November CivicTREK Workshop: 5Cs and Preparation & Planning

The teachers in our CivicTREK 2019-2020 cohort came together last week for our third professional learning session of the year. Cohort highlights include a focus on the 5Cs of deeper learning, building a toolkit of resources and strategies to support Project-Based Learning, and developing a network of support as we implement service-learning across schools. Here’s […]

Congratulations to our 2019-2020 cohort members

We are pleased to announce the ACPS CivicTREK 2019-2020 teachers. We have our largest group ever at 28 teachers plus a number of returning mentors and alumni. Our new cohort ranges from Kindergarten to Oceanography. We can’t wait to see what these new teachers do with their students next year as they help students tackled […]

Join us for 2019-2020!

We are excited to announce that we are currently recruiting for the 2019-2020 ACPS CivicTREK Cohort. The CivicTREK Service-Learning Cohort is an opportunity for teachers from any content area to develop project-based learning experiences in which students solve real-world problems and connect to their communities. Participating teachers will become part of a professional network and earn 60 […]

Enacted the 5 C’s during CivicTREK service-learning

Throughout the current school year, the CivicTREK K-12 cohort of teachers have implemented a service-learning approach to guide their students towards mastery of the Profile of a Virginia Graduate 21st century skills. In our most recent professional development session, teachers: shared some of their best-practice “Five C’s” success stories, critiquing and enhancing one another’s work […]

You Are What You Eat! Service learning food fair

Check out another great CivicTREK project in action. Ms. Koz-Calvo’s 4th grade Young Scholars are investigating nutrition and why it is an important part of a healthy community. They are making a plan to share what they learn with brochures, posters, and a Food Fair where they will serve healthy snacks to a very important […]

Creativity and CivicTREK: Strategies to Foster Creativity

Creative Thinking “The student uses information in original and novel ways, demonstrating new ideas and ways of doing things.” Project-based learning and service-learning “offers creative freedom, which gives the students a sense of agency, purpose, and bring even more relevance to learning – engaging them in making an impact in their community and exposing them […]

Using Tech to Promote Change

Our CivicTREK teachers know how to use community resources! Ms. Lott’s 7th grade class took a class on Digital Marketing at the Apple Store in Pentagon City this week. Students were able to make flyers advocating for causes important to them and learned how to make persuasive videos using iMovie. In addition to using store […]

Kids Supporting Kids In Need of Defense

  More CivicTREK in action! Recently Ms. Arja’s 7th grade US History classes hosted a guest speaker from Kids In Need of Defense (KIND). Ingrid Zavala, a Social Service Coordinator with KIND spoke to the students about the organization’s mission: to assist young immigrants with legal defense and policy advocacy. Students have already begun brainstorming how […]

Critical Thinking and CivicTREK – Letting Students Find the Answers

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving “The student engages in inquiry and problem solving, reasoning, and evaluating to reach conclusions.” “Problem solving and critical thinking refers to the ability to use knowledge, facts, and data to effectively solve problems. This doesn’t mean you need to have an immediate answer, it means you have to be able […]

THUG Book Club Starts at TC Williams

A great example of how our CivicTREK cohort connects teachers, social justice and students. Recently, Ms. Rice and Ms. Jackson’s IA advisory and Ma. Kropp’s honors government met up for their first community building work session. Students will use the book, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, to discuss community, identity and how we can […]