CIVITAS
CIVITAS is "An International Civic Education Program" coordinated by The Center for Civic Education. It was created in 1995 to support the development of civic education in the United States and in the emerging and established democracies throughout the world.
Funding from the Federal government for this program was eliminated in 2011, but States and their international partners in the CIVITAS program have found ways to support ongoing activities and projects. Mock Trials and the Project Citizen Showcase continue with the support of the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Croatia.
Delaware is partnered with Oregon, Maryland, and the Republic of Croatia in the CIVITAS program. Over the last several years, the partners have provided training for both Croatian and American teachers. The focus of the Croatian training has been on translating and helping teachers to use the Foundations of Democracy curriculum and the Project Citizen program, both developed by The Center for Civic Education. The Croatian Ministry of Education holds a Project Citizen Showcase for all grade levels each year. A special project has been to train teachers to use Mock Trials to teach about both the Croatian and American Courts. In 2006 and 2007, the CIVITAS partners, the Ministry of Education and the Croatian Courts sponsored a Mock Trial Camp for teachers and students in Lovran, Croatia. As a part of this project, DELREC developed "A Tale in Two Courts". These lessons help both American and Croatia students compare the two different court systems used in each county. The lessons are available on this web site.
In addition, the new "Lessons on Democracy" are available here.
