What's New in Civic Education and Youth Civic Engagement Work .... (January 2003 Archive Section)

January 31, 2003

• The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) Summer National Internship Program (HNIP) application deadline is February 28, 2003. The largest Hispanic internship program in the nation, this program offers paid internships in
  Washington, DC and throughout the country. Both undergraduate and graduate
  students are eligible for the internships and students do not need to be either Hispanic or enrolled at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) to be eligible. Federal interns are provided with round-trip airfare and HACU can assist in securing housing. For more information and to apply on-line go to http://www.hnip.net
  

• The New York Times Learning Network Lesson Plan, developed in partnership with The Bank Street College of Education in New York City, as a part of its ongoing work is featuring "Investigating the Issues Underlying the 2002 State ofthe Union Address." Though a one hour lesson plan students will closely read President Bush's State of the
  Union address, then develop interviews and write articles to assess a variety of points of view about the proposals offered in the speech. For the complete lesson plan, as well as other information on the site see http://www.nytimes.com/learning

  January 30, 2003

• The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) announces the inauguration of The Harold Howe II Youth Policy Fellowship Fellowship to be awarded each year to a promising young scholar or scholar-practitioner. The Fellow will carry out a self-designed project on significant issues in youth policy, practice, research or program evaluation, focusing particularly on disadvantaged youth. The Fellowship is supported under a grant from the Ford Foundation. The first Fellowship will be available for work commencing in the Summer or Fall of 2003.

  AYPF envisions that this prestigious Fellowship award will help initiate a professional career in the youth policy arena. It is designed to help attract talented and high-achieving scholars to the field of youth work and youth policy development, and expand the knowledge base for improving policy and practice. The work of the Fellows will at the same time contribute to the expertise of AYPF and of the youth policy field, as Fellows carry out an in-depth exploration of an important issue or initiative. Such projects will help to extend and deepen AYPF's current work in developing youth policy reports on effective interventions for youth.

  It is expected that in the 12-month period of the Fellowship, a report will be produced of high quality and based on rigorous analysis. The resulting paper will be published and disseminated by AYPF and may be the basis for an article in a peer- reviewed journal. It is also anticipated that the scholar's project may be the basis for one or more AYPF forums to be held on Capitol Hill.

  Deadline for proposals is March 1, 2003. The intention is to announce the first Fellowship awardee early in May 2003. Fellows will receive a stipend of $25,000 and, if not otherwise available, health insurance. For more information please contact dwjames@aypf.org

• The Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund has applications available for student activists who are building the progressive movement and will be enrolled in school during the 2003-04 academic year. Since 1961, the Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund has provided need-based grants to student activists who are able to do academic work at the college level and are involved in building the movement for social and economic justice. The Fund grantees are both graduate and undergraduate students who are enrolled in an accredited school for the time period covered by their grant. Although US citizenship is not a consideration, applicants must live in the United States and plan to enroll an accredited program in the U.S. in order to qualify. There is a strong preference for grantees who plan to stay in the United States and build the progressive movement here. Early recipients fought for civil rights, against McCarthyism, and for peace in Vietnam. More recently, grantees have been active in the struggle against racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of oppression; building the movement for economic justice; and creating peace through international, anti-imperialist solidarity.
  

  The maximum grant is $6,000 and may be considerably smaller depending on the applicant's circumstances and the amount of funding available. All of the funds for scholarships come from the contributions of individual donors and we generally make between 25 and 30 grants each year. Grants are for one year although students may re-apply for subsequent years.

  Applications and the supporting documents - transcripts, a personal statement, two letters of recommendation, a photograph, financial aid reports - must be postmarked by April 1. Decisions will be announced in July. Send a self-addressed stamped #10 envelope to the address listed below. Requests for applications must be received by Friday, March 21, 2003 at the latest and should not be sent by carriers requiring a signature. These are the instructions for the 2003-04 academic year only. If you are interested in applying in a subsequent year, please contact them for details at that time.

  Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund
  Post Office Box 7307
  New York, NY 10116-7307
  davisputter@hotmail.com
  

  January 29, 2003

• The Nonprofit Sector Research Fund, a grantmaking program of the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C., offers the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship in conjunction with a summer internship program open to members of minority groups based on need and academic excellence. Both graduate and undergraduate students are eligible for the award. Through this scholarship program, the Fund seeks to introduce a diverse group of students to issues relating to philanthropy, voluntarism, and nonprofit organizations. Recipients may arrange with their colleges or universities to receive academic credit for this experience.

  The student will learn about nonprofit organizations by reading and analyzing background articles and assisting in preparations for the Fund's annual conference. The annual conference brings together nonprofit leaders, researchers, and policy makers to discuss issues of importance to the nonprofit sector. The student will also undertake general research and program support for the Fund's grantmaking and outreach efforts.

  The ideal candidate for this scholarship is a highly motivated graduate or undergraduate student from an underrepresented community. She or he should have a good academic record, and also have the following: research and analytical abilities; a background in the social sciences or humanities; excellent writing and communication skills; and demonstrated financial need. The intern must be able to be at the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C. for 10-12 weeks during the summer. A scholarship grant of between $2,800 and $4,200 will be awarded, depending on the recipient's educational level, financial need, and time commitment.

  For complete program and application guidelines, see the Nonprofit Sector Research Fund's Web site at http:www.nonprofitresearch.org/
  

• The e-book "Constructing Civic Virtue: A Symposium on the State of American Citizenship" is available from the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, a research center of the Maxwell School of Syracuse University.

  The commentaries were prepared for a symposium held by the Campbell Institute in November 2002. Written by leading specialists, the commentaries address three questions: Whether policymakers are right in diagnosing an unhealthy decline in civic responsibility; whether actions by government are likely to be effective in remedying the problem; and what values or principles should be central to the conception of civic virtue that would be promoted through such policies.

  Contents include:
  - "Civic Engagement and National Belonging" Rogan Kersh, The Maxwell School
  - "Unschooled: Democratic Life in the Absence of a Moral Culture" Elisabeth Lasch- Quinn, The Maxwell School
  - "Civic Knowledge, Civic Education, and Civic Engagement: A Summary of Recent Research" William A. Galston, University of Maryland
  - "Bringing Government Back Into Civic Engagement: Considering the Role of Public Policy" Suzanne Mettler, The Maxwell School
  - "Against Civic Education in Public Schools" James Bernard Murphy, Dartmouth College
  - "A Civic Decline, But From What? America¹s Exceptional Understandings of
  Civil Society" Jim Sleeper, Yale University
  - "How Would You Know a Virtuous Citizen if You Saw One?" Keith J. Bybee,
  The Maxwell School
  - "European Identity: Diversity in Union" Rik Pinxten and Marijke Cornelis,
  University of Ghent Robert A. Rubinstein, The Maxwell School

  To download the book go to http://www.campbellinstitute.org

• The recent article "Freshman Show Rising Political Awareness and Changing Social Views" by Megan Rooney for The Chronicle of Higher Education, reports that "After 36 years of a general decline in interest in current affairs among college freshmen, new students at four-year colleges appear to be having a political awakening." Based on the results of a survey of 282,549 first-year students at 437 four-year colleges and universities the article reports that "for the second consecutive year, the annual survey of freshmen reveals that an increasing proportion --- 32.9 percent, up from 31.4 percent last year --- consider following politics a "very important" or "essential" goal. Although far from the political engagement of freshmen in 1966, the survey's inaugural year, when 60.3 percent of students answered in this way, this year's figure reflects an improvement over the results in 2000, the last election year, when an all-time low of 28.1 percent of freshmen responded similarly." To read the entire article, please go to http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/01/2003012701n.htm.

  January 27, 2003

• The Corporation for National and Community Service is seeking people to review 2003 Americorps and Learn and Serve America grant applications this spring, as well as to facilitate grant panel discussions. They are asking for your assistance to help identify people you think have the skill, time, and interest to serve as peer reviewers or facilitators, and to forward this email to them.

  The Corporation connects Americans of all ages and backgrounds with opportunities to give back to their communities and country through three programs: AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve America. Part of the USA Freedom Corps, the Corporation plans to make grants in 2003 to support people and organizations that use citizen service as a strategy to meet critical national and community needs, foster an ethic of civic responsibility, and strengthen the ties that bind us together as a nation.

  Reviewers read, score, and evaluate proposals individually, discuss their findings with other members of their panel, and come to consensus on the quality of applications. The panel of reviewers ranks proposals accordingly. Facilitators guide the work of the panel, facilitate panel conference calls, and make sure that all work is complete.

  The Corporation is seeking a diverse group of reviewers and facilitators who have expertise in the areas of volunteer management, education, literacy and tutoring, human services, nonprofit management, homeland security, public safety, and the environment. With the exception of federal employees, reviewers and facilitators receive an honorarium for their work.

  For more information visit http://www.nationalservice.org/egrants/peerreview
  

• A new Network on Municipal Leadership for Youth Participation is now available for municipal officials. This network will focus on the role that local governments can play in promoting youth participation in civic affairs and will provide information to - and encourage information exchanged among participating municipal officers and staff and other community leaders.
  
  Youth participation initiatives to be explored include youth councils, youth service, youth mapping of community assets, appointments of youth to municipal boards and commissions, youth staff or interns in city departments, youth summits and other ways to involve youth in civic affairs and in local decision-making processes.
  
  A periodic e-mail newsletter will be the first activity of the network. The first edition is planned for the end of January 2003. There will also be several regional conferences on youth civic engagement during the first half of 2003.
  
  Topics for the e-mail newsletters and the regional conferences will, in part, be determined by network members. Therefore, each network member is invited to complete a survey to describe current and planned youth participation activities in his/her community and inform NLC of program areas in which assistance is welcome.
  
  The network is part of NLC's MetLife Foundation Youth-City Connection project being carried out by the Institute for Youth, Education, and Families.

  If you would more information or like to participate in this network, please download the member registration/survey form at http://www.nlc.org/iyef. Or, you may contact fellow@nlc.org to obtain the form or to ask questions.

• "Raise Your Voice - A Week of Action" (February 16-22) is being sponsored by Campus Compact to increase, celebrate, and deepen the student civic engagement efforts on college campuses around the country. During the week of is week, national student groups and higher education will speak in a collective voice about the importance of promoting student civic engagement. Events that galvanize students will be planned and organized on campuses around the country that attempt to creatively activate a large number of students in the democratic process. For more information go to http://www.actionforchange.org/week/