KIDS Consortium, 223 Main Street, Auburn, ME  04210

(207) 784-0956, frudoff@kidsconsortium.org, www.kidsconsortium.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Students Changing Policy:
Students from across Maine Convene at State House, May 7

Students showcase public policy projects in Hall of Flags from12:45-1:00 pm and Gov. Baldacci to honor students at 1:00pm ceremony.

Students from across Maine will share their public policy projects at the 2010 We the People: Project Citizen Maine showcase on Friday, May 7, at the State House in Augusta. The event is hosted by KIDS Consortium (www.kidsconsortium.org), which coordinates the Project Citizen program in Maine.

More than 500 students from the Boothbay area, the Calais area, Cape Elizabeth, the Holden area, Portland, and Windham have worked on public policy projects on current topics such as underage drinking, schools going “green,” childhood obesity, and high school dropouts. Friday morning, they will participate in oral hearings to share their ideas and solutions with one another and with adult policy-makers. From 12:30-1:30 pm, there will be a public viewing of student projects in the Hall of Flags at the State House in Augusta, with students present discuss their portfolios 12:45-1:00 pm. At 1:00 pm, Governor John Baldacci will honor the participants and one exemplary portfolio, which will be sent to the National Showcase.

We the People: Project Citizen is a federally funded civic education program for middle grade students. The program promotes competent and responsible participation in local and state government and enables young people to monitor and influence public policy.

Each participating class has worked for several weeks, first examining a local public policy issue by studying the impact of the problem on the community with the assistance of local governmental and nongovernmental agencies. Each team of students then evaluated alternative solutions to the problem, proposed an agreed-upon public policy solution, and, finally, created a political action plan to enlist local or state authorities in adopting their proposed policy. Following a local showcase, participating schools select two projects to send to the State Showcase.

During the public viewing of projects at the State Showcase, students will display portfolios and binders they have prepared highlighting their work and containing thorough documentation of their research. One portfolio from each state will be sent to the Annual Project Citizen National Showcase that is held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Project Citizen is the most extensive education program in the country of its kind that teaches young people how to examine and influence the public policymaking process. The program aims to give students a hands-on understanding of their responsibilities as American citizens. Project Citizen is administered nationally by the Center for Civic Education in cooperation with the National Conference of State Legislatures, a bipartisan organization dedicated to serving the lawmakers and staffs of the nation’s states, commonwealths and territories. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education by an act of Congress.

Based in Auburn, KIDS (Kids Involved Doing Service-Learning) Consortium helps transform classrooms and communities through an award-winning educational model that has engaged more than 300,000 students across New England and New York. The mission of KIDS Consortium is to prepare young people to be active and responsible citizens by training and supporting educators, community organizations, and youth in best practices for service-learning. Through service-learning, K-12 students identify, research and address real community challenges, using knowledge and skills learned in the classroom.

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Over 200 educators have participated in Project Citizen workshops who are now engaging young people in these important projects around the state.

Pre-registration for the workshop is required at www.kidsconsortium.org. The registration fee of $40 includes lunch, Project Citizen books, additional tools and resources, and a contact hours certificate. Registration deadline is February 22.

KIDS Consortium, based in Auburn, is a non-profit organization that helps transform classrooms and communities through an award-winning educational model that has touched more than a quarter-million students to date. Founded in 1992, KIDS Consortium prepares young people to be active and responsible citizens by training and supporting educators, community organizations and youth in the best practices for service-learning.

Project Citizen is a program developed by the Center for Civic Education and funded by the U.S. Department of Education under the Education for Democracy Act approved by the U.S. Congress. The program is co-sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislatures and administered in Maine by KIDS Consortium