DigCitSummit: Civic Readiness
​ specifically designed for NY educators
#DigCitSummit #CivicReady
June 11, 2024

What is Civic Readiness?

Civic readiness is the ability to make a positive difference in the public life of our communities through the combination of civic knowledge, skills and actions, mindsets, and experiences.

Civic Ready students use civic knowledge, skills and mindsets to make decisions and take actions for themselves, their communities, and public good as members of a culturally diverse, democratic society.  Schools, therefore, must provide students meaningful opportunities to develop specific civic knowledge, skills, and mindsets — and to participate in authentic actions and experiences—that are necessary for them to function as productive civic participants within their schools, communities, states, our country and the world.  

The New York State Education Department is committed to empowering the civic agency of students and ensuring all students achieve civic readiness as a result of their prekindergarten — 12th grade education.  The Regents have also emphasized this position in their Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Plan. The New York State Education Department (NYSED) understands that the results we seek for all our children can only be fully achieved by incorporating an equity and inclusion lens in every facet of our work.

​Civic education strengthens the relationships between schools and students, as well as students’ relationships with parents, caregivers and families, civic leaders, community partners, and among each other. The responsibility of ensuring all students are Civic Ready is a chief aim of social studies education.

​Civic Knowledge

Demonstrate a fundamental and functional knowledge of government, law, history, geography, culture, economics, and current events.  These may include inequities within our democratic system at the federal, state and local level. Students should know how to apply this knowledge to different circumstances and settings.  ​

​Civic
​Skills & Action

Demonstrate a broad array of critical analytic, verbal, communication, media literacy and other skills and participate in a wide variety of actions. Students should practice such actions both inside and outside of school on a regular basis.

​Civic ​
​Mindsets

Demonstrate the mindset of a participant in a democratic society. A civic mindset is a commitment to democratic interpersonal and intrapersonal values, virtues, attitudes, and beliefs and informed actions that promote and facilitate meaningful participation in civic life.  It is an understanding of self as part of and responsible to larger social groups. 

​Civic Experience

Participate in developmentally appropriate civic experiences. Civic readiness should be developed in a variety of settings and ways—inside and outside of the classroom, across content areas, and for multiple purposes. Civic Readiness should be promoted by engaging students in relevant experiences that include students as active participants.​​

What is Digital Citizenship?

We view digital citizenship as an action, something that we need to practice and do every single day. In today's interconnected world, this is our opportunity to put global education into practice to empower others to become change makers for using tech for good in local, global, and digital communities.

Our message is proactive as we actively turn negatives into positives and help transform participants into designers, creative thinkers, global collaborators, problem solvers, just-oriented digital citizens, and global impactors. 

What to expect on June 11th

Our Civic Readiness #DigCitSummit will be an opportunity to experience both the new digital citizenship pillars, as well as the New York State Education Department's Civic Readiness competencies. Using this lens, we'll explore ways our K-12 students can make a positive difference in local, global, and digital communities.

Our virtual event will spotlight school communities who #UseTech4Good as we explore the Digital Citizenship pillars and the new Civic Readiness competencies. The day was designed specifically for NY educators, but is open to all.

Our School Community Showcase will kick off the day as we highlight how the Lake Shore Central School District (LSCSD) made a commitment to digital citizenship four years ago. LSCSD embraced an intergenerational approach to learning at school, home, play, and continued to add layers to their school community learning together.

learning with students

learning with industry

learning with seniors

Sessions throughout the day will include educators throughout the state of New York, as well as invited speakers who will encourage conversation and action around digital citizenship, civic education, and what the Seal of Civic Readiness can look like in K-12 classrooms next year. Presenters who piloted the Civic Readiness program this year will also share their experiences, lessons learned, and plans moving forward. 

Beyond the conversations, the day has been planned to meet you, K-12 educators where you are and help move you forward. This personalized approach towards professional learning is intended to help you embed both the Digital Citizenship and Civic Readiness skills and competencies through a variety of topics including: student agency, immersive technologies, digital wellness, balance and mental health, social/emotional learning (SEL), digital literacy, media literacy, global education, Global Goals and SDGs, eSports and gaming, project and passion based learning, and ultimately how to #UseTech4Good.

We have planned the day to help you plan what the Seal of Civic Readiness will look like in your classroom, school, and community. CTLE will be available and for anyone who would like to dig deeper over the summer, we are hosting a free Global IMPACTOR Summer Academy. Our plan is to continue to support BOCES centers during the 2022-2023 academic year and we'll host a live student showcase in June 2023 to celebrate Civic Readiness projects happening throughout the state of New York.