Kids Voting St. Paul (now Minnesota Civic Youth)
Minnesota Civic Youth is dedicated to helping kids and young adults develop the knowledge, skills, confidence and desire to be informed, active citizens. We do this by engaging them in authentic civic experiences and activities that respect their viewpoint and celebrate their voice. We have three primary program areas: Kids Voting Minnesota Network, Governing Youth and Teens Speak Out.
$150,000 each year is for grants to the Minnesota Civic Education Coalition: Kids Voting St. Paul, the Learning Law and Democracy Foundation, and YMCA Youth in Government to conduct civics education programs for the civic and cultural development of Minnesota youth. Civics education is the study of constitutional principles and the democratic foundation of our national, state, and local institutions and the study of political processes and structures of government, grounded in the under-standing of constitutional government under the rule of law.
1. For Kids Voting Minnesota, we will increase by at least 10% the number of students casting a ballot on Election Day. In 2014, 45,000 students from 50 communities cast a ballot. 2. For Governing Youth, we will have 12 students complete the year-long program. 3. For Teens Speak Out, we will work with three different groups to complete a full project cycle.
1. More than doubled the number of K-12 students who participated in a Kids Voting election this fall. More than 115,000 Minnesota students participated in more than 75 school districts. 2. Minnesota Civic Youth developed a comprehensive website for educators. We worked with educators to solicit their ideas and desires for a website resource, then worked with them to create several new features, including a teaching framework for this specific election. You can find the website at www.mncivicyouth.org/educators 3. For Youth on Boards, cohort of 11 high school students from four different Ramsey County high schools has met more than a dozen times as a group lead by our cohort facilitator.
$150,000 each year is for grants to the Minnesota Civic Education Coalition: Kids Voting St. Paul, the Learning Law and Democracy Foundation, and YMCA Youth in Government to conduct civics education programs for the civic and cultural development of Minnesota youth. Civics education is the study of constitutional principles and the democratic foundation of our national, state, and local institutions and the study of political processes and structures of government, grounded in the under-standing of constitutional government under the rule of law.
• We will create a conversation model that allows students to effectively discuss difficult topics and come away with greater listening skills and more empathy for the conversation participants
• We will pilot the model in 10 sites and evaluate its effectiveness
• We will engage at least 100 attorneys to give civic-based presentations in classrooms
• We will engage at least 400 student election judges
• We will increase the number of Kids Voting sites for the 2018 Gubernatorial Election by at least 25% (from 70 to 85)
• We will create the tools necessary to collaborate with local civic partners to promote the value and impact of a strong civic education
In partnership with the Minnesota Council of Churches and the University of Minnesota, we created a conversation model -- called Respectful Conversations in Schools -- that allows students to effectively discuss difficult topics and comes away with greater listening skills, more empathy and a deeper understanding of the viewpoints of others. We trained 24 teachers in a three-hour workshop in November 2017 to understand and apply the model, then piloted the model in eight MN school districts: Chaska, Deer River, Duluth, Edina, Elk River, Hopkins, Mahtomedi and St. Paul. One of the sites, Edina, created a video to show the impact the model was having with their students. The video can be found at this link: https://vimeo.com/258882827/ad1b629e07.
We have been recruiting both school districts and civic speakers for the 2018 election. We are on track to increase the number of Kids Voting sites by 25% as well as to support at least 100 civic leaders (attorneys, veterans, elected and appointed officials) to lead lessons in Minnesota classrooms this fall.
We have created a cohort of cities interested in significantly expanding their student election judge program. In addition to Minneapolis and St. Paul, we are working with the city election offices in Minnetonka and St. Louis Park. Our new goal is to have at least 1,000 student election judges in place for the 2018 election!