A unique summer experience that empowers high school students to take action in response to today’s issues.
The Stern Civics Immersion Program is a three-week residential summer program, also offered virtually.
Junior State of America’s Civics Immersion Program is designed to engage high school students with the most pressing issues facing our democracy today, challenging them to look beyond differences and focus on solution-oriented action. Participants gain a complete understanding of critical issues directly from the decision-makers who shape public policy and apply lessons learned to generate ideas for direct action in their communities.
Previous courses include Environmental Justice, Global Poverty, Inequality and Justice, and Design Thinking for Community Problem Solving. In addition to the primary course of study each summer, all students will take a supplementary course: Argumentation and Use of Evidence.
The material for the Civics Immersion program is designed for high school students in 9th-12th grade.
Kristin Hansen (Spring 2023) is the Executive Director of Civic Health Project, a nonpartisan nonprofit philanthropy, where she is dedicated to accelerating the efforts of practitioners, creatives, and academics who seek to reduce polarization, foster social cohesion, and improve civil discourse in America's citizenry, politics, and media. Read Kristin's full bio.
Todd Green and Homayra Ziad will be facilitating a workshop session on our engagement with government and civil society, how and why we have wanted to take our knowledge of religion into the public square, and some of the challenges and opportunities we have faced. Todd Green is Executive Director of America Indivisible, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to countering racism against Muslims and those perceived as Muslim from Arab, Black, Sikh and South Asian communities. Homayra Ziad is a scholar-activist, educator and writer, Director of the Program in Islamic Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and Board President of the ACLU Maryland.
Facilitator
 | Facilitator
Homayra Ziad  |
Be better equipped to participate in government at the national, state, and local levels
Be able to lead and participate in civil conversations with people from different backgrounds and perspectives
Learn and demonstrate effective 21st-century leadership skills
Be ready to address current and future political, economic, and social issues facing the world
Be better suited to succeed in secondary and post-secondary education environments
Develop and hone essential critical thinking skills
Classes will be held daily from 9am - 12pm PT, Monday - Friday July 6 - July 22, 2022.