Ball State University receives $2.7 million federal grant for strengthened civics instruction

Ball State University has received $2.7 million in federal funding from the American History and Civics–National Activities (AHC-NA) program to support an initiative aimed at strengthening civics education across the state of Indiana. The project is called FORGE: Foundations of Representative Government and Engagement, and will run for three years through the university’s Center for Economic and Civic Learning (CECL). The goal of FORGE is to strengthen the teaching of American history, civics and government, geography, and constitutional literacy.

According to an article on Ball State University's website, Dr. David J. Roof, who serves as the director of CECL and the principal investigator for FORGE, was quoted as saying of the initiative, “Indiana has made important investments in civic education, and the opportunity now is to help educators and schools put that commitment into practice. FORGE is about developing the knowledge, instructional capacity, partnerships, and leadership needed to make high-quality civic learning sustainable in schools and communities across the state. This grant gives us the opportunity to think beyond a single program. The larger goal is to build something that lasts—stronger teachers, better-prepared future educators, deeper constitutional and historical learning for students, and a statewide network capable of supporting civic education long after the grant period ends.”

FORGE will help build a stronger network of support for civic learning by bringing together practicing educators, future teachers, school and district leaders, universities, schools, and civic organizations. In the three-year lifespan of the grant, the project will reach 255 civic leadership fellows, which includes 150 practicing educators, 60 teacher candidates, and 45 school and district leaders. Two thousand students will be taught in FORGE-supported classrooms.

The initiative will establish six regional Civic Learning Hubs that will support this work across Indiana. This is one of the first priorities of the project, as well as hiring a full-time project director to oversee project implementation. Other work will follow, including recruiting the first cohort of civic leadership fellows, developing instructional resources, and launching research and evaluation systems. 

Dr. Michael Ndemanu, who is a professor of educational studies and FORGE director of outreach, will focus on educator recruitment, regional partnerships, and community engagement. Dr. Rachel Geesa, who is an associate clinical professor of educational leadership and director of educator leadership for FORGE, will lead educator mentoring, leadership development, and teacher-candidate preparation. Melissa Gentry of Ball State’s University Libraries will lend her expertise to civic geography, public history, and place-based learning. Dr. Jerrell Cassady, who is professor of educational psychology and director of Ball State’s Research Design Studio, will lead research, data analysis, performance monitoring, and evaluation.

Those who participate in FORGE will work with founding documents, constitutional principles, American history, geography, primary sources, and evidence-based instructional practices. The initiative will include Civic Humanities Institutes; Constitutional Literacy and Applied History Labs; Civic Leadership Fellows; and the Indiana Civic Partnership Network.

For more information about Ball State University, visit the school’s website.