The 2019 Oregon Civics Conference for Teachers:
Elevating Voices
Expanding Participation
Friday, December 6, 2019
9am – 4pm
Capitol Building, Salem, OR
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 to collaborate around empowerment and elevation of voices. Voting, elections, and universal suffrage are the lifeblood of democracy, and we believe that at the frontlines preserving these are Civic Educators like you!
Join teachers from around Oregon at the Capitol to hear from members of the state executive, judicial, and legislative branches, experts, scholars, and activists in a variety of relevant areas that connect to our theme this year. This year will also be a special networking lunch time to give you a chance to meet and connect with your colleagues. Our workshop list will be posted here by the end of September.
This year’s conference workshop topics will include:
- Our Keynote Speaker: Senator Lew Fredericks
- A Conversation with Mary Beth Herkert, responsible for Civic Education in the Secretary of State’s office
- A Conversation with Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Walters about current cases before the Court
- A panel of legislators from both sides of the aisle to talk about Oregon legislative agenda
- A panel on Equity issues for students
- A panel on Diversity & Inclusion in your classroom
- Panels of teachers & Students on Gender, Immigration, and Activism
- The ODE’s guidance on new legislative rules around Ethnic and Indigenous studies
- Randy Blazak, Chair of the Coalition Against Hate Crime, on Oregon’s new bias crime law and free speech
- Issues on empowering youth before and when they encounter the justice system
- Civil Rights & Civil Wrongs: Teaching African American history in Oregon
- How to be critical consumers of the news: strategies for current events
- On the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment: Suffrage, Voting Rights, and the Coming Election season
- and much more!
Register now!!
Civic Scholars
Conference participants sponsored by Oregon’s 90 legislators are designated Civic Scholars. Civic Scholars attend the conference for free, have substitute coverage paid for, and if traveling from afar, receive a travel stipend and lodging, if requested. Learn more about how you can attend as a Civic Scholar
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 ready-to-use materials. 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.
Registration is now open!