Civic Champions End of Year Highlights

The Civic Champions program seeks to equip students with a foundational understanding of U.S. government systems and empower them to become engaged community members. Through a 7-unit curriculum developed by a certified K-12 educator and designed to meet the current Washington State Standards of Social Studies standards, particularly within Civics, Social Studies Skills, and ELA standards for speaking, listening, and writing in a civic context-our facilitators led weekly workshops beginning in October of 2024 and culminating in May of 2025. Through 7-units students learned: 

• Foundations of Civic-Engagement: Unit-1

• Understanding Government: Unit-2

• Advocacy in Action: Unit-3

• Building Advocacy Strategies: Unit-4

• Leadership in Civic-Engagement: Unit-5

• Digital Advocacy & Media Literacy: Unit-6

• Sustaining Advocacy & Measuring Impact: Unit-7

Beyond the work in the classroom students participated in experiential learning that focused on exposure to civic-processes, real world insight from systems impacted individuals, and connections to leaders and decision makers within the systems of criminal justice, education, and healthcare. 

Experiential opportunities included: 

• Lobby Day

• Phone visit from an incarcerated individual with their own advocacy program for youth civic engagement

• Visits with Senator Claire Wilson and Rep. Jamila Taylor

Growth in Civic-Engagement and Civic-Achievement

The Civic Champions program seeks to equip students with a foundational understanding of U.S. government systems and empower them to become engaged community members. Pre- and post-survey responses from participants provide valuable insight into how their civic knowledge evolved throughout the program.

This analysis focuses on two key knowledge domains:

• Understanding of the Executive Branch

• Understanding of the Judicial Branch

Participants rated their understanding on a scale from 1 (low) to 5 (high).

Growth in Civic Knowledge: Executive Branch Understanding

• Pre-Program Average: 3.00

• Post-Program Average: 3.38

• Observed Growth: +12.7% (approximate)

A significant shift occurred in participants' sense of personal agency:

• Many reported they now feel capable of initiating change or engaging in advocacy efforts.

• The ability to communicate needs, often ranked as “slightly agree” or “neutral” in the pre-survey, increased to consistent “agree” or “strongly agree” responses.

This suggests that Civic Champions does more than convey knowledge—it empowers students to see themselves as active civic participants.

Qualitative responses revealed increased comfort discussing social issues and a sense of personal responsibility for addressing inequality.

Conclusion

The Civic Champions program contributed to notable gains in executive branch knowledge, while simultaneously revealing opportunities to enhance judicial content delivery. The surveys also suggest a meaningful shift in civic mindset with participants expressing stronger self-efficacy, civic awareness, and intent to engage in their communities.

Learn more about our Civic Champions Program here:

CIVC CHAMPIONS