Encouraging Student Civic Engagement

Shortly after the Parkland school shooting, as students at Stoneman Douglas began to gain attention for their gun control efforts, I made a display about the 2nd Amendment and teen/children social agents. I included a poster of our state and federal legislators with their addresses and a stack of voter registration applications.
I loved this display showcased in School Library Journal.
Students in our school worked with our administrators to plan a walkout event for March 14th. They had a banner made for students to sign and then send to Stoneman Douglas, they read the names of the victims in the auditorium (weather and safety concerns kept students inside), and had a student speak about the importance of being aware of current events and being engaged politically. Students ran the show with staff helping with details. I made a business card sized handout for them with our legislators' names and numbers on it. I already had this information handy because I'm the Legislative Chair for our state library association.
I'm proud of the students' efforts and their willingness to be civically aware and active. For our Loo Reviews during this time I shared books with teens as social change agents, like Moxie, The Hate U Give, I Am Malala and more.