Kentucky Court of Justice
Kentucky teachers encouraged to apply for free civic ed training in November

Civic Education Workshop application

Civic Education Workshop application (454KB-PDF)

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Kentucky teachers for grades K-12 are encouraged to apply for a free November workshop to help them improve their skills in teaching civic education. The training will take place Nov. 5-7 at the Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort. Thirty-five teachers will be selected to participate. The application deadline is Oct. 18.

The workshop will include training focused on two civic education programs: We the People ... The Citizen and the Constitution and Representative Democracy in America. The AOC and the national Center for Civic Education will sponsor the workshop. Robert S. Leming, national director of the We the People program, and Kentucky trainers will conduct the training. 

Teachers selected for the workshop will receive free classroom materials associated with the courses that will allow them to use the programs with their students. In addition, lodging will be free for participants who must travel more than 30 miles to attend the workshop. All participants will receive free meals and reimbursement for mileage expenses.

We the People is a nationally acclaimed civic education program created by the Center for Civic Education to promote the history and philosophy of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. In Kentucky, the AOC and the Center for Civic Education co-sponsor the program.
 
Representative Democracy in America is a national project designed to reinvigorate and educate Americans on the critical relationship between government and the people it serves. The project is a collaborative effort of the Center for Civic Education, the Center on Congress at Indiana University and the National Conference of State Legislatures.

“Student understanding and involvement in government is essential to the long-term health of our constitutional democracy and teachers play a vital role in this area,” said Deborah Williamson, executive officer of the AOC Department of Court Services and state coordinator for Center for Civic Education programs. “We the People and other high-caliber civic education programs help ensure the continuity of our way of existence in American society. Students explore topics such as the philosophical and historical foundations of the American political system, the creation of the constitution, constitutional values and principles and their impact on American institutions and practices, the rights protected under the Bill of Rights and the challenges facing our democracy in the 21st century. In a time when civic education is being marginalized throughout much of the nation, programs such as We the People are more valuable than ever.”

To apply for the workshop, visit the AOC website at www.courts.ky.gov and scroll down to News of Interest to locate a link to the application. For more information, contact Jacindia Wells at 800-928-2350.

We the People is one of the many youth-related programs offered through the AOC. The AOC is the operations arm of the Kentucky Court of Justice and supports the activities of approximately 3,400 court system employees and 403 elected justices, judges and circuit court clerks. As the fiscal agent for the state court system, the AOC prepares a biennial budget draft and executes the Judicial Branch budget.