The Seal of Civic Readiness is a culminating credential for a new K-12 civics initiative supported by the NYS Department of Education.  In order to earn the Seal, students must acquire a total of six points through various schoolwork and outside activities that demonstrate their knowledge of civics, as well as civic engagement. Civics knowledge could include earning credit for advanced or regents level high school social studies courses and exams or writing research papers aligned to civics themes. There are a variety of activities that meet the requirements for Civic Participation. HERE is a very basic scoresheet and descriptor of points.

Currently, the Seal of Civic Readiness is in its pilot year. Newburgh was one of the districts selected from hundreds of applicants into this pilot program, which is sponsored by the State Education Department. The work that is done in Newburgh and other pilot districts will help to set the standard for how the Seal is offered and earned across New York State starting in the 2022-23 school year. NFA students who earn the credential this year are pioneers for the NYSSCR and, as scholars of a pilot district, will be awarded the Seal when they graduate in June 2022. 

For more information on the Seal of Civic Readiness, visit New York State Education Department: Civic Readiness Initiative. Or, you can reach out to the NECSD Director of Social Studies, Amanda Greene at agreene@necsd.net. 

Below are some of the Newburgh Scholars who have presented various projects to the 2021-22 district Seal of Civic Readiness Steering Committee and been awarded the points towards their Seal:

Kenia Barraza

Kenia is a senior at NFA Main Campus. She is enrolled in her fourth year of ROTC and has earned more than 130 community service hours according to her cadet transcript. Among many other volunteer commitments, Kenia has been actively involved in community work through the Newburgh Armory for several years. She shared her experience supporting younger students in achieving their literacy goals through a reading program sponsored at the Armory. 

Megan Cameron 

Megan is a senior at NFA Main Campus and has an academic transcript that speaks for itself. Megan is involved in many extracurricular clubs and activities both inside and outside of the high school. She chose to share her involvement with FEMA’s Youth Preparedness Council (YPC) where she serves as a state representative for Region II. In addition to organizing a virtual Youth Preparedness Summit during Covid closures, Megan also contributed to curriculum around youth financial awareness, preparedness and sustainability. 

Francisco Carino

Francisco is a senior at NFA Main Campus. For several years, Francisco has been a member of the Youth Arts Group (YAG) which is a subsidiary group of the Rural Migrant Ministry. YAG is a student-lead civic community organization that pulls student members in from around the region. Francisco shared his integral role in organizing a Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest in Newburgh shortly after the May 25, 2020 murder of George Floyd. Francisco recruits student members into YAG who have a desire to become involved and change the world around them for the better. 

Maria Herrara

Maria is a senior at NFA North. She, and several other seniors, have been active members of “Our Core” since their freshman year of high school. The extracurricular club partners with several organizations including NUFFI (Newburgh  Urban Farm and Food Initiative). Maria shared her volunteer service experiences with the Seal of Civic Readiness Committee as well as her dedication to the club through the various leadership roles she has taken. 

Maday Luna 

Maday is a senior at NFA North that has been involved in the school organization “Our Core” since freshman year. Students in this club may dedicate themselves to a project that their advisor reports “can be anything in the realm of agriculture. It’s to be sparked by the child’s curiosity, talent, or interest. It can be service-oriented, research-based, entrepreneurial or experiential.”  Maday worked with various partnering organizations to create a free community “seed bank” that is housed near the gardens at the public Library on Grant Street in Newburgh. 

Rackesha Bailey

Rachesha is a senior at NFA North and active member of the “Our Core” club. Like many of her classmates who are engaged in the club, Rachesha has spent countless hours in the school and community gardens helping to grow food for the public. Rackesha helped create a presentation with many visuals that allowed the Seal of Civic Readiness committee to see how many hours and how much work goes into the maintenance of a large community garden. 

Monique May 

Monique is currently a sophomore at NFA West Campus, which is a Big Picture Learning affiliate. As part of their educational programming at West, students must complete a “Passion Project.” Designed by faculty member, Nina Jalbert, at West, this year-long recursive project requires students to select an issue/problem in their community, conduct research and evaluate the problem and come up with an action plan to alleviate or address the problem. Monique is a lover of the performing arts and designed a schoolwide entertainment activity that united and brightened the spirits of her schoolmates during the divisive and depressing time of Covid closures. Her project and presentation to the SCR committee earned her four points towards the Seal Capstone Project.