Quality + Impact = POWER
Cabarrus County 4-H Citizenship Focus
Planning and Preparation
• Conversations with Civics teachers and county commissioner, attendance at workshop
• Tenth grade Civics students have the opportunity to actively learn about local government through experiences
The Program
• Cabarrus 4-H Citizenship Focus– Visit to Cabarrus County Governmental Center
• Panel discussion with elected officials• Budget simulation activity• Employee interviews
Target Audience & Skills
• Cabarrus County Civics classes
• Program designed to align with NC Standard Course of Study objectives
Research Base• Young people's intended civic and political
participation: Does education matter?
Lopes, Joana; Benton, Thomas; Cleaver, Elizabeth; Journal of Youth Studies, Vol 12(1), Feb, 2009. pp. 1-
20. • Building the evidence base for youth engagement:
Reflections on youth and democracy. Yohalem, Nicole; Martin, Shanetta; Journal of Community Psychology, Vol 35(6), Aug, 2007. Special issue: Youth and democracy: Participation for personal, relational, and collective well-being. pp. 807-810.
Goal
• Participation in Cabarrus 4-H Citizenship Focus will bring meaning to several Civics course objectives through a ‘learn by doing’ opportunity and produce engaged citizens.
Objectives
• Students will become more confident in speaking with elected officials
• Students will learn what their civic responsibilities are
• Students will encourage adults they know to vote
• Students will talk about local government issues with others
County Finance Manager leads students in budget simulation
A group of students visit with the Cabarrus County Parks Director
A student addresses the panel of elected officials
Partners
• Cabarrus County Cooperative Extension
• Cabarrus County Government
• Cabarrus County Schools
• Kannapolis City Schools
• City of Concord
• City of Kannapolis
Partners, continued
• Town of Harrisburg
• Town of Mount Pleasant
• Cabarrus County Cooperative Extension Youth Advisory Council
Resources
• NC Civic Education Consortium
• Rotary of Cabarrus County
Marketing
• Flyer for teachers
• NCACC
• NACo
• Newspaper
• Success stories
Evaluation
• Immediate evaluation
• Follow-up evaluation
Benefits of Program
• 2700 students served
• Majority of students report being more confident in speaking with elected officials
• Nearly 90% of students better understand their civic responsibilities
• Volunteer hours = $18,000
• More educated voters in county
Recognition
Key Points
• Communicate with teachers – you need their buy-in
• Orient students
• Be organized and flexible
How do I replicate the program?
Questions
