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About the Conference
In 2015, the Oregon Legislature declared the first Friday of each December as “Oregon Civics Day for Teachers.” To celebrate, Classroom Law Project hosts an educators’ conference on that day every year at the State Capitol in Salem.
The Oregon Civics Conference for Teachers is open to educators at all levels. Each year participants get an insider’s view of all three branches of Oregon government, unique civics teaching strategies, and materials they can apply immediately to their teaching. Before your winter holiday, refresh your mind and your curriculum, connect with teachers from around the state, and spend a day at the Capitol learning new ways to make Civics come alive in your classroom!
Attendees to the Conference earn 8 PDU Hours.
Become a Civic Scholar
Civic Scholars, sponsored by each of Oregon’s 90 legislators, can attend the conference for free and have some expenses — including substitute coverage — paid for!
The 2019 Conference Theme
We are focusing the Annual Conference this year on elevating voices. Because the 2019 Civics Conference will be ushering in an election year and the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment, it seemed like the perfect time! Voting, elections, and universal suffrage are the lifeblood of democracy, and here at CLP we believe that at the frontlines of preserving those aspects of our society are Civic Educators like you!
We also believe that within civic education are essential skills and practices that cross all academic areas and are appropriate for all ages. These include concepts such as justice, equality, civil discourse, empathy, civic engagement and participation, problem solving, teamwork, community involvement, and civic awareness. Understanding not only what is happening in the world, but being able to synthesize and analyze information, evaluate consequences and outcomes, and create inquiry-based models of understanding are the skills that will make students successful far beyond our classrooms. As we celebrate 100 years of gender suffrage, we still strive for full universal suffrage. As we watch an election year unfold, we still debate constitutional ideas such as the electoral college and how branches check and balance each other. We know that teaching in these times can be both fraught and exhilarating. But because of that, it is a particularly crucial time for our students to know and understand their rights, their responsibilities, and their power in a sustainable democracy. While the Civics Conference will include all of our traditional opportunities for you to hear from members of the Oregon Judicial, Executive, and Legislative branches of government, along with experts, civic leaders, and civic educators, we hope to connect the content of the workshops to our overall theme and give you a holistic experience for the day.