UI-Hoover Institute for Civic Engagement for Secondary Teachers

Secondary principals may have received this message sent in February by the University of Iowa. The U of I wished us to post it here in order to reach a wider audience.

Dear Principal,

The University of Iowa and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association have joined together to create the UI-Hoover Institute for Civic Engagement for secondary teachers. It will meet June 24-26, 2013 on the UI campus in Iowa City and the Hoover Library in West Branch. Participants will receive guidance and support in developing and carrying out civic engagement projects within their schools. Scholarships will be awarded to those selected to participate.

We invite you to recommend a team of two teachers from your school to apply for admission and scholarships to participate in this Institute. We are seeking teachers who take the initiative, provide enthusiastic leadership in their discipline, are committed to developing and teaching 21st Century Learning Skills, and want to create outside-the-classroom opportunities for their students to engage and improve their communities.

Participants earn two semester hours of University of Iowa graduate credit (included in the scholarship) as they learn to create civic engagement projects for their students. The Institute provides instruction as well as time to develop and receive feedback on their project ideas, and an ongoing community of Institute participants for advice and encouragement after they return to school in the fall.

Participation in the Institute benefits your school in a number of ways. It equips your teachers to carry out projects that implement:

• the Iowa Core Curriculum’s Social Studies goal of motivating students “to participate in civic and community life as active and informed citizens”
• the Iowa Core’s 21st Century Skills’ goal of promoting students’ “civic literacy” and developing their skills in problem solving, collaboration, adaptability, initiative, effective communication, analysis, and imagination
• a process that enriches your student body’s educational experience as they engage and build connections with their own communities

Every secondary school in the state of Iowa is invited to have teachers apply, but space is extremely limited – only fifteen schools (of two teachers each) will be able to participate in the inaugural edition of the Institute. We are accepting applications on a rolling admissions basis, so please act promptly to identify those teachers who you would like to apply to the Institute. You will find more information on the Institute and the application page for your teachers on our website at: UI-Hoover Institute for Civic Engagement.

We welcome any questions you or your teachers might have, and look forward to receiving your teachers’ applications. Send your questions to Cary R. Covington at cary-covington@uiowa.edu.

The dissemination of information from external organizations by Heartland AEA does not imply sponsorship or endorsement of the information. It is being passed on to our stakeholders for its educational value.