Biographical Info

Areas We Address

Civic Spirit provides educators and school leaders with individualized support to implement comprehensive civic education in their school communities. Founded by Rabbi Robert Hirt and Virginia Bayer in 2016, Civic Spirit is dedicated to working with faith-based schools to:
(a) cultivate student connection to our country’s founding values and institutions;
(b) empower students to become influential in their communal landscape; and
(c) increase knowledge of foundational American texts and ideas.

Expected Outcomes

Participants gain the tools for bringing Civic Spirit’s three pillars: (a) increasing democratic fluency, (b) fostering civic belonging, and (c) developing Civic Spirit skills into their respective learning communities. Our work helps educators in multiple content areas and schools with unique missions unearth the many promising moments for inspirational civic enrichment.

Key Activities

Our Civic Education training is offered through:

• Summer and Winter Institutes focused on sessions with scholars and pedagogical training; Institutes include educators from many schools across the country
• Professional Development tailored to individual school needs
• Personalized coaching
• Virtual Learning Gatherings and public programs
• Pedagogical workshops

Setting Expectations

To ensure the impact of our support, we expect schools to…

Identify where civic education currently lives in their schools and envision areas for intended growth and development. We help facilitate this process by offering schools opportunities to learn more about civic education and how it can enhance their existing learning models and curricula. Each school is unique in its mission and learning goals, and we encourage intentional consideration of how civic education can be a meaningful and vibrant part of their school communities.

To ensure the impact of our support, we expect administrators to…

• Initiate avenues for bringing civic education into your school’s educational program, including reviewing the curriculum across disciplines to identify opportunities for civic education and providing department chairs and teachers with the support needed to implement these curricular enhancements successfully.
• Add creative civic engagement opportunities and design programs that can communicate the vital place civic education holds within their school’s ethos.

To ensure the impact of our support, we expect classroom teachers to…

Integrate elements of civic education into their learning expectations, emphasizing project-based learning, experiential learning opportunities, and teacher-led school-wide initiatives. While certain subjects allow for a more natural integration of civics education, we have worked with teachers in every subject, from math to music, who have added exceptional civic education elements into their learning.