Citizenship Initiative

The Citizenship Initiative began in 1996 under the direction of former State DPI Superintendent, John Benson. The purpose of this program is to help schools and school districts assess their learning environments based on the "Seven Characteristics of Successful Schools". These include: Core Values, Safe and Orderly, Positive Relationships, Family and Community Involvement, Addressing Societal Issues, Engaging Students' Minds, and High Expectations.

In 1998, DPI developed and released the Citizenship Initiative-Building a World of Good Toolkit. This kit provides the framework necessary to effectively assess school climate, determine strengths and weaknesses, and develop programming to improve areas of concern.

Minigrants are available to help support Citizenship Initiative their activities. Minigrant funding is slated to be available through 2003.

CESA 8 provides awareness training and technical assistance to schools that are interested in the program. CESA 8 oversees a minigrant program that provides funds for start-up and improvement of Citizenship Initiative activities. CESA 8 also assists in evaluation of programming, and acts as the fiscal manager for the projects.

Wisconsin Dells will provide the backdrop for the annual Building the Heart of Successful Schools Conference October 9th and 10th. The Department of Public Instruction is providing an excellent slate of "best practices" for addressing any of the Seven Characteristics of Successful Schools.

For more information, you can view the DPI Building the Heart of Successful Schools Conference brochure on the web at http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dlsea/sspw/pdf/heartconf.pdf and registration

Name, Title	Organization	Phone	Fax	E-mail Address
Mary Kleusch, Consultant	DPI	608-266-7051	608-267-3746	KLEUSMP@mail.state.wi.us
Jackie Spencer, Citizenship Program Asst.	DPI	608-266-4447	608-267-3746	NA
John Knickerbocker, Coordinator	CESA 8	920-855-2114, Ext. 227	920-855-2299	knickerb@cesa8.k12.wi.us
Jeff Bentz, Coordinator	CESA 8	920-855-2114, Ext. 225	920-855-2299	jjbentz@cesa8.k12.wi.us

The current Citizenship/Values related resources in the RMC can be found at http://www.cesa8.k12.wi.us/rmc/rmcsearch.htm. Type in "Citizenship" or "Values" in the search prompt box.

The CESA 8 Citizenship Program currently holds the following items that may be borrowed:

Type of item	Title/Author/Copyright
Booklet	Wisconsin Citizenship Initiative - Program Guide/DPI/1997
Manual	Citizenship Initiative-Building a World of Good Toolkit
Video	"Tough Guise - Violence, Media and the Crisis in Masculinity"

(See also "Upcoming Events in Vocational and Career Education") If you would like more information on any of the following events, please contact Jennifer or John.

Title	Date(s)	Location	Subject/Related Area
Building the Heart of Successful Schools Conference	December 9 & 10, 2002	Wis. Dells, WI	This program sharing conference will provide educators with practical examples from Wisconsin schools that have embraced our shared responsibility and commitment to provide our students with the tools they need to build bright futures. The conference will feature useful ideas and practical models to achieve our goal of providing every child in Wisconsin the opportunity to a quality education. For more information on the Building the Heart of Successful Schools Annual Conference, check out the conference web page at http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dlsea/sspw/bldhrtcon.html