About & Workgorups
Past: 2025 MiCivics Summit Information
The
MiCivics Coalition
The 2026 Civic Education Summit
Tuesday, March 10th, 2026
with pre-conference sessions possible Monday, March 9th
Host: Upshur Institute for Civic Education at
Eastern Michigan University
Call for Proposals and Registration Up August 2025
because nourishing the roots of democracy requires all of us
Purpose
Like the tree of 40 fruit, each one of us has our unique expressions within our democracy. Our goal as a society and as a coalition, is to ensure the health of the tree. A tree can only flourish when its roots are firmly planted - for us that means rooted in principles of Constitutional democracy with as many opportunities to practice the skills and dispositions. Understanding multiple perspectives come together to nourish the soil of democracy.
Desired Future State
The MiCivics Coalition desires a future where every person has the learning opportunities, skills, and pathways to meaningfully participate in civic life. The Coalition cultivates civic education champions in all communities for a more robust and vibrant civic society.
Evolution
Michigan’s future is a reflection of what we teach and what civic education opportunities exist today. That sentiment brought numerous concerned individuals together to begin dialogue on Michigan’s civic future.
Starting with dialogue, interviews, focus groups, and collaboration, the group began to identify itself as the MiCivics Coalition. The evolving vision of the MiCivics Coalition is to create a Michigan where every person has the opportunities, knowledge, and skills to participate meaningfully in the civic life of their communities. To do so, the group concentrates on three working areas: education, outreach, and policy. The MiCivics Coalition seeks to cultivate civic education champions in the State of Michigan and empower them to act towards the vision of a more robust and meaningful civic experience for our students.
At the same time as Michigan’s intentional collaboration and cooperation was developing steam with additional partners and goals, CivXNow was concurrently creating its own coalition work at the national and state levels to support civic education goals. MiCivics has continued to grow with support of CivicXNow field work. Supporting listening tours and collective cooperation, the Coalition seeks to continuously grow in scope, representation, and reach.
Summit
The 2025 Civic Education Summit
Cultivating Civic Champions: Advancing Civic Curiosity & Joy
Summit
Friday, March 14 | 9am-3:45pm
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum & Foundation
303 Pearl Street NW, Grand Rapids MI 49504
Julia became one of the co-founders of the Boggs School and, later,
the principal after spending her adolescence and young adulthood
under the mentorship of James and Grace Boggs and the other
influential founders of Detroit Summer. Here she found a passion for
a thriving Detroit community for children and an understanding that
we must be the leaders we are looking for.
In addition to her role at the Boggs School, Julia also sits on the Great
Lakes Stewardship Initiative board. She is a proud Detroiter and a
graduate of Detroit Public Schools. She received each of her degrees
from local universities: a bachelor's degree in English from Michigan
State University, a master's degree in liberal studies from the
University of Detroit-Mercy, and a master's degree in education and
teaching certification from Wayne State University. She was
incredibly honored in 2019 to be a keynote speaker at the annual Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium at the University of Michigan.
You can find her speech on the Boggs School website.
You can learn more at www.boggsschool.org
Julia Putnam
Co-Founder and Principal
The Boggs School, Detroit
Summit
The 2025 Civic Education Summit
Cultivating Civic Champions: Advancing Civic Curiosity & Joy
Friday, March 14 | 9am-3:45pm
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
The 2025 Civic Education Summit
Cultivating Civic Champions: Advancing Civic Curiosity & Joy
Friday, March 14, 2025 | 9am-3:45pm
Logistics
The Meeting The Venue The Menu The Seating The Parking The Lodging
Friday, March 14
Registration Opens
8:45
Opening Session
at 9am
Gerald R. Ford
Presidential
Museum &
Foundation
303 Pearl St NW
Grand Rapids, MI
49504
Registration:
DeVos Learning
Center Lobby
Please park in front of
the Museum.
Parking at both facilities
is free, and accessible
parking spaces are
located in both the
main and over-flow
parking lots.
AM
Coffee, Muffins,
Danishes, Scones
Lunch
tbd
DeVos Learning
Center
Snacks
Summit
Listening Tour Findings
Summit
Understanding the Civic Education Michiganders Want
Throughout 2022, MiCivics Coalition members began a series of 8 listening tours through Upper and Lower Michigan. Future plans are to expand the scope in order to hear from all Michiganders about their preferred civic futures.
Greater emphasis and resources for teaching state, local, and community civics and provide more local civic engagement opportunities.
Significantly greater financial investment in civic education and civic communities with a focus on those areas identified here.
Greater investment in K-8, especially K-5 civic knowledge. Reimagine embedding all other disciplines through a strong civics lens.
Preliminary Data & Outcomes - Pathways for the Future of Civic Education These trends emerged which provide opportunities to operationalize the needs of Michiganders.
The five emerging themes are:
Greater breadth and depth of teacher, administrator, and community civics knowledge, practices, and engagement.
Greater emphasis on place based and experiential learning to bring civics to life and to demystify political participation.
The MiCivics Coalition Partners
Organizational Partners
Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy at Wayne State University
Michigan Center for Civic Education
Michigan Council for the Social Studies
Michigan Council on Economic Education
Michigan Department of Civil Rights
Upshur Institute for Civic Education – Eastern Michigan University
Summit
Coalition partners pledge to ensure that every person acquires the civic knowledge, skills, and behaviors necessary for informed, authentic, and engaged civic participation. Organizational or individual participation in the coalition at large should not be construed as participation in all of these functions. Rather, organizational or individual membership denotes support for these overall goals and are willing to lend their affiliation to visibly demonstrate their support for the mission and vision of the MiCivics Coalition. Below are the current members to the MiCivics Coalition!
Learn more about the organizations supporting the coalition nationwide here.
The MiCivics Coalition Partners
Summit
Individual Partners
Hon. Lisa Babcock, 54b District Court Judge
Hillary Baker, Director of Instruction, Board Member MCCE
Fatima Bolyea, Attorney, Washington Twp.
Kevin Boyd, Teacher, Calumet
Fawn Cameron, Durand
Helen Craig, Social Studies Consultant
Elizabeth Donovan, EMU College of Engineering & Technology
Linda Doornbos, Oakland University
Aaron Grenier, Teacher, Fowlerville
Shannon Headley, Teacher
Thomas Heasley, Teacher, Farmington Hills
LaNiece Jackson, Teacher, Flint
David Johnson, Instructional Consultant, Northern Michigan Learning Consortium
Kimberly Jones, Director of Innovative Inclusion, Board Member MCCE
Marsha Lewis, Administrator, Detroit
Rita Lockridge, Retired Teacher, Oak Park
Brian Long, Teacher
Kevin Lorentz, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Freeland
Coalition partners pledge to ensure that every person acquires the civic knowledge, skills, and behaviors necessary for informed, authentic, and engaged civic participation. Organizational or individual participation in the coalition at large should not be construed as participation in all of these functions. Rather, organizational or individual membership denotes support for these overall goals and are willing to lend their affiliation to visibly demonstrate their support for the mission and vision of the MiCivics Coalition. Below are the current members to the MiCivics Coalition!
Individual Partners
Collene McCormack, Ludington
Angelo Moreno, East Lansing Public Library
Bill Ormerod, Teacher, Clarenceville
Susan Palmiter, MDE
Kim Pittel, Teacher
Eric Roberts, Law Student, MCCE Board Member
Doug Ross, Detroit
Jennifer Rumschlag, Teacher
Kim Saks, University of Michigan - Flint
Tamara Schreiner, GVSU
Tina Tait, Teacher, Detroit
Karen Twomey, Teacher, Bloomfield Hills
Jeanne VanLaan, Teacher, Washington Twp.
Ryan Werenka, Teacher, Troy
Kymberli Wregglesworth, Teacher, Onaway
Kelly Young-Raymore, Teacher, Bloomfield Hills
Ellen Zwarensteyn, Grand Rapids
Summit
The MiCivics Coalition has formed to fuel Michigan where every person has the opportunities, knowledge, and
skills to participate meaningfully in the civic life of their community.
Recognizing that preparing our youth to assume the responsibilities and understand their rights as active
participants in the civic life of this great nation is essential to the health of our democratic republic, the MiCivics
Coalition pledges to help every K-12 school in Michigan to fulfill their historic and vital civic mission.
Coalition members pledge to ensure that every person acquires the civic knowledge, skills, and behaviors
necessary for informed, authentic, and engaged civic participation.
Agree with the mission?