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A Special Guest and a Student Panel
An excellent crowd representing 12 different schools attended last Saturday's special morning with Blythe Bernhard, the education reporter for St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Blythe shared stories (including this one , from the day before about a Vashon HS basketball game cancelled), opinions, and important facts concerning education in the St. Louis area. Enrollment throughout the region has dropped since the 2008 recession resulting in districts considering 4-day school weeks, sharing teachers between districts, closing schools, and more. The political climate since Covid has created contentious school board meetings in many area districts. School boards are supposed to be non-partisan, but heated battles during public meetings over curriculum, book-banning, and religion often demonstrate strong political differences. A spark of hope: partisan-fueled school board elections have waned in the last cycle. The reality of a school board's responsibilities, says Blythe, is pretty boring and tedious. Weekly discussions are about budgets, contracts, and other legal stuff.
Some of the fantastic questions students had for Blythe:
- What are the benefits of charter schools?
- Should students be allowed to vote in school board elections?
- Do private schools have an advantage over public schools with the curriculum flexibility?
- What are schools planning in case of ICE raids?
- Can President Trump eliminate the Department of Education, and if so, what will that mean?
Stay tuned for some thoughts on Blythe's answers to these questions and more in the next Civitas Examiner. Following Blythe's conversation, roles were reversed and a panel of student reporters talked about topics they have written for earlier issues of the Civitas Examiner while Blythe listened carefully. After she inspired them, Blythe was equally impressed by the passion, knowledge, and curiosity of the student reporters. One student stressed that writing for the Civitas Examiner is an excellent way to pursue topics that might be frowned upon in student newspapers. If you are interested in writing for the Examiner, see Emily Nguyen's post below.
Click here for pictures from Saturday.
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Paid Summer Internship, GameChanger Points and Civitas Zoom Night
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Civitas was first all Model UN, nothing but Model UN. Our Model UN programs are stronger than ever now, but civic engagement and active citizenship are central to our high school programs. During the summer, we sponsor paid internships in which students study about and act upon issues that are front and center in our country, and the world. Last summer we did Campaign '24. This summer our focus will be on journalism. We will ask student journalists to cover stories by actually going about the St. Louis metropolitan area, or on to the internet to cover them. If there is a fire of suspicious origin in our metropolitan area, we'll get the story and bring it to you with photos. If something fishy is going on in Washington, DC, we'll work to arrange a Zoom with one of the many contacts that we have.
To apply for the summer internship, you need to accumulate approximately six or more GameChanger points. How do you get points? Mainly by attending Civitas events, but also by writing for the Examiner, writing for our blog, or 'recruiting' more students from your school or elsewhere to attend Civitas events. We'll have more about this in next weeks newsletter. In the meantime, we will have an informal Zoom on Wednesday, February 19 at 7:00 PM when we can all talk about the rapid change in the world in which we live. You can sign up by clicking here.
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If you'd like to write for the Civitas Examiner ...
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Editor Emily Nguyen (Liberty, 2026) writes:
"Starting in the summer of 2024, Civitas summer interns have written for the Civitas Examiner, which features both news and opinions. With the release of the second edition of the Examiner, we are extending article submissions to any and all students who participate in Civitas programs. The Examiner will continue to be available in both printed copy and online. Please fill out the form in order to submit your piece for review."
All Civitas students are invited to apply for writing positions with the Examiner. Future editions will include topics well beyond politics. The current staff of the newspaper is  looking for investigative pieces that are true to the paper's name -- the Examiner. Topics can include the environment, American culture, international relations, issues facing today's students and much more. Again, click here to access the interest form.
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Sign up now for Second Semester High School Model UN, March 1!
The Second Semester HSMUN session will be held in Winifred Moore Auditorium, accessible through Webster University's Main Hall.
Civitas is excited to offer another High School Model UN session on Saturday, March 1. To accommodate more students and more resolutions, the session will be from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm. Plenty of snacks will be available! We will meet in the much larger venue, the Winifred Moore Auditorium, still on Webster University's campus inside the Main Hall at 470 East Lockwood, 63119. Parking is plentiful across the street, along Lockwood, and behind the building off Plymouth Blvd (MAP).
Some important reminders and points to know:
- Students should represent the same countries they had in the fall or another country your school drafted in the fall.
- New students are welcome. If your school did not draft countries in the fall, contact Stephanie (gavinstephanie89@gmail.com) for a country list.
- There will most likely be some duplicate country delegations. We will have separate voting placards for duplicates.
- If you submitted a resolution in the fall that was not discussed, it will have priority on the list. However, please review it/revise it and resubmit it to Stephanie via email by midnight on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
- New resolutions are welcomed and encouraged.
- A few resolutions may be facilitated by students at this session.
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Come Play Trivia with us on Sat., Feb. 22
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It's sponsored by the League of Women Voters, a great organization founded in 1920. LWV loves having men in their programs, so, everyone from Civitas is invited to the League's Trivia night on Saturday, Feb. 22 (George Washington's 292nd Birthday).
Historically Civitas has had excellent teams at the League's trivia. More importantly, we've had a lot of fun. We laugh, we think, we eat, and overall have a great time. So, please join us for this event, 6:30 - 9:30 PM at the First Congregational Church of Webster Groves, 10 W. Lockwood; 63119 (map). Click here to sign up.
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Are you a rising sophomore, junior, or senior, looking for an early summer opportunity? Consider applying to the STL Changemakers Program!
Click here to apply. Registration closes on March 10.
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Saturday, February 1, 2025-March 10, 2025
STL Changemakers application window.
Click here to apply.
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Wednesday, February 19, 2025, 7:00 pm-8:00 pm
Roundtable discussion via Zoom about topics students choose.
Click here to sign up.
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Saturday, February 22, 2025, 6:30 pm until 9:30 PM at First Congregational Church of Webster Groves (MAP)
League of Women Voters Trivia
Click here to sign up
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Saturday, March 1, 2025, 9:00 am until 1:00 pm at Webster University in Winifred Moore Auditorium, located in the Main Hall of Webster University (MAP)
Click here to sign up
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