Civics Learning Project (CLP)

Mission

Civics Learning Project is a non-profit organization of individuals, educators, lawyers, and civic leaders working to equip students with the knowledge, essential skills, and motivation to participate in our democracy.

Bottom Line for Portland

Democracy can and does flourish when our youth are engaged. In these turbulent times, we’ve seen the power of that engagement firsthand. Students in CLP’s programs—from high schoolers winning the national We the People competition, to middle schoolers addressing local ecological concerns and developing policy proposals—are proving that when given the opportunity, young people can lead. Through CLP, youth are engaged, stepping up, and meeting the challenges of our democracy head-on. They will shape a better tomorrow.

CLP offers Mock Trials, We the People team programs (including simulated hearings), Community Actions Projects (where students identify local issues and develop and advocate responding policy), Court Tours, classroom curriculum, and more to actively engage students and teachers in democracy.

Students who participate these sorts of experiential, community-based programs are 40% likelier to vote and 2.5 times likelier to take community leadership roles as adults. They are also likelier to attend college. With 76% of US students scoring below national civics proficiency standards, there is a major need for data-backed programs like CLP's. CLP prepares the next generation to lead and participate in informed, active ways. In the 2022-23 school year, we engaged 1,500 teachers and 173,000 students across Oregon.

Quote

As a kid, I always viewed justice as something I would never reach. We had nothing. No money. No strength. No power. No justice. I hated feeling powerless. Mock Trial changed my life. I know that may sound like something everyone says, but believe me when I say that it gave me the one thing I needed to secure my success and future. It gave the power to seek justice. It gave me that hope back.

-Nadia Pahodzina, CLP Alumnus

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

As an organization, CLP explores and talks about DEI throughout our  decision-making processes; so we can offer more culturally relevant programs to students.

Our Board and staff engage in critical DEI discussions about the root causes of social inequities, share ideas about the actual impacts of modern-day injustices, and learn how to better navigate conversations concerning race, culture, gender, sexuality and difference as a whole, in order to develop a common understanding of how these need to shape our programming and infuse all of the work we do with teachers and students. During the past year, Board and Staff have also been meeting with leaders of culturally specific organizations. This has led to defined initiatives to expand the diversity of our volunteer pool to provide students with more role models they can identify with, and to engage more directly with teachers of students of color to understand where our programs are and are not meeting needs. 

Partner(s)

KOIN is committed of education and a proud partner of Civics Learning Project.