The Civics Renewal Network welcomed back thousands of K-12 teachers to the first in-person National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Conference since 2019, at a three-day gathering from Dec. 2-4, 2022, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.
The partners in CRN, a project of the Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics at the Annenberg Public Policy Center, hosted about 350 teachers at an open house, “Cocktails, the Constitution, and Building Civic Bonds,” at the National Constitution Center on Dec. 1. Teachers and CRN partners competed in Constitution Quizzo, toured the museum, and caught up with their “civic besties.”
Rendell Center panel on Supreme Court cases
Preceding the open house, the Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Engagement, in partnership with the Annenberg Public Policy Center, hosted a panel discussion on “Judicial Independence and the Constitution.” Judge Marjorie O. Rendell, co-founder of the Rendell Center and a senior judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, moderated a discussion about landmark Supreme Court cases and recent rulings with Judge Theodore A. McKee of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Senior U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe, and U.S. District Judge Gerald J. Pappert.
Civics Renewal Network Village
In the conference’s exhibit hall, teachers visited the Civics Renewal Network Village, where they could talk to the partners and learn about the partners’ classroom resources, programs, and professional development opportunities.
For conference visitors to Philadelphia, the bucket list wouldn’t have been complete without a trip to the Art Museum, where they could follow the footsteps of Rocky Balboa in the “Rocky” movie. Undeterred by the damp weather, about 60 enthusiastic partners and educators gathered at 7 a.m. on Saturday for the Rocky Run, then posed with the Rocky statue for a 2022 NCSS memory.
The Civics Renewal Network is an alliance of 39 nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations committed to improving the quality of civics education in the nation’s schools. Resources from the partners, searchable by grade level, subject, resource type, and standards, as well as information about professional development opportunities, teacher awards, and student contests can be found at www.civicsrenewalnetwork.org
