expand and diversify CivicLex’s capabilities to strengthen civic health.
3. Find ways to better engage lower grade levels
While the project focused on working with high schools in the Fayette County School District, no expos or workshops were hosted for lower grade levels. As the K-12 program is in its first year of development, CivicLex plans to engage with K-8 students in the future.
What Else You Should Know
CivicLex’s projects also extend to working with college students. In collaboration with their cornerstone partner, the University of Kentucky, they host workshops, discuss leadership and learning pathways, and collaborate with the political science department to curate content for the program and engage college students civically.
Learn More
To learn more, reach out to CivicLex by email or on X. You can also check out the following links: