Restoring the Balance Between Academics and Civic Engagement in Public Schools

Creating academically proficient and civically engaged students seems a reasonable task on the surface,
but in practice the idea reveals itself as an enormous challenge. As we currently know, just
one of the tasks is capable of consuming all the resources we can give to it. But can addressing
just one of those tasks give us the educational system our children and youth need for a promising future?
The question the participants chose to explore was this: How can we balance the dual mission of academic proficiency
and civic education (with engagement) in our public education system without compromising either?
The seven propositions listed in the report, shaped by numerous national, state, and local-level discussions
among a diverse group of individuals, attempt to answer that question. The aim of the report is to inform
and ignite interest in moving beyond a reflection on the dual purpose of public education to an action plan
that seeks to strike the balance between academics and civic engagement for our students.