On September 10, 2020, the State Board of Education (SBE) adopted criteria and guidelines for awarding a State Seal of Civic Engagement. In addition, EGUSD has established a set of guidelines that fit each of the five criteria.
Please see the Application Page for more specifics about how students will demonstrate they meet each of the criteria.
EGUSD Guidelines:
Student should be on track to graduate based on each student’s unique graduation plan (in alignment with state and local graduation requirements).
EGUSD Guidelines:
Passing grades in US History and American Government or other Interdisciplinary Coursework or other demonstration:
Equivalent AP/IB course
Interdisciplinary coursework may also include civic aspects of government, law, history, culture, international governments, economics, and current events
Other coursework as approved by admin for students out of state/country
OR
Online course/credit recovery on relevant content
EGUSD Guidelines: Two Options
Civic Action Project
Students need to take action on a problem/issue that is meaningful to them.
Student action needs to at least build awareness of an issue/problem with the intent of making a positive difference in their immediate community (such as with one’s peers, class, school, neighborhood, city, etc.) or larger society.
Whenever possible, project/student should engage with decision-makers or systems of power (such as your school decision-makers, school board, local community and civic leaders, etc.) in some way to understand power dynamics or governance (to apply civic knowledge).
This may be completed as part of a class or as an extracurricular project.
Civic Internship (Example, Elk Grove Civic Summer)
Students may complete an internship at a government agency or non-profit, especially if it is through Elk Grove Civic Summer.
While students may be assigned work or a project for their internship, students must be able to indicate what community, regional, or state-wide issue the agency (or the student's specific unit or work more specifically) addresses, and why that is needed in the community.
Students should describe what they learned from working with stakeholders, community members, leaders, and/or decision makers.
Finally, students should indicate how their work contributed to addressing the community/societal issue of their unit or agency, and/or how your efforts impacted the community.
Students will be able to describe their civic project or internship and submit evidence of their project or work.
EGUSD Guidelines:
Students will complete a self-reflection that will articulate and describe the following:
What new insights did you What new insights did you gain about your community, decision making processes, the issue you addressed, or how to make change? What might you have done differently or could you do in the future to create a deeper and more lasting change?
What did you learn about yourself? What civic knowledge and or skills did you learn and/or use? How did you personally grow from this experience?
Students will select one or two adults who can speak to the student's civic engagement activities that reflect civic-mindedness and a commitment to positively impact the classroom, school, community, and/or society. The adult reference will do so by filling in a Google Form.
Or
Students may list participation in an activity, club, or organization that demonstrates their civic-mindedness.