Our public colleges carry an necessary accountability: to domesticate knowledgeable and engaged residents. As President Franklin Roosevelt famously said in 1938, “Democracy can’t succeed except those that categorical their alternative are ready to decide on properly. The true safeguard of democracy, subsequently, is schooling.”
Since 2011, dissatisfaction with Seattle Public Colleges’ embarrassingly minimalistic civics necessities has compelled one of many authors, Webster Hutchins, to develop the Civics for All Initiative, a program constructed round mock elections in grades Ok-12. Academics, College Board and Seattle Metropolis Council members and politicians, together with U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, have supported this initiative.
Regardless of this assist, a string of superintendents haven’t adopted mock elections. In 2014, the district rejected a $250,000 grant from King County Elections that may have supplied voting supplies for all grades over 5 years.
The present College Board should prioritize hiring a superintendent who will formally decide to integrating these classes into the district’s 2025-2030 Strategic Plan. This dedication would require all Ok-12 colleges to conduct annual mock elections for the ultimate 4 years of the plan. Such a mandate seamlessly aligns with the district’s targets round community engagement, equity and deepening important pondering abilities.
If the board doesn’t insist that the subsequent tremendous commits to requiring Ok-12 mock elections, they received’t occur.
We all know that utilizing phrases like “insist” and “should” runs counter to “Seattle Course of,” however all of us should take motion to make sure that Seattle’s youngsters get the proven benefits of engagement with voter-education curricula, particularly on this scary time in American historical past.
The College Board’s standards and questions for superintendent interviews in August are due by July 10. Residents of Seattle have to reach out to the School Board immediately, urging them to incorporate the stipulation for Ok-12 mock elections of their questions.
The need for this dedication is underscored by SPS’ present, meager civics schooling necessities, which include:
In 2008, the district started requiring three classroom-based civics assessments/initiatives in fifth, seventh and twelfth grades. To finish these initiatives, “college students could also be given a couple of class interval to finish their CBA.” Sure, SPS, and the state, solely require that college students obtain a minimum of three class intervals requiring a civics undertaking throughout their 13 years in SPS.
In 2016, SPS introduced that it supported elective mock elections.
In 2020, SPS altered its decades-old, required American Authorities and Economics semester course for seniors by renaming it American Authorities, Civics, and Economics to incorporate extra examine of state, native, and tribal governments.
In 2023, the College Board licensed the superintendent to implement a Digital Citizenship & Media Literacy plan.
Non-compulsory isn’t equitable. In response to the Washington Secretary of State’s Workplace, solely 1.5% of our state’s 1.1 million K-12 students truly voted by way of the workplace’s excellent mock election website in 2024.
Required voter/civic schooling serves as an important fairness device, making certain that every one college students — notably these from underrepresented backgrounds — have the chance to have interaction with and perceive the political panorama, which is a deeply empowering expertise.
As South Finish neighborhood organizer Tandy Williams advised The Seattle Times in 2018 about low voter turnout: “There’s not sufficient data round voting in our neighborhood.”
Mock elections are an efficient, scalable resolution to revitalizing civics schooling in SPS. And college students love them! They assist construct bridges between colleges and households by homework assignments and voter registration competitions. Furthermore, mock elections assist to mitigate political polarization by encouraging discussions about present points whereas selling lifelong civic engagement and voter turnout.
Contact your College Board members and urge them to rent a frontrunner who is devoted to implementing Ok-12 mock elections as the muse for a civics schooling revival in SPS. Let’s do that, Seattle.
