Staten Island USA

  • Home
  • BP James Oddo
  • News
  • Events
  • Initiatives
  • Resources
  • According to Jim
  • Social
  • Budget
  • Contact/Report
  • Home
  • BP James Oddo
  • News
  • Events
  • Initiatives
  • Resources
  • According to Jim
  • Social
  • Budget
  • Contact/Report

NEWS

Two local students win civics essay contest

2/6/2018

 
Picture
On Tuesday, February 6th, BP Oddo welcomed two high school seniors to Borough Hall to congratulate them on winning an essay contest held by the Dreyfuss Civics Initative, a non-profit organization founded by actor Richard Dreyfuss that aims to revive the teaching of civics in public education. The Borough President’s office helped facilitate the contest in several of Staten Island’s public high schools.
 
The two Staten Island seniors, Madeline Belaya, of Curtis High School, and Maxwell Velikodny, of Susan Wagner High School, were each awarded a $500 merit check and a $500 donation to the faculty department of their respective schools.
 
The contest asked students to write an essay about the structure and balance of power among the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government. The organization chose the winners based on those they felt had the ability to express clarity of thought and form an opinion.
 
“At a time when over 50% of high school students nationwide are unable to name all three branches of the federal government, it is great to see Staten Island students like Madeline and Maxwell excelling in civics,” said BP Oddo.
 
The partnership with the Dreyfuss Civics Initiative follows a similarly successful partnership with iCivics, a not-for-profit organization that teaches students how government works by having them experience it directly through a series of interactive games.

Staten Island teachers trained in iCivics

6/23/2017

 
​On Friday, June 23rd, Borough President James Oddo joined with members of the Department of Education to host a training session for teachers in iCivics. Through a partnership between the Borough President and the DOE, teachers from Staten Island public schools were trained in how to use this educational tool as part of their curriculum. Teachers will use the program as part of their Social Studies curriculum beginning in 3rd grade and continuing through the high school level. Previously, civics was only taught briefly in high school.
 
At the training session, teachers received an orientation from iCivics representatives on how to implement the game-based learning program in the classroom. Participants were able to explore the site, create accounts and start their virtual classrooms. The workshop put an emphasis on the train-the-trainer model, encouraging teachers to return to their schools and train other teachers. Teacher guides were also distributed to participants.
 
“This is a priority of ours,” noted BP Oddo. “We live in an era where we have more access to information than ever before, yet people still don’t understand how our government and country works. We want to reemphasize the teaching of civics, and iCivics is a great tool to do this. It draws students in through games and creates better informed citizens, who will be the true leaders of tomorrow. Focusing on teaching civics in our schools is a great way to get at society’s challenges. The more students learn about civics, the more likely they are to be positive agents of change in the future.”
 
“iCivics allows us to grow better civic-minded students,” said Christine Zapata of the DOE’s Staten Island Borough Field Support Center. “It allows kids to get deeper into topics they normally wouldn’t have learned about so early in their careers. Why wait until kids are 17 or 18 years old to make them better civic-minded citizens?”
 
“Students love iCivics,” said Amber Coleman-Mortley, Digital Media Manager for iCivics. “It puts them in the driver’s seat, where they can get firsthand experience in civics. We support the games with a curriculum for teachers to make sure that students understand the concepts fully.”
 
iCivics is a not-for-profit program founded by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in 2009. The program teaches students how government works by having them experience it directly through a series of interactive games. iCivics offers 19 free interactive games that focus on different aspects of civics education. It is used by over 150,000 teachers in all 50 states, reaching over 5 million students every year.

    News Archives

    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Tags

    All
    Active Recreation
    Andrew Cuomo
    Andrew Lanza
    Bill De Blasio
    Borough Board
    Borough Hall
    BP Assist
    Capital Funding
    Charles Schumer
    City Agencies
    Clean Up SI
    Community
    Community Boards
    Community Events
    Cultural Attractions
    Dan Donovan
    Deborah Rose
    Diane Savino
    District Attorney
    DSNY
    Economic Development
    Education
    Emergency Services
    End Of Year Message
    FDNY
    Film/TV
    Health
    Hurricane Sandy
    ICivics
    Infrastructure
    James Oddo
    Jocko Willink
    Joseph Borelli
    Matthew Titone
    Michael Cusick
    Michael McMahon
    Nicole Malliotakis
    NYC Mayor
    NY Governor
    NYPD
    Opioid Epidemic
    Own The 18
    Parks
    Pave Baby Pave
    Readers Are Leaders
    Reading
    Resource Fair
    Roads
    Ron Castorina
    Security
    Social Media
    Steven Matteo
    Students
    Substance Abuse
    Summer Events
    Tech
    Too Good For Drugs
    Tourism
    Transportation
    Veterans
    Video
    Vincent Ignizio

    Picture
    Picture
    Media Inquiries

    Please contact the Department of Communications.

    Alexey Chandler
    Communications Coordinator

    718-816-2198
    AChandler@statenislandusa.com 

    ​​​
RESOURCES
​
​Helpful Links
Local Government
Borough Board
INITIATIVES
​
​Clean Up SI
​
Culture & The Arts
​Economic Development
Education


​Health & Wellness
Infrastructure
Parks
Substance Abuse


​The Heart Project
Tourism
Transparency
Transportation
CONTACT

​BP Assist Mobile App
BP's Office
Staff Directory
About Us
Privacy Policy
Office of Staten Island Borough President James S. Oddo  •  10 Richmond Terrace  •  Staten Island, NY 10301  •  718-816-2000  •  © COPYRIGHT 2018
Picture