Professional Development Opportunities
Whether in person or online, there are numerous opportunities to participate in high-quality, content-focused professional learning in civics.
Use this page to stay updated with the latest programs and find the right one for you. Don’t forget to subscribe to the PA Civics events calendar!
In Person
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Subscribe to the PA Civics Google Calendar to stay up to date with civics conferences in Pennsylvania as well as national events.
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Registration for Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge summer seminars and traveling workshops opens on January 1, 2024.
Registration for the National Constitution Center’s Building the U.S. Constitution Summer Teacher Institute (Sunday, July 7 - Friday, July 12) is now open and closes on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.
Registration for the Rendell Center’s Summer Teacher Workshop (July 24-25) at Reading Area Community College is now open.
Through a partnership with PCSS, there are 5 slots available for PA teachers in the newest cohort for We The People: Civics that Empowers All Students (CEAS). CEAS is a federally funded project of the Center for Civic Education that supports effective educator development through the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution curriculum. Learn more and register here.
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APPLY HERE (Deadline: March 8)
The American Political Tradition Fellowship is the Jack Miller Center’s yearlong professional development fellowship for middle and high school social studies educators. The Fellowship consists of a weeklong in-person institute in the summer and monthly virtual meetings during the following academic year.
This July, the APT Fellowship will kick off with a summer institute at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The institute will feature five leading scholars from the JMC network and include sessions on the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, Lincoln and the Civil War, civil discourse, and America in the world.
Following the in-person institute, participants will continue meeting with these scholars at six virtual sessions throughout the 2024-25 academic year.
In addition to in-depth discussions of primary texts, teachers will develop lesson plans and curricular materials for the classroom.
Most expenses related to attending the institute will be paid for by the Jack Miller Center, including travel, lodging, and most meals. Participants will receive a $1,000 stipend.
If you have any questions about this program, contact Lauren Altobelli at laltobelli@gojmc.org.
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C70 is an approved provider of Act 48 professional development for educators from the PA Department of Education.
You can request a session by emailing Justin Villere, Director of Education at C70, at jvillere@seventy.org, or click to register for an upcoming Classroom Resources for American Democracy training session!
Online
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Subscribe to the PA Civics Google Calendar to stay up to date with online PD opportunities.
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“PLCs” are a great way to learn in a community setting with other educators. Contact PA Civics Coordinator Sam Forman to add your PLC to the list below:
Writing Civic Histories Project
The Writing Civic Histories Project is an opportunity to collaborate and build an online professional learning community with other Philadelphia teachers around writing instruction in social studies. The group will meet each month on Zoom to investigate how we can make writing about social studies topics a transformative space for all students. Register to join here.
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If you are interested in scheduling a civics content-specific professional development by PA Civics member organizations, email Sam Forman, PA Civics Coordinator.