Civics Academy

The Problem: Our economic and political systems are intricately linked, and the prosperity of business depends on a stable, predictable political environment. 70% of Americans today cannot pass a basic civic literacy test and only 25% feel “very confident” that they could explain how our government works.  

The Role of Business: Americans view the workplace and local businesses as integral parts of their communities — trusted, safe places where people work and come together. 75% of voters agree that businesses have a responsibility to protect our economic system and national environment. By prioritizing civics education, employers can foster greater civility, reduced polarization, and deeper engagement with the American way of life. 

Our Solution: Through Civics Academy, employees hone crucial skills that translate to the modern workplace, such as collaboration, teamwork, critical thinking, and working with people from different backgrounds and ideologies. Informed and active citizens make for strong communities, a strong economy, and a strong workforce. Prioritizing nonpartisan civics education is a way for employers to strengthen the infrastructure of American democracy at the local level. 

Civics Academy includes a self-paced online course and multiple experiential learning opportunities. Through Civics Academy, employers can take meaningful steps to increase civics knowledge and skills among employees, cultivating a stronger civic culture and a more supportive, collaborative, and productive workforce. 

The self-guided online course reintroduces employees to the basics of civics, empowering them to learn more about how our government works and how they can meaningfully participate in civic life. When employees enroll in Civics Academy, they gain access to an educational program that explores five topical modules in civics: 

• The Blueprint of Power: How the U.S. Government is Structured, 

• Citizenship: What It Means and Why It Matters, 

• Civic Engagement: More Than Just Voting, 

• Navigating Your Local Civic Landscape, and 

• Keystone Skills: Building Blocks of Success. 

Employees can navigate these five modules at their own pace, giving them the flexibility to develop their civics knowledge, skills, and disposition in a way that fits into their daily lives. 

Civic Day of Action 

Civic Day of Action is an optional opportunity for employees to practice the skills they learned via the Civics Academy online course. Through in-person volunteer projects, employees spend a day (or less) taking action that directly improves their communities, showcasing the learning benefits of turning information into action.

Participants are directed to matching platforms to help them find local volunteer opportunities that align with their skills and interests.  

Civics Academy Championship 

The Civics Academy Championship is an optional experiential learning component of the Civics Academy. It is an online or in-person competition where employees compete, through quizzes, event slides, and more, to determine who at the company has the most knowledge about civics, citizenship, U.S. government, etc.  

This initiative is based on The Civic Trust’s National Civics Bee, a national competition where middle schoolers showcase their civics knowledge while competing for a chance to win monetary prizes.