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CivicLex partners with Fayette County Public Schools on civic expos, teacher externships and student projects
Summary
CivicLex described a multi-year partnership with Fayette County Public Schools that delivered civic expos across high schools, teacher externships, classroom workshops and a district Civics Day, reaching thousands of students and community partners.
Fayette County Public Schools highlighted a multi-year partnership with CivicLex on Tuesday that district leaders say is expanding student civic education through classroom workshops, school-based civic expos and teacher externships.
At the meeting, Richard Young, executive director of CivicLex, said the nonprofit—s work is intended to boost civic health by helping young people understand local issues and connect with civic leaders. "We are a, about 7 year old nonprofit organization here in Lexington that's working to strengthen what we talk about as civic health in our community," Young said during the superintendent—s report.
What the partnership does: CivicLex staff described four main program components: in-class workshops (local government and budgeting), civic expos that bring city departments and community organizations into each high school, student-led civic projects that research and propose local solutions, and teacher externships that place teachers in local government and community organizations to deepen curriculum connections.
Scale and examples: Staff and CivicLex presented participation figures district leaders provided: CivicLex has delivered workshops to roughly 3,000 Fayette County students; 32 classrooms collaborated on projects; 4,500 students attended a civic expo; 78 community partners engaged with students; 43 teachers participated in externships; and CivicLex invested about $250,000 in the partnership over about two and a half years. Examples cited: a Dunbar Elementary student receiving a USTA grant to improve tennis courts; a Recovery Cafe grant to create a student lounge at Bryan Station; and student input used to place trees on a new Tates Creek High School campus.
Why it matters: District staff said the partnership supports the district—s Portrait of a Graduate goals by helping students translate classroom civics into real-world engagement and by offering hands-on experiences aligned to state standards. Board members praised the expos and asked district staff to identify student projects that fall under board purview so students can present to the board.
Next steps: CivicLex staff said they want to expand teacher externships, increase capacity to help more students earn the Kentucky civic seal and extend programming into middle schools. District leaders said they'll continue collaboration and highlight student projects to the board when relevant.
Ending note: The presentation emphasized the practical outcomes of civic education: connecting students to local government, increasing civic knowledge and supporting student proposals that have led to community follow-up and grant funding.
