“At least I won’t have to see the election ads online anymore!”
When one of my Economics students made this comment after the 2024 election, it got me thinking about how much students are being bombarded with political messaging, often partisan, and how that can lead to overwhelm and disengagement. While adults may be increasingly provoked by politics, many students simply tune out.
Deciding how best to educate students about civics in an increasingly polarized environment often comes from an adult perspective. We usually start from the place of what do I understand about civics, and how do I best communicate that to the students? However, the better framing comes from the student perspective by asking How are students experiencing and interpreting the outside world right now?
At Pacific Ridge School (CA), we believe that to spark genuine interest in civics, students need direct engagement—not just traditional instruction. And we’ve created schoolwide programs and opportunities designed to connect sixth through 12th graders with the civic process, tackle complex civic issues, and develop as future civic leaders for students.
Civic Leadership Academy
Our upper school offers a Civic Leadership Academy that begins in ninth grade and continues through 12th grade. Through this academy, students gain hands-on experience in public policy and gain a foundational understanding of the structure, functions, and powers of government at the national, state, and local levels. They work with local legislators, speak at civic events, and may even lobby officials in Sacramento or Washington, D.C. Students who complete the requirements graduate with a distinction on their diplomas.
Each year, students fulfill requirements by completing an internship or project for an elected official or public policy nonprofit, participating in an advocacy trip, or speaking at a city council or city commission meeting. Throughout, students develop advanced communication, negotiation, and critical analysis skills while supporting the school’s commitment to equity, community, and ethical responsibility.
This 2025-26 school year, some students who participated had internships that included working for a federal judge, a member of Congress, and two local city council members. Other students spoke at city council meetings, advocating for a city youth commission to address local homelessness. Beyond civics knowledge, students developed professional skills by preparing résumés, practicing their interview skills, and learning about appropriate dress and decorum. They also reviewed how to write professional emails and appropriately follow up.
Interns working with city council members acquired skills in communication, event planning, public service, and leadership. They tackled high-priority issues, such as affordable housing, climate stabilization, and equity in legislation. Students wrote meeting briefings to promote transparency, drafted in-depth policy proposals, and composed newsletters for residents. They also managed and created content for the council members' public social media accounts. This included important city updates, summaries of council meetings, promoting city events, and constituent outreach.
Advocacy Field Trips
We created student advocacy trips, whether to meet with lawmakers or lobby for legislation, to give students first-hand civics experience and build crucial skills like public speaking, critical analysis, and professional soft skills.
Ideally, students advocate for issues that matter to them. For Pacific Ridge students, one of the main/ongoing issues is increased funding for the community college system. During the legislative season, advocacy groups travel to Sacramento to present their priorities for the state budget. In January 2025, six ninth graders met with assemblymembers as well as our state senator. Our advocacy contributed to the California Community College state funding of $19 billion for the 2025-26 school year, reflecting a 1.6% increase over the revised 2024-25 level.
Some of our advocacy trips are more local. Recently, middle school students visited a nearby assemblymember’s field office to support an e-bike safety bill. Although the bill did not pass when it was first introduced, it passed after revision, and my students felt that they were an important part of that process. It was a helpful lesson that most bills don’t pass when introduced and often require amendments, negotiation, and reintroduction to finally pass into law. Students got a ringside view of the legislative process and learned the importance of persistence.
Throughout these experiences, students learn about lawmaking, budgeting, and essential soft skills like delivering elevator pitches, professional etiquette (eye contact!), and follow-up communication. These activities can also strengthen connections between schools and elected officials, who may be persuaded to later visit campus to engage with more students.
Schoolwide Activities
We engage students in these civics-focused activities throughout the year, regardless of whether it’s an election year.
In off-election years, local officials are the most accessible, are often eager to connect with the local youth, and are dealing with issues closest to home. In the fall of non-election years, Pacific Ridge hosts a Mayors’ Forum in which we invite local mayors as well as students and parents for a roundtable discussion on topics like housing or homelessness. We also host lunchtime sessions with congressional staff for federal legislative updates and a Q&A.
Student groups also lead opt-in lunchtime discussions on civic-focused topics like the president’s first 100 days or executive orders, which allows them to plan an event, formulate questions, and engage in meaningful dialogue. In these sessions, teachers moderate the discussion, clarify misconceptions, and ensure students leave with a proper understanding of the issue’s underlying civic basis.
We also plan several local trips throughout the year. Sixth grade students travel to our local city hall to meet with city council members who discuss their role in the city government, the different issues they handle, and answer questions about how the local government functions. Eighth grade students visit the downtown courthouse, where they sit in a real courtroom and listen to a judge explain their role in the judicial process and how trials proceed, and then they participate in a moot court. High school students participate in a bi-national summit hosted by the San Diego Diplomacy Council, which brings together students from San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico to discuss bilateral relations between the U.S. and Mexico.
During election years, we build in more opportunities throughout the election season. In October, we hosted a ballot primer educational event for students and parents in which the leader of the local chamber of commerce explained ballot measures and propositions. Students in my economics class focused on the potential fiscal ramifications of these propositions in preparation for a later class discussion. We also held the California Student Mock Election, which was hosted by the California secretary of state, in which students voted for their chosen presidential candidate as well as several propositions on the California ballot. We invited congressional candidates from both political parties to speak about their political origin stories, why they decided to run for office, and their priorities, and included a Q-and-A portion for students to ask them questions about their platform. Later, I reported the election results to the students so they could compare their votes to the statewide election results.
We also hosted optional lunchtime discussions for the students throughout the fall prior to and after the election. We talked about the status of the presidential campaign and unpacked messaging, polling, and other issues. These events allowed students who were truly interested in the subject to dive deeper, have a discussion, and ask questions. We held discussions both pre-election and post-election to analyze the results.
Empowering Student Voice
Students will and should form their own stance on important civic issues––and schools have an incredible opportunity to get them excited and demonstrate how to approach them responsibly and constructively. It’s our work as educators to give them the toolkit to make informed opinions backed by critical thinking and direct involvement in issues that are important to them.