This commentary is by Sarah Copeland Hanzas, Vermont’s 39th secretary of state. She was a teacher, coach, small business owner and an 18-year member of the Vermont House before being elected as secretary of state in 2022.
This week is Civic Learning Week! This annual celebration of the importance of civics is an opportunity to sustain and strengthen democracy in the United States. “Civics” means understanding the five freedoms promised to us by the First Amendment: freedom of religion, of speech, of a free press, the right to peaceably protest when we don’t agree with something our government has done, and the right to petition our government for change. Civics is about knowing these freedoms, but also so much more!
Think of it this way: if we don’t know where to start when we want to fix something that is broken in our communities — if we aren’t aware of our rights and responsibilities as democratic citizens — then we become easy to divide, and the problems persist.
Civics is about how people come together to solve problems. It’s how we organize ourselves to fix a crisis in our town or state that is too big for any of us to solve on our own. Empowering Vermonters to tackle big issues is a core priority of my work as secretary of state. In the past two years we have been building our civics program, and I want to keep expanding this crucial work!
A key area of focus is on education — it is important for our children to be educated on civics. Our teacher advisory group created a “blueprint for connecting with local leaders” which helps Vermont educators provide concrete experiences like guest speakers and field trips to help students see how civics applies to their daily life. These experiences inspire students and help them develop the skills to be an engaged Vermonter.
For a democracy to fully function, voters need to be informed. We created Vermont’s first online voter guide for the 2024 general election, allowing voters see a listing of all the candidates on their ballot, with contact information and a short statement. In 2024 the guide was only available online, but we hope to make printed copies available in the future so that when a voter receives their ballot in the mail, they can use the guide to choose a candidate whose values most closely match their own.
I believe it is crucial to understand the civic health of our state. The biggest project of the Civics Program is the publication of Vermont’s first-ever civic health index. The report outlines how Vermont ranks in six areas of civic health, including social connections, political engagement, trust in government, media access, volunteering and access to arts and culture. Vermont’s CHI includes results of a survey of 2,500 students grades 7-12, which gives us a greater understanding of how youth civic health compares to that of their elders.
Thanks to a collaboration with Vermont Humanities, we have been hosting community conversations at libraries around Vermont. These events have helped us to understand the perspectives and priorities of Vermonters from across the state. Some themes that have stood out include: more K-12 civic education opportunities, more community conversations about these important issues, and an increased investment in arts and cultural resources.
We are also gathering the best civic engagement ideas from communities around Vermont in order to share and replicate them statewide, so that more people feel welcome to participate in civic life.
We all have a part to play in strengthening Vermont’s civic health, and the Secretary of State’s Office is here to support this crucial work. This Civic Learning Week, join us by uplifting efforts in your schools, organizations, and communities to empower Vermonters with the knowledge and tools to come together and tackle the issues we all face. Democracy is a team sport!
Read the story on VTDigger here: Sec. Sarah Copeland Hanzas: Celebrate Civic Learning Week, March 10-14.