2025 NNSP Annual Conference

How can we inspire students to embrace curious disagreement on both everyday topics and pressing societal issues? How can we equip them to engage constructively across differences in a college setting? In this interactive workshop, join the Institute for Multipartisan Education—a student-founded and student-led initiative—as we delve into the power of curious disagreement. Together, we'll examine its value, uncover the cognitive and social challenges it presents, and share practical strategies to cultivate meaningful, curious engagement in your classroom.

This engaging session delves into the transformative power of integrating civic and community engagement into classroom curricula. This session will explore how educators can effectively infuse civic principles into instruction to foster a sense of responsibility and active participation among students. Participants will gain insights into the measurable benefits of embedding civics into student learning, including enhanced critical thinking, leadership skills, and community awareness._x000D_
_x000D_
Key takeaways include understanding the definition of civic engagement, exploring ways to connect classroom content with real-world impact, and discovering tangible examples and resources to implement these concepts effectively. Attendees will leave equipped with strategies to develop civic competencies in students, align civic projects with grade-level standards, and utilize curricular resources to create meaningful learning experiences that extend beyond the classroom.

The 3-part Degrees of Impact series is grounded in NNSP's signature summer programming that has successfully run for the past five summers. The series will guide educators in structuring or redesigning a comprehensive community engagement program. Each session builds on the last, offering a step-by-step approach to align mission and outcomes, repurpose existing programs, and integrate meaningful opportunities into the curriculum.
Part 1: Mission and Vision Alignment and Outcome Definition
Explore how aligning your school’s mission and vision with community and civic engagement goals can create meaningful outcomes. This session will guide educators in defining clear objectives for social impact initiatives that resonate with their school’s values and support student growth. Participants will leave with tools to connect their institutional purpose to actionable, measurable results.

This workshop will focus on the process of thinking through and designing effective global citizenship and global competence oriented programming for students. Participants will reflect on how they can guide students in taking action for social impact on the most pressing global challenges. The facilitator will present strategies and examples to show how programs can be designed to allow for authentic, ethical, and sustainable community engagement and social impact work on the local, national and global scale. We will discuss how to guide students in critically reflecting on the issues they explore while on experiential programs, on how those issues manifest back home in their local communities, and on how they can implement projects for social impact to contribute to addressing said issues.

As PK3-12th grade educators, we wrestle with how to adequately prepare our students for active, engaged citizenship. In late adolescence, our students transition to legal adults, inheriting the rights and responsibilities associated with citizenship. Research studies consistently suggest decline in nearly every measure of civic and political engagement among American citizens, including participation in civic activities, rallies, political campaigns, and public meetings. To combat this trend, I engaged in a 4 year dissertation research study to propose a center for democracy intervention model. This PreK-12 integrated, holistic model is designed to address civic identity development, critical service learning, and civic leadership development. The proposed program is not a prescriptive curriculum, but a framework based on a learning outcomes approach, emphasizing 21st century skills, including inquiry-based learning, collaboration, and experiential practices that bring learning outside of the classroom.

“Activism, Power & Identity”' is a culturally-sustaining, civics curricular intervention in a time of socio-political upheaval. Harkening back to Septima Clark’s Citizenship Schools and SNCC’s Freedom Schools, students co-create an anti-oppressive educational space that centers analyzing their positionality within the US political system alongside enacting their own freedom dreams. This workshop will share historically and culturally-responsive pedagogical frameworks, example lesson plans, and whole-school engagement strategies to successfully implement critical civics curriculum. This session is geared towards social studies educators, curriculum specialists, and others who will gain (1) pedagogical analysis to situate critical culturally sustaining civics curriculum in our current time, (2) tools to cultivate family, educator and administrative buy-in, and (3) space to freedom dream their own interventions in their schools and communities.

