On Monday, Dec. 10, United States Congressman Jared Polis (D-Colo.) will meet with University of Colorado Boulder undergraduates, who are currently enrolled in a practicum course titled “Renewing Democracy in Communities and Schools,” INVS/EDUC 2912. In addition to reviewing legislative priorities for the 113th Congress, Congressman Polis will identify ways in which CU-Boulder undergraduates might join elected officials to reform K-12 education, better address salient public issues, and renew democracy. The discussion will be held in the University Memorial Center (UMC), Rooms 382-386 from 3:15-4 p.m. Approximately 50 students will be in attendance.
INVS/EDUC 2919 students currently support the CU-Boulder’s Public Achievement program. An international civic engagement initiative, Public Achievement seeks to challenge traditional notions of citizen participation by placing young people in the center of their civic environment. Rooted in cooperative team action, Public Achievement engages participants in solutions-based discourse and action to address youth-identified social issues, posit an alternative approach to politics, and provide experiential educational opportunities. In practice, Public Achievement students collaborate with college “coaches” to design, implement, and undertake community-based projects around salient social issues that are identified by them and express their own values and beliefs.
Discussing the talk, CU-Boulder senior Bridget Doherty shared, “I am excited to have the opportunity to meet Congressman Polis and learn more about his career. I also think that it is important for students, serving as Public Achievement coaches, to have the opportunity to directly collaborate with public officials, which is the premise behind Public Achievement.”
Congressman Polis has historically supported CU-Boulder’s Public Achievement program. In April 2010, he joined Public Achievement coaches and their high school counter-parts during the City of Lafayette’s Cesar Chavez “Seeds of Justice” March and Rally. The event was coordinated by students as a means to both pay tribute to civil rights leader Cesar Chavez and raise awareness about the need for comprehensive immigration reform. Congressman Polis has also participated in the City of Lafayette’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. March for Peace and Celebration, which is coordinated by Public Achievements and members of the Lafayette Youth Advisory Committee. Staff members have also met with Public Achievement students on numerous occasions to discuss K-12 education funding, immigration, and other public issues.
The University of Colorado’s Public Achievement program is administered by the Institute for Ethical and Civic Engagement with support from INVST Community Studies, the School of Education, and a CU-Boulder Outreach Award. Launched in January 2008 as part of a statewide civic engagement initiative, Public Achievement currently involves more than 50 CU undergraduates and nearly 200 K-12 students at Columbine Elementary School in North Boulder and Centaurus High School and Escuela Bilingüe Pioneer in Lafayette.