Civics education on Long Island: Amid political polarization, how schools are teaching students to be good citizens

When Hempstead High School senior Saul Martel was just 8 years old, he helped his father become a naturalized U.S. citizen. 

Martel downloaded applications, helped his father study and guided him through the proceedings, he said. A few years later, he did the same for his mother.

“I was there with them throughout the process,” Martel, now 17, said. “I learned so much about our history and how our government works.”

His parents, both natives of El Salvador, now do their part to support democracy, he said.

“My mom votes at her local election,” he said. “My mom truly understands and appreciates the American government and the importance of voting.”

Martel has learned firsthand the significance — and duties — of U.S. citizenship. But experts say that with the emphasis on standardized testing in the past two decades, civics education has taken a backseat in the nation's classrooms. They argue that learning about the country’s history, how democracy works and how to become an informed participant are all vital to a student’s education, especially at a time when there is deep political polarization in the nation.

In recent years, however, there has been a renewed interest in civics education. The state Department of Education in 2021 introduced the "Civic Readiness Pathway" for high schoolers, which gives students the opportunity to earn a designation on their diploma that shows a strong understanding of and commitment to civic responsibility and knowledge. And ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary, the federal Education Department has launched a nationwide civics education coalition and doled out more than $150 million in new grants geared toward teaching the subject, including about $2.3 million to Long Island University.

On Long Island, educators said are committed to ensuring civics remains a core part of students' education. Teachers say civics education isn’t just about learning how the government operates, but also giving students the tools to think critically, present and defend arguments in a civil manner, and distinguish fact from misinformation.

"That’s how you teach them how to be a good community member," said Gloria Sesso, president of the Long Island Council for the Social Studies.

Decline in civics knowledge

In a 2022 civics assessment of eighth graders conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, which quizzed students on topics related to the Constitution and how democracy works, the average score dropped 2 points compared with the 2018 results — the lowest since 1998.

And in a 2024 study of 2,000 registered voters, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation found that 70% failed an exam asking them about the three branches of government, the number of seats on the Supreme Court and other basic functions of the nation's democracy.

Donna Phillips, president of the Center for Civic Education in California, laid part of the blame for the decline in knowledge on initiatives such as the No Child Left Behind Act, which was passed in 2002 and emphasized testing in math and reading over other subjects.

“Social studies in general and civic education were not part of the larger federal policy landscape, so there wasn’t accountability like there was for the other subject areas," she said. "If you don’t have it at the federal level, then the states aren’t going to prioritize it and that sinks all the way down into local school district policy."

At Hempstead High, educators have sought to impart civic knowledge both in the classroom and through real-life experience.

During a recent AP Government class, Hempstead social studies teacher Dina Platt and Beatriz Mendez, a social studies instructional coach, asked the roughly 30 students in attendance what constitutional amendment they believed helped expand political participation the most across the United States.

After skimming through their pocket Constitutions, some argued for the 19th Amendment, which was pivotal in granting women the right to vote. But Martel spoke up in defense of the 15th Amendment, which granted citizens the right to vote regardless of "race, color or previous condition of servitude."

“At the time it was meant for people of color — a very important group in America — and it’s evolved to include these naturalized American immigrants that came from other countries,” he told Newsday after the class.

Students in the class, held on Election Day, also learned about the importance of voting.

“What I learned is that elections, even as small as local government, aren’t as small as you really think,” Zeydi Guerra, a senior, told Newsday after the lesson. “Your vote can count majorly … especially if you want your voices to be heard, as you're voting for a community that you live in and a community that affects you.”

Mendez said, "They need to know the information, but they need to be able to know what to do with it. It’s not so much anymore that you have to remember dates. You have to be able to find the information and then use it or apply it somewhere.”

In an effort to show the real-world implications of their lessons, Hempstead students in October shadowed local officials to learn about the workings of municipal administration.

Some students visited the local water plant, others met with police officers, while a few spent the day at Hempstead Village Hall.

Martel shadowed Deputy Mayor Jeffrey Daniels, joining him on a video call with a state representative in Albany, where the Hempstead official advocated for funding for projects around the village.

“I got to see the process on how that’s done and why he’s doing it,” Martel said.

Daniels told Newsday in an interview that in a time where “everything is so polarized,” it’s important for kids to “understand what government does, the functions of government, especially on the local level.”

He added: “Everything starts at the local level. Being able to advocate for yourself and your family — it’s an important lesson for all the children.”

Operation Democracy

Locust Valley nonprofit Operation Democracy, observing a "gap in actual civics," developed a curriculum that in part focuses education through the lens of historical events such as the Battle of Normandy, a key battle in World War II. This is paired with teaching about the Constitution and the responsibilities of being an American citizen, said nonprofit president Margaret Marchand.

“We need a functioning society with a populace that’s educated, and the most basic form of our education must start with the Constitution,” she said.

In October, the organization brought together students from about 10 Long Island high schools, including Hempstead, for its second annual Civics Summit at Nassau Community College. Students heard from local leaders such as Helen Patton, the granddaughter of World War II commander Gen. George S. Patton, and other dignitaries from around the world to learn about U.S. history and their duties as citizens.

One of the districts that participated in the summit was Cold Spring Harbor, which in June sent 13 students to Normandy, France, to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy, according to district Superintendent Joseph Monastero.

Monastero said students gained firsthand experiences “on what it means to defend freedom” and sacrifice for others.

District officials said they try to incorporate civic education in all subjects, as well as provide experience through community organizations or participation on the school board.

“It's important for these students to get their hands dirty and involved, and helping and seeing the good that they can do,” Monastero said.

Navigating civics in the modern age

Several educators said one of the most important aspects of civic education is teaching students how to pick a position and stand behind their argument using proper documentation and facts.

“We want our kids to be able to have depth in their arguments,” said Cold Spring Harbor High School Principal Daniel Danbusky.

With an increase in information, including misinformation and disinformation on the internet, educators said media literacy has become critical.

“Our role as educators … was to slow down the barrage,” Danbusky said. “Help them learn to distinguish facts from misinformation.”

A 2024 study by The News Literacy Project, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching students news literacy skills before graduation, surveyed 1,110 American teens between ages 13-18 to learn about their “attitudes, habits and skills and assess the state of news literacy education in the United States.” They found that only half the students could correctly identify branded content as an advertisement or recognize that an article with “commentary in the headline" was opinion.

An overwhelming majority of teens — 94% — said schools should be required to teach media literacy. Mendez, of the Hempstead district, echoed this sentiment. She said educators must give students the tools and experiences they need to understand the information that is coming at them.

“They have to be able to sift through and say, 'This is not reliable, this is something that I can’t take into account, what is the bias in this opinion?' So those are the kinds of things that we do to make sure the kids are engaged,” she said.