In this session, we will share the journey that San Francisco University High School (SFUHS) is on to become a school that teaches students to engage in discourse across difference and support teachers in developing classroom lessons about controversial issues. In the 2023-2024 school year, SFUHS became disabled by the conflict in Israel and Gaza and shifted away from teaching into its mission. Rather than retreating, school leaders made the decision to lean hard into the lessons of the 2024 school year to transform our school culture into being a school that not only supported discourse across difference, but brought along our board of trustees, families, students and faculty as part of this transformational work. We have engaged in teacher training, student workshops, parent education and policy change to become a school that shows up best when learning about controversial issues and fostering a supportive environment in which students and teachers can engage together safely.

Teaching students how to enter conversations with curiosity and humility grounds everything we do in schools. In particularly fraught times, these skills and competencies counter contempt and inspire students to seek a deeper understanding of the people around them. (1) As much as we try to surround ourselves with like-minded individuals whose values and views support our own, it’s impossible (and perhaps boring!) to imagine a life that doesn’t offer intellectual challenge. Even so, we go to great lengths to insulate ourselves from opposing perspectives by curating our news, carefully selecting which information we are exposed to, how it is analyzed, and by whom. Social media amplifies our tendency toward echo chambers by employing algorithms that only expose us to ideas and people that align with our beliefs. (2) A 2022 Stanford study concluded that the resulting polarization and partisanship are having disastrous consequences for the American public and for children. (3)_x000D_
_x000D_
According to the work of Lynne Marie Kohm, Lynn D. Wardle and others, “when alternative viewpoints, opinions, and arguments are significantly absent from any community… it results in an ‘echo-chamber effect.’ The lack of intellectual diversity results in the community hearing only itself, hearing the ideas it wants and expects to hear, and hearing nothing but echoes of the arguments, and viewpoints it prefers and supports. Consequently, the discourse in that community becomes narrower and more extreme as it is unchecked by ideas from outside.” (4) This dynamic can fracture relationships, leaving people feeling bitter and isolated. (5) If we seek to counter these trends in exchange for a culture of care and compassion, we need to model empathy and provide students with opportunities to practice doing so, as well. _x000D_
_x000D_
This workshop invites participants to consider how to deliberately teach productive dialogue skills in history and social science classrooms. We will briefly explore research by Hess, McAvoy and Cohen regarding the crucial role of civil discourse education in safeguarding democracy, nurturing belonging, and promoting humanity. Building from a civility self-reflection that can be used in the classroom or to support faculty professional development, participants will examine sample lessons that can be adapted to various content areas. By the end of the session, individuals will have learned practical tools and strategies for amplifying competencies and skills instruction related to civil discourse._x000D_
_______________x000D_
(1) Arthur C. Brooks, Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from Our Culture of Contempt (New York, NY: Broadside Books, 2019), 34._x000D_
(2) Matteo Cinelli, Gianmarco De Francisci Morales, Alessandro Galeazzi, Walter Quattrociocchi, and Michele Starnini. “The Echo Chamber Effect on Social Media.” National Academy of Sciences Volume 118, no. 9 (March 2, 2021). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2023301118._x000D_
(3) Matthew Tyler and Shanto Iyengar. “Learning to Dislike Your Opponents: Political Socialization in the Era of Polarization.” American Political Science Review Vol. 117, no. 1 (2023): 347–54. https://doi.org/10.1017/S000305542200048X._x000D_
(4) Lynne Marie Kohm and Lynn D. Wardle, “The ‘Echo-Chamber Effect’ in Legal Education: Considering Family Law Casebooks,” University of St. Thomas Journal of Law and Public Policy, Volume 6, Issue 1 (Fall 2011): 104 https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/217155846.pdf _x000D_
(5) Geoffrey Skelling and Holly Fuong. “3 In 10 Americans Named Political Polarization As A Top Issue Facing The Country.” FiveThirtyEight, June 14, 2022. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/3-in-10-americans-named-political-polarization-as-a-top-issue-facing-the-country/.

The session delves into the presenter’s original methodology of the Civic Empowerment Pyramid, a strategic framework developed to guide minors and individuals in navigating the complexities of civic engagement. This step-by-step methodology provides actionable insights into how young people can leverage their unique perspectives and energy to influence decision-makers, from local leaders to policymakers.

In the age of TikTok and Instagram, supporting and engaging students to become educated and involved citizens can be challenging. Many young people believe their vote will not matter and that decisions made by elected officials are not something that they can influence. We still teach kids today the same way that we did 50+ years ago where they go to one room for math and a different room for history and a different room for every other subject, but we live in a world that is more interconnected than ever._x000D_
_x000D_
We have to meet students where they are and engage them on the issues that matter to them. We need to connect them to the process and show them how to access it so that they can see themselves as engaged citizens. The best way to do that is by actually making kids a part of the process. By encouraging students to work the polls on Election Day, they get to see the process up close. For my students, they quickly realized that the people who came in to vote at our school did not reflect the diversity of our neighborhood and school community. By working with students at the polls, they get to ask questions about the process, the candidates and different roles of all of the elected officials. They get to see first hand how the process works and begin to connect the issues to the process. Engaging kids before they leave high school provides the opportunity to connect them in a way they may not on their own._x000D_
_x000D_
As a science and special education teacher at a very diverse comprehensive neighborhood high school in Philadelphia, and a degree in both political science and biology, I know all too well how disengaged students can be. Join us for a conversation about engaging students in civics outside of the history or social studies classroom and across a broad range of interests an abilities. Learn how inclusion is possible for students of diverse abilities and the excitement of kids engaging in the process, working the polls and voting for the first time.

This session introduces participants to the world of social entrepreneurship, interweaving design thinking, systems thinking, and the power of storytelling for social impact. Through compelling narratives of young changemakers, participants will learn three key processes for innovation: spotting opportunities in their communities, testing and refining ideas through real-world prototyping, and implementing viable solutions to address pressing social issues. The session empowers participants to challenge preconceived notions about innovation and overcome common myths surrounding youth-led change, emphasizing that age is not a barrier but a unique advantage. Through interactive storytelling exercises and case studies, participants will discover how to harness stories of changemakers and entrepreneurs as inspiration for students to take meaningful action and create lasting impact in their communities.

The 3-part Degrees of Impact series is grounded in NNSP's signature summer programming that has successfully run for the past five summers. The series will guide educators in structuring or redesigning a comprehensive community engagement program. Each session builds on the last, offering a step-by-step approach to align mission and outcomes, repurpose existing programs, and integrate meaningful opportunities into the curriculum.

Part 2: Repurposing Programs and Identifying Challenges
Learn to leverage existing programs within your school to enhance civic engagement and social impact efforts while addressing potential obstacles. Educators will examine strategies to redesign or strengthen current initiatives for greater community impact, using resources from the National Network of Schools in Partnership. This session also offers insights into navigating challenges like resource limitations or stakeholder buy-in.

Young changemakers have unprecedented access to tools that can amplify their voices and turn ideas into impactful movements. This session will equip educators and mentors with strategies to help students harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to secure funding for their social impact projects. From grants and pitch competitions to fellowships and unconventional funding sources, participants will learn practical ways to guide students in using AI tools for research, storytelling, proposal generation, and outreach.

This session introduces participants to the world of social entrepreneurship, interweaving design thinking, systems thinking, and the power of storytelling for social impact. Through compelling narratives of young changemakers, participants will learn three key processes for innovation: spotting opportunities in their communities, testing and refining ideas through real-world prototyping, and implementing viable solutions to address pressing social issues. The session empowers participants to challenge preconceived notions about innovation and overcome common myths surrounding youth-led change, emphasizing that age is not a barrier but a unique advantage. Through interactive storytelling exercises and case studies, participants will discover how to harness stories of changemakers and entrepreneurs as inspiration for students to take meaningful action and create lasting impact in their communities.

In this immersive, hands-on session, educators will explore strategies to help elementary students become "problem spotters"—those who actively identify challenges in their surroundings. By teaching students to recognize and solve real-world problems, educators can increase student engagement, foster deeper connections to the world around them, and cultivate essential skills like agency and empathy. Participants will leave with practical tools and approaches they can implement immediately on their own campuses to enhance student learning and community impact.

In this session, educators will learn about how Dr. Chattin incorporated civic engagement and social justice in a public charter middle school and also an independent school. This model encourages students to take pride and ownership of their local communities in the form of community activism.

The last decade has seen an intensification of three of our roles as classroom teachers: the desire and need to teach civics, including supporting students' curiosity with the political process, the duty to protect marginalised students and uplift silenced voices, and professional responsibility of maintaining partisan neutrality in the classroom. However, the polarisation in the political environment of the past few presidential administrations has made teachers feel as if some of three responsibilities take precedence over the others or -- worse -- that backing away from these discussions is the easy way out. Instead, I will aim to make a convincing case for the importance in helping our students productively engage in civic discourse and embrace their viewpoints, and help to equip teachers in all disciplines to do so safely.

Join the Community Activation team from United to Learn (U2L) in Dallas, Texas to learn about bringing the service learning classroom into the field. In this session, U2L staff will share about its Teen Corps Program to model a practical example of collaboration between private and public high schools actively engaging with a local nonprofit organization to build purposeful leaders and advocates for educational equity. This session will showcase the Teen Corps flexible and differentiated program model to complement varied and diverse educational spaces and audiences. Attendees will also learn about ways to sustain Teen programs by providing opportunities for students to exercise their own agency, influencing the program vision through participation in organizational leadership structures.

In less than 10 years, the term “woke” has been resurrected as shorthand for antiracist and social justice consciousness, appropriated to disparage liberalism, deployed to polarize and obscure dialogue about the urgency and relevance of DEI work in our communities, and misused to object to just about anything perceived as progressive. Increasingly challenged for being too woke or not woke enough, organizations are playing heavy defense, too often on someone else’s terms. At stake aren’t just equity and inclusion initiatives, but the promise of mission and core values, and the mutual safety, dignity, belonging and thriving of our communities. In discussion with each other, participants will:_x000D_
• Deepen understandings of “wokeness” and “anti-wokeness;” _x000D_
• Recognize how the “woke” v. “anti-woke” tug-of-war sets us up and prevents progress; and_x000D_
• Practice using the language of mission and core values to engage resistance to DEI, and clarify and own what their community stands for.

The 3-part Degrees of Impact series is grounded in NNSP's signature summer programming that has successfully run for the past five summers. The series will guide educators in structuring or redesigning a comprehensive community engagement program. Each session builds on the last, offering a step-by-step approach to align mission and outcomes, repurpose existing programs, and integrate meaningful opportunities into the curriculum.

Part 3: Assessment, Reflection, and Curriculum Integration
Discover how to assess the effectiveness of engagement programs, reflect on their impact, and incorporate these opportunities into your curriculum. Educators will explore methods for embedding social impact lessons into various subject areas and creating a sustainable framework for civic learning. Gain actionable strategies to ensure these programs enrich students' academic and personal growth.

This session focuses on the transformative power of service-learning in fostering civic engagement and community involvement among students in diverse educational settings, including charter, private, and independent schools. We will explore how service-learning can be a bridge for students from varied backgrounds, promoting equity and understanding. Attendees will learn innovative strategies for integrating service-learning into their curricula, regardless of school type, and see how these approaches can lead to increased student retention and engagement. Participants will leave with actionable insights and adaptable models that can be implemented in their unique contexts, creating empowered students ready to make a difference in their communities.  

The 174-year-old Hill School is closely tied to Pottstown, Pa. – and, in 2014, a variety of factors led it to strengthen its connections to this “gritty” small city by creating Hobart’s Run, a comprehensive initiative to make Pottstown safer, cleaner, and more inclusive. Learn about this now 8-year-old, still-evolving neighborhood engagement project and how it has made a tangible, appreciated impact on our hometown while addressing School concerns such as Pottstown’s role in student and faculty recruitment and enhancing Hill’s community service culture.

Participants will discuss and learn more about the recent focus on "learning service" (versus service learning). In addition, I will share the details and outcomes of a recent large-scale event we organized here for 10th graders on the subject. This year we reimagined our annual 2-day service retreat for 10th graders into a 2-day focus on a specific social issue. 155 students were broken into 11 different groups focused on different social issues. Over their 2 days of their "microcourse" they engaged in both learning inside the classroom, service in the community, and conversations and meetings with local experts and nonprofit organizations. The outcome was multiple groups of a students who deepened their understanding of a complex social issue and made connections for future volunteer work.

Discover an innovative fellowship initiative powered by a dynamic partnership between Drew Charter’s Office of College and Career Readiness (CCR), its Early Learning Program, neighborhood early learning centers, and the Rollins Center for Language and Literacy. This collaborative "Grow Your Own Teacher" program bridges K-12 education with early childhood education, offering high school graduates a two-year, paid immersive experience in the field. It presents a unique, partner-driven model for workforce development in early learning.

This workshop will delve into how educators can effectively integrate community and civic engagement into the curriculum. Participants will explore systemic issues within their communities and how these can be woven into academic learning, fostering empathy and leadership among students.

As educators, our collective aim to prepare students to navigate a complex and polarized world, is more vital than ever. The fracturing of civil society across the nation and around the world underscores our duty to equip students with the skills they need to engage in respectful dialogue in order to promote equity, belonging and inclusivity. Recognizing this profound responsibility, this workshop empowers teachers and school leaders to advance civil discourse within their institutions. Formalizing a civil discourse statement fosters a collective commitment to the ideals it represents. It also encapsulates the essential work of schools and produces a roadmap that ultimately serves to ground programming across academics, advisories, co-curricular activities, athletics, and the arts._x000D_
_x000D_
This workshop invites participants to consider how they might lead their schools through the process of drafting a statement on civil discourse and provides suggestions for how to begin integrating it into academic and social programs. We will begin by exploring research by Cohen, Spencer, Brookfield, and Preskill, examining the crucial role of civil discourse education in safeguarding democracy, nurturing belonging, and promoting humanity. We'll share our school's journey in crafting a statement aligned with our mission to graduate students who “act knowledgeably, lead thoughtfully, share generously and contribute meaningfully.” Attendees will explore our methods for collecting and analyzing feedback from faculty in all three divisions, from administrators and senior leaders, members of the Board of Trustees and Parents Association, students, and staff members. They will examine how our collaborative process produced a statement that informs practices, policies and initiatives; shapes programming and instruction in academic classes and in social-emotional spaces; and further defines our identity, ethos and community interactions. We will demonstrate how we leveraged AI to synthesize large amounts of data to generate themes and patterns. Finally, we will offer practical examples of how schools can shift from drafting a statement to actualizing it in classrooms and in social-emotional learning spaces._x000D_
_x000D_
Through facilitated discussions and reflective exercises, participants will explore how to adapt the methods and frameworks to their own schools, drawing on their mission statements, visions and values. The workshop is designed to be adaptable, allowing participants to tailor the approach for specific divisions, departments, or a whole-school initiative. We welcome cohorts of cross-divisional school leaders and faculty seeking to partner with one another in pursuit of creating a statement on civil discourse.

I believe that my session could be successful as either an Engage Workshop or an Inspire Mini-Session. _x000D_
_x000D_
In this session I will discuss the concept of sustainable travel and how to combine service-learning and travel in a way that uplifts communities and prepares students for a meaningful experience that will inspire them to think deeper and take action. I will discuss the pre and post work necessary for non-harmful and meaningful service-learning travel and how you can "make global local" and use travel as a catalyst for creating civically engaged global citizens. _x000D_
_x000D_
As a mini-session on trips I have led or as a 45-min session I would use ~20 min to present and the remaining time I would lead participants through the planning and research process of an intentional service-learning trip.

As we set our sights on the 250th anniversary of our country in 2026, we are building support, programs, and vision for both digital and onsite connection to quality Civic Learning and Engagement for educators across the country. Learn and share with our team as we explore the future of the National Mall. After an overview of Beyond Granite, March On, and virtual classroom programs, join a facilitated session on how education leaders can envision Civic Learning and storytelling in 2026 and beyond in onsite and digital environments. The 2026 commemoration on the Mall will be an opportunity to elevate the stories that have gone untold. Participants will be able to provide feedback and insights from their schools that will inform the future of the Nation's 'front yard."