Fourteen Delaware school teachers gathered in Graham Hall on the University of Delaware’s main campus to begin the 19th annual Democracy Project Summer Institute for Teachers on Monday morning, June 19.

The goal of the institute is to help the teachers hone their classroom skills in focusing on the teaching of democracy and civic engagement. The theme of the 2017 program was “Transitions, Budgets and Media Literacy.”

The program ran from June 19-23. In their opening Monday morning session, the teachers met with the state's congressional delegation, U.S. Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons and U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt-Rochester, and also with Delaware Secretary of State Jeff Bullock.

During the remainder of the week, the teachers traveled to Dover and Washington, D.C., and met with, among others, Gov. John Carney, Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Leo Strine, Secretary of Education Susan Bunting, Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki, New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer and a number of press and media representatives.

The 14 participating teachers represented elementary, middle and high schools and public, private and parochial schools.

During the week, the teachers, working with curriculum director Fran O’Malley, collaborated with each other in developing new lesson plan ideas that they can take back to their classrooms.

About the Democracy Project

The Democracy Project began in 1999 as a response to a national bipartisan study funded by the National Association of Secretaries of State, known as The New Millennium Study.

The study reported that “young Americans have only a limited, vague understanding of what it means to be a citizen in a democratic society.” It indicated that media, parents, political parties and schools all play a role in connecting young people to the democratic process.

“Recognizing the potential impacts that schools and teachers have, the Democracy Project was established to work with teachers to sharpen their skills for teaching civics in their classrooms,” said Ed Freel, former Delaware secretary of state and program director.

Over 300 teachers have participated in the past institutes.

The program is sponsored by UD’s Institute for Public Administration and the Delaware Department of State.