Civic and Community Engagement in Secondary Classrooms, McEnerny, Spring 2026

Course Number:	EDX 5710 S27
Instructor:	Monica McEnerny, Ph.D.
Location:	Online
Dates and Times:	Feb 09 - Mar 20, 2026. Synchronous video meetings on Mondays from 4:30 - 7:30 p.m. The remainder of the course takes place in an online, independent format.
Credits:	3 Graduate Credits
Tuition:	$1,195

Course Description

This course provides teachers with tools to encourage the preparation of secondary students for meaningful participation in their communities and civic spaces. Participants will gain resources about current initiatives that encourage civil discourse, constructive dialogue, and active engagement across communities, with an emphasis on voice and choice. Teaching will be examined as a sociopolitical endeavor with specific consideration of professional and ethical contexts within community and civic environments. Participants will explore, analyze, and reflect upon social values and personal commitments and will explore teacher resilience, balance, and wellness. Attention will be drawn to educational agents, organizations, policies, and practices that move schools toward more compassionate and inclusive opportunities. The course will culminate with a goal-centered project plan.

Audience: Practicing Educators and Teacher Leaders with an earned Bachelor's Degree

Course Goals & Objectives

Course Goals:

• Goal 1: Provide participants with tools to encourage the preparation of secondary students for meaningful participation in their communities and civic spaces.
• Goal 2: Provide participants with information about current initiatives that encourage civil and community discourse and constructive dialogue.
• Goal 3: Provide participants with the opportunity to examine the teaching profession from a sociopolitical lens.
• Goal 4: Provide participants with the opportunity to examine their personal goals and engagement and wellness strategies.

Course Objectives: What Participants will know and be able to do:

• Learning Objective 1: Obtain knowledge of the historical and multicultural foundations of education in the US with comparisons to other settings;
• Learning Objective 2: Acquire and develop strategies and resources that promote civic and community engagement in classrooms;
• Learning Objective 3: Determine a critical perspective regarding the role of schools, families, and youth in civic and community spaces; and
• Learning Objective 4: Examine and construct a vision of one’s civic and community-oriented self, with the goal of further understanding personal backgrounds and teacher wellness strategies.

Course Schedule

A detailed Schedule/Activities List will be shared with participants.  All work is due on Saturday nights at midnight.  Guest speakers will visit as planned.

Week One:

Professor-Led Seminar:

Participants will review the Schedule/Activities List, Resources List, and Proficiency Tracker and choose to write weekly reflections on three resources of choice - depending upon their personal goals).

Week Two:

Participant(s)-Led Seminar:

Civic and Community Engagement Discussion and Resources

Week Three:

Participant(s)-Led Seminar:

Center for Civic Education and discussion of civic and community organizations.  Lesson plans will be created and shared along with crowdsourced items.

Week Four:

Participant(s)-Led Seminar:

Civic and community connections to classrooms.

Week Five:

Book Reviews Share

Week Six:

Final Projects Share

NOTE: Final Project is Due March 20, 2026

Required Texts

Required Texts are not included in the course tuition.

Various reading opportunities, videos, learning modules, and other texts will be provided.  Here are some suggested reading options:

Bell, Lauren Cohen, et al., editors. Civic Pedagogies: Teaching Civic Engagement in an Era of Divisive Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, 2024. Political Pedagogies.

Gruber, James S. Building Community: Twelve Principles for a Healthy Future. New Society Publishers, 2020.

Holbein, John B., and D. Sunshine Hillygus. Making Young Voters: Converting Civic Attitudes into Civic Action. Cambridge University Press, 2020.

“Home.” Educating for American Democracy, https://www.educatingforamericandemocracy.org/. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.

“PBS LearningMedia.” PBS LearningMedia, https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/grades/9-12/?rank_by=recency. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.

Weir, B. (2024). Life as we know it (can be): stories of people, climate, and hope in a changing world. Chronicle Prism.

For additional course information

Monica McEnerny

(802) 989-8274

For additional registration information

Center for Schools Team

(802) 468-1325

Register Now!