By Karen Crowley, President and Education Committee Portfolio Chair, LWV of Washington

The League is committed to civic education for all ages and at all levels. But here’s a basic truth. If we want to create an informed, engaged electorate and ensure the ongoing health of our democracy, we need to energize today’s students.  

After all, they are tomorrow’s voters. 

Thanks to legislation sponsored by former state Rep. Laurie Dolan, and with robust support from the League, civic education is mandated for all high school graduates in Washington.  

What’s more, the League has created a complete suite of civic learning materials endorsed by the Washington State Council for Social Studies and the Washington State Indian Education Association: “The State We’re In: Washington.”  

The state’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Education, too, has adopted the textbooks and has made them available as Open Educational Resources. 

We are proud of these resources. They are the only comprehensive civic education textbooks in Washington that include information on tribal government. We produce textbooks for middle and high school and for grades 3-5, including a Spanish translation. You can explore these books and a full range of supporting materials HERE. 

More than 45 school districts across the state use these resources.It’s time to hear from them. Our Civic Education Committee is working with the public affairs and marketing firm Strategies360 to reach teachers in those 45 districts, as well as home school educators.  

We are asking how teachers feel about the materials, how they use them in the classroom, what works well, what updates would be helpful, and how can we improve. 

We’ve sent our survey to nearly 100 educators. Their input will be critical to expanding the use of these materials—and to developing our long-term plan to sustain and improve them. We will share what we learn with all of you. 

And there is more.  

This March, Education Committee members Bonnie Bless-Boenish and Karen Verrill will attend the Washington Council for the Social Studies spring conference in Tacoma: Narratives of Our Nation: Stories, Strategies, and Skills for the Classroom.  

Crescent School District teacher MacKenzie Maxwell will present a session describing how she uses “The State We’re In: Washington” in her fourth-grade classroom. This project is funded through an Education Fund grant. We look forward to listening and learning from Maxwell.  

Contact Amy Peloff,  apeloff@lwvwa.org , if you have questions about helping to expand the use of “The State We’re In: Washington” into districts in your area.