About
Civics, taught by people barely older than the students.
Youth Civics Network is a youth-led nonprofit. High schoolers train on our curriculum and then teach it to elementary and middle school students — one state chapter at a time.
Why we exist
Most people cannot name their state legislator, and a good number cannot say what a city council does. That is not a failure of intelligence. It is a failure of teaching: the parts of government that touch daily life most often are the parts schools cover least.
We start there instead. Our lessons open with the school board that sets the rules of a student's own school, the council that decides whether their park gets fixed, and the agency that runs the bus their family takes. Federal government comes after, once the idea that government is a set of people making decisions is already concrete.
Every lecture is nonpartisan by policy, not by accident. Our lesson standard forbids mentioning political parties during instruction. Volunteers write to that standard, and it is the first thing we check.
The shape of a lesson
Every lesson we publish follows the same four beats. It is short on purpose — children lose interest fast, and a volunteer teaching for the first time needs a structure they can hold in their head.
- 01Warm-up 5 min A question or quick game that gets students talking before they are taught anything.
- 02Lecture 10 min max A short, visual explanation. No political parties.
- 03Two games Most of the time Where the learning actually happens — mock votes, budget arguments, sorting games, role-play.
- 04Wrap-up 5 min Students say back what they learned, in their own words.
Chapters
We run as state chapters. A chapter is a group of high school volunteers who train together, then teach in schools and after-school programs near them. Twelve states are active.
TexasCaliforniaOhioIllinois PennsylvaniaGeorgiaNorth Carolina VirginiaMichiganAlabama New JerseyRhode Island
If your state isn't on that list and you want it to be, start a chapter.
Want the curriculum?
It's free, it's nonpartisan, and you don't need to be a chapter to use it.
Browse the curriculum