The Connecting Classrooms to Congress project will develop and test a social studies curriculum module that enables high school students to study a pressing issue - one that policymakers at the national level are grappling with - and then discuss that issue with their sitting member of Congress through an online deliberative town hall.

The Educating for American Democracy Pilot Evaluation will examine the implementation of a new middle school curriculum aligned with the priorities of the Educating for American Democracy (EAD) initiative. The research will be undertaken in collaboration with iCivics, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting civic learning, and the architects of the curriculum.

With the support of the Robert R. McCormick Foundation and the Spencer Foundation, CERG has launched a rigorous research study of the impact of civic education practices on civic and academic outcomes as well as on the district-wide reform strategy being implemented by the Chicago Public Schools’ Civics Initiative.