Fayetteville-Manlius highlights K–12 social studies, media literacy and student-run Model UN
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Summary
District curriculum leaders described an inquiry-based K–12 social studies program emphasizing civic readiness, media literacy and community partnerships, and highlighted a student-run Model UN conference that drew 900+ students.
An assistant superintendent for instruction opened the Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District board meeting with a districtwide presentation on K–12 social studies, saying the program integrates history, geography, economics and civics and emphasizes inquiry-based skills and civic readiness.
Mary Kate Lonergan, the district’s K–6 curriculum specialist, described kindergarten units that focus on self and community and progress through community and state study by fourth grade, including visits to local historical sites and partnerships with local museums. Middle-school leaders Sam Lalick and John Kennedy outlined fifth- through eighth-grade sequences that use local primary sources and comparative government study. Todd Sorensen, the high school instructional specialist, said the high school builds on K–8 skills with electives and opportunities such as mock trial, history day and a popular new U.S. military history elective.
Presenters highlighted media literacy as a cross-grade emphasis. Teachers described classroom programs such as “Media Mondays,” where students analyze who produced content, identify target audiences and create persuasive posters or infographics to learn source evaluation. One sequence teaches the SIFT method—stop, investigate the source, find better coverage, trace claims to original context—to help students judge digital content.
The presentation showcased the district-hosted CNY Model United Nations (referred to in the transcript as "Cinnamon"), an event sponsored by Syracuse University’s Maxwell School that brought more than 35 schools and over 900 students to the community; presenters said about 200 FM students from grades 8–12 participated. Teachers said the conference and other extracurriculars provide authentic civic practice and feed into a new statewide option, the New York State Seal of Civic Readiness, which the district is piloting to recognize students’ civic engagement pathways.
Board members praised the presentations and suggested students might lead sessions to teach adults about media literacy. The district said materials and videos referenced in the presentation will be linked in the meeting agenda for public review.