PASCACK VALLEY AREA, N.J.—The League of Women Voters of Northern Valley (LWVNV) announces 10 teachers have been selected from Bergen County to participate in the League of Women Voters of Greenwich’s Civics Project, a collaboration with the Harvard Case Method Institute for Education and Democracy, that recruits teachers nationwide to attend.
The League of Women Voters of Northern Valley nominated local teachers to participate in the prestigious program, including Pascack Valley Regional High School’s Marisa Mathias, Jeff Jasper, and Ryan Walter.
Also attending are faculty from Bergenfield High School; Bergen County Academies, Hackensack; Cliffside Park High School; Fort Lee High School; Leonia High School; and Palisades Park High School.
Joyce Luhrs, vice president of marketing for League of Women Voters of Northern Valley, told Pascack Press on March 30, “These teachers from Bergen County will attend the Harvard Civics Project and apply the case method technique with their students and community members to deepen their understanding of American democracy by studying topics ranging from the Constitutional Convention to Civil Rights.”
She added, “They will help to buck the decline in civics education and civic engagement in our schools and communities.”
According to LWVNV, based on the highly successful experience of Harvard Business School and other graduate and professional programs using case-based teaching, the case method can be employed to strengthen high school education.
This also ensures a more exciting, relevant and effective experience for students and teachers across a range of subjects.
The LWVNV’s 2020 nominee, Kelly Epstein, a Park Ridge High School history and psychology teacher, participated in the program and presented recently to the League her experience attending the workshop and the impact on her students.
National Civics Program Leagues across the country nominated outstanding active high school teachers from public, private, or charter schools in grades 9–12 teaching U.S. history, government, or civics to participate in the free online professional development case method workshop.
The teachers agree to teach one case in their classes during the academic year and moderate one community case discussion with their League by the end of the 2021–2022 school year.
Teachers receive a range of resources. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Harvard Business School Professor David Moss will present to the teachers a one-day live, virtual workshop, History of American Democracy, with the Harvard Case Method, the core pedagogy used at Harvard Business School for decades. Teachers are provided a full curriculum of Harvard cases free of charge.
Upon completion of the course and related training and implementation, they are awarded a certificate from the Institute detailing 32 hours of professional development.
For more information about the LWVNV, membership or to get involved in voters service activities, contact (201) 947-0756 or lwvno.valley@gmail.com. Learn more about the League on the organization’s website at bit.ly/LWVNVinformation and its blog at https://lwv-of-northern-valley.constantcontactsites.com.
About League of Women Voters of Northern Valley
The League of Women Voters of Northern Valley, a chapter of the League of Women Voters (LWV), is a non-partisan, grassroots civic organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of public policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
The LWV was an outgrowth of the 19th Amendment passed in 1920 giving women the right to vote. Today, the LWV operates at the state and local levels through more than 700 state and local Leagues in all 50 states and in Washington D.C., the Virgin Islands and Hong Kong.
The League of Women Voters of Northern Valley was founded in 1946 as the League of Women Voters of Closter. By 1964, it included 11 municipalities in the Northern Valley and was renamed the League of Women Voters of Northern Valley. Today, the chapter serves 29 municipalities.