Bringing Civics to the Classroom
The Illinois Center for Civic Education (ICCE) works with elementary, middle and high school teachers throughout Illinois to promote civic competence and responsibility among today’s youth. ICCE accomplishes this by offering professional development opportunities to teachers and providing academic programs, We the People and Project Citizen. Our professional development opportunities are designed to enhance the teachers’ ability to deepen their students’ understanding of the foundations of the constitutional democracy and the contemporary relevance of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Through active participation and experiential learning, We the People and Project Citizen curricular programs educate and provide a range of skills students need – analysis, research, writing, presentation, defending a position, teamwork, and critical thinking – to participate in their communities, future workplaces, and our democracy.
We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, was developed in 1987 and adopted by the Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, chaired by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, as the principal education program of the federal Constitution’s bicentennial. The success of the program at the Bicentennial Commission led to Congress continuing the program through the U. S. Department of Education from 1993 to 2011 as an authorized program of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
The Illinois We the People and Project Citizen programs were run by the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago who received direct funding from the Center for Civic Education. In 2001, the Center for Civic Education made a change in leadership in We the People. Pat Feichter, a retired teacher, became the Illinois State Coordinator. The program continued to be funded by the national Center for Civic Education until about 2010. The Robert R. McCormick Foundation then stepped in with a grant of $50,000 to maintain the program in Illinois.
The Illinois Center for Civic Education was founded in 2013 by the Illinois We the People State Coordinator and professionals, many of whom are We the People alumni. The 501(c)3 organization was created to continue the work of We the People by becoming a funding source after the program was de-funded in 2011.
ICCE is a non-partisan organization. Our board members bring a diverse array of skills and perspectives to the work we do with teachers and students. To date, nearly 1000 students participate annually in Illinois district, regional, and state hearings due to consistent and efficient implementation of the program in Illinois and the program’s impeccable reputation among teachers.
We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, was developed in 1987 and adopted by the Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, chaired by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, as the principal education program of the federal Constitution’s bicentennial. The success of the program at the Bicentennial Commission led to Congress continuing the program through the U. S. Department of Education from 1993 to 2011 as an authorized program of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
The Illinois We the People and Project Citizen programs were run by the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago who received direct funding from the Center for Civic Education. In 2001, the Center for Civic Education made a change in leadership in We the People. Pat Feichter, a retired teacher, became the Illinois State Coordinator. The program continued to be funded by the national Center for Civic Education until about 2010. The Robert R. McCormick Foundation then stepped in with a grant of $50,000 to maintain the program in Illinois.
The Illinois Center for Civic Education was founded in 2013 by the Illinois We the People State Coordinator and professionals, many of whom are We the People alumni. The 501(c)3 organization was created to continue the work of We the People by becoming a funding source after the program was de-funded in 2011.
ICCE is a non-partisan organization. Our board members bring a diverse array of skills and perspectives to the work we do with teachers and students. To date, nearly 1000 students participate annually in Illinois district, regional, and state hearings due to consistent and efficient implementation of the program in Illinois and the program’s impeccable reputation among teachers.
