Project Citizen

The Curriculum

Project Citizen & Illinois Learning Standards

Illinois Student Portfolios

Illinois Portfolio Competitions

Portfolio Checklist (pdf)

Simulated Legislative Hearings

Illinois Winning Project

Project Citizen Across the U.S.

Sponsors

Project Citizen Program Brochure

Project Citizen

Illinois 2010 Project Citizen Portfolio Competition

On June 2, 2010, fifteen classes from Illinois elementary and middle schools competed in the 2010 Illinois Project Citizen portfolio showcase and competition. Students from Carrollton Grade School in Carrollton, Decatur Classical, Dixon, St. Hyacinth, Sawyer, Solomon Elementary Schools and Whitney Young Magnet School in Chicago, Our Lady of Charity School in Cicero, Shawnee Hills Folk School in Cobden, Coulterville Elementary School in Coulterville, DeSoto Elementary School in DeSoto, Edgewood Middle School in Highland Park, Otter Creek Elementary in Elgin, St. Athanasius School in Evanston, Lake Bluff Middle School in Lake Bluff, and Wauconda Middle School in Wauconda sent portfolios chronicling the steps and future plans for their service projects to the Capitol Building in Springfield where the judging took place.

The Decatur Classical School project from Chicago was chosen to represent Illinois at the National Project Citizen
Showcase Judges Micah Miller and Jo Ann Price evaluate projects.

Coordinated by Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago, cosponsored and hosted by Secretary of State Jesse White’s Office and cosponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association the 2010 Illinois Project Citizen Competition featured student-created portfolios that described each project’s goals, processes and outcomes. In determining a winner, judges considered the extent of each project’s research, the significance of the issues, the students’ understanding of the problem, and the overall persuasiveness and feasibility of their action plan.

This year’s project judges were Dave Joens and Micah Miller from Secretary of State White’s Office; Mark Mathewson from the Illinois State Bar Association; Mike Hatfill and Jo Ann Price from the Illinois State Board of Education; Sarah Kerley and Jake Smith from the Office of the Illinois Attorney General; Elizabeth Kerwin from the Governor’s Office and Tom Speedie, Jr.

A sixth grade class from Decatur Classical School in Chicago took first place at the competition and then received the highest honors while representing Illinois at the national Project Citizen portfolio showcase in Louisville, KY in July 2010. To learn more about the winning project from Decatur Classical School and to see the portfolio they created, click onto Illinois Winning Project 2009-2010.

The National Competition is coordinated by the Center for Civic Education and held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the program's national co-sponsor, the National Conference of State Legislatures .