Oklahoma Attorney General Launches Statewide Initiative to Teach Kids to be Engaged Citizens
A network of partners will bring web-based civic education to students statewide
WASHINGTON and OKLAHOMA CITY, March 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- EverFi, Inc., the leading critical skills education company, and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt today announced a new initiative to help prepare young Oklahomans to become knowledgeable, engaged 21st century citizens. Attorney General Pruitt's initiative will bring together local businesses, financial institutions and organizations to provide EverFi's web-based civic education program to local students at no cost to schools or taxpayers.
"Our system of government depends on an active and engaged citizenry," said Attorney General Scott Pruitt. "Too few of our students are proficient in basic civics which is why we're launching this program. Our goal is to educate our Oklahoma middle school students on the importance of exercising their rights, and build public-private partnerships so we can do so at no cost to our schools or districts."
Only 22% of Oklahoma's eighth-graders are proficient in civics according to the 2010 National Assessment of Education Progress. In partnership with the Attorney General and local businesses, EverFi will provide an interactive, online program called Commons: Digital Town Square to Oklahoma middle schools.
Commons: Digital Town Square covers Rights of U.S. Citizens, Structure of U.S. Government, Elections and Voting, Juries and the Courts, Persuasive Writing and Debate, Taxes and Budgets, Duties of Elected Officials, Legislative Process and State and Local Government. The course presents students with opportunities take part in real-world civic engagement activities, including writing to elected officials and composing an op-ed article.
"This is the first statewide civics education initiative of its kind, and we're excited to embark on it with Attorney General Pruitt," said EverFi Founder and CEO Tom Davidson. "This engaging program will really bring civics to life for Oklahoma middle school students, which is especially important to me as a native Oklahoman."
Backed by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Twitter founder Evan Williams, and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, EverFi is focused on teaching, assessing, and certifying K-12 and college students in the critical skills they need for life. To provide this learning opportunity to students, EverFi's activation team will manage all school integration and teacher training. Thousands of teachers across the U.S. have used EverFi's innovative curriculum in their classrooms.
If you are a member of the Oklahoma business community seeking to bring this online civic engagement program to local schools, please contact Beth Carroll, Senior Vice President of National Partnerships at EverFi at 678-640-1617 or [email protected].
SOURCE EverFi, Inc.
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