Marilyn Cover, Executive Director of Oregon\u2019s Civics Learning Project, has been named recipient of the 2018 Sandra Day O\u2019Connor Award for the Advancement of Civics Education, presented annually by the National Center for State Courts.<\/p>\n
The award honors an organization, court, program, or individual who has promoted, inspired, improved, or led an innovation or accomplishment in the field of civics education related to the justice system. The date of the award presentation is to be determined.<\/p>\n
Cover was selected for determination, creativity, leadership, and reach. \u201cHer impact on students and teachers \u2013 as well as judges, legislators, and other elected officials \u2013 extends far beyond her home base in Oregon, where she and a handful of lawyers, teachers, and judges started what is now the Civics Learning Project (CLP) in the early 1980s,\u201d Oregon Chief Justice Thomas Balmer said in his nomination letter. CLP includes classroom instruction, teacher training, mock trials, and courtroom visits.<\/p>\n
Cover\u2019s commitment to civics education spans four decades and has impacted thousands of students. She successfully convinced Oregon governors and legislators to a enact a state statute that designates the first Friday in December as \u201cOregon Civics Day for Teachers,\u201d for which the legislature provides funding for teachers to attend CLP\u2019s hands-on conference at the state capitol to hear from leaders representing the three branches of government and to receive instruction and materials to help them teach civics.<\/p>\n
One of Cover\u2019s earliest successes was establishing a Street Law program at the Lewis and Clark Law School. Established in 1979, this program \u2013 which she still teaches as adjunct faculty \u2013 places law students in high school classrooms, teaching students practical principles of law. The relationships she forged in this extensive program are a significant part of the network of support for CLP.<\/p>\n
All letters in support of Cover talked about her determination and ability to ensure that students and teachers from both urban and rural Oregon have access to civics education. Oregon Governor Kate Brown said: \u201cAs a passionate educator, peerless networker, and charming but tough advocate, Marilyn has made the idea of engaged community participation a reality for thousands of students and teachers \u2026 She embodies the spirit of giving to the next generation, making sure that students have all the tools they need for self-determination and principled engagement in their communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coincidentally, at the time the NCSC Board of Directors was meeting to select the Sandra Day O\u2019Connor recipient \u2013 April 27 \u2013 Cover was in Washington, D.C. assisting students and teachers from two Oregon High Schools that were finalists in the national We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution competition. The first-place winner was Portland, Oregon\u2019s Grant High School and Portland\u2019s Lincoln High School placed third.<\/p>\n