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First Lady Launches 2006-07 Statewide School Tour to Promote Better Civic Education

Posted on: Friday, 15 December 2006, 15:01 CST

HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- First Lady, Judge Marjorie O. Rendell today launched the 2006-07 statewide school tour to promote better civic education throughout the commonwealth.

The tour kicked-off with visits to two PennCORD pilot schools: Ritter Elementary School in Allentown and Elizabethtown Area High School.

"Across the commonwealth, teachers and community leaders are developing innovative methods of teaching civic responsibility to our students," said the First Lady. "PennCORD's hope is to highlight those schools that have outstanding programs and to provide other schools, teachers and students with the resources needed to replicate them."

At each school, the First Lady spoke on the results of a recent PennCORD survey and their initiatives to support the schools' efforts to provide Pennsylvania students with high quality civic education curricula. A signature PennCORD banner was presented to each school for display as a sign of their commitment to civic education.

The students at Ritter Elementary School presented a short assembly of snapshots to highlight what they are currently doing in their classrooms to promote civic education and did a role-playing skit about authority and justice. Elizabethtown High School's AP Government and Politics class and students from the Principles of Democracy and Economics class discussed the judicial branch of government with the First Lady who serves as a Federal Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

"I strongly believe that civic education is elementary in the lives of our children and must be taught and learned early," said Judge Rendell. "It is up to us to inspire an informed, intellectual and emotional connection that teaches our children about their historical past so that they can use it wisely to fashion their future. Our democratic process will remain strengthened only by devoting our energies to fostering an early interest, and maintaining continued understanding, for the future citizens of our great democracy."

In June 2006, 10 schools from across Pennsylvania became the first official PennCORD pilot schools. Each school was chosen for their involvement in top-flight civics programs and will be provided with a rich menu of materials and resources to support the introduction of programs into classrooms and the opportunity to secure mini-grants for expanding programs already in place, or for developing new programs.

The Pennsylvania Coalition for Representative Democracy, or PennCORD, is a coalition of educators, organizations, state government and students working together to improve civic education throughout Pennsylvania. It is led by Pennsylvania's First Lady Judge Marjorie Rendell, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the National Constitution Center and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

The Rendell Administration is committed to creating a first-rate public education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing economic investment to support our communities and businesses. To find out more about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly newsletter, visit his Web site at: http://www.governor.state.pa.us/.

Pennsylvania Office of the Governor

CONTACT: Kristianna Del Grande of the Pennsylvania Office of theGovernor, +1-717-783-1116

Web site: http://www.governor.state.pa.us/

Source: PRNewswire

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