Grants for Citizenship Education

Posted by on April 4, 2003

***DEADLINE: May 1, 2003***

The Dirksen Congressional Center invites applications for grants totaling $35,000 in the two selection rounds, October 2002 and May 2003, to help teachers, curriculum developers, and others improve the quality of civics instruction, with priority on the role of Congress in our federal government. Areas of interest include designing lesson plans, creating student activities, and applying instructional technology in the classroom.

Teachers (4th through 12th grades), community college faculty, and college and university faculty are eligible as are teacher-led student teams and individuals who develop curriculum. Priority will be given to the following disciplines: history, government, social studies, political science, and education.

Institutions and organizations are eligible under certain conditions. Inter-institutional consortia and other groups of individuals may apply, but grant funds may not be used to defray indirect costs or overhead expenses. The funds are intended solely to produce “deliverables” of use to classroom teachers.

Final proposals must be e-mailed or postmarked by no later than May 1, 2003. Complete information about eligibility and application procedures, can be found at The Center’s Web site — http://www.dirksencenter.org/grantmichelciviced.htm The Center does not provide an application form. You may find it helpful to review the sample grant proposal at — http://www.dirksencenter.org/grantmichelcivicsample.htm Frank Mackaman is the program officer — mailto:fmackaman@dirksencenter.org

The Center, named for the late Senate Minority Leader Everett M. Dirksen, is a private, non-partisan, nonprofit research and educational organization devoted to the study of Congress and its leaders. The Center created the Michel Civic Education Grants to fund practical classroom strategies to improve the quality of teaching and learning about civics, with a particular emphasis on the role of Congress in the federal government. The goal of education in civics, we believe, is informed, responsible participation in political life by competent citizens. Current levels of political knowledge, political engagement, and political enthusiasm leave much to be desired. Part of the solution rests in better instructional practices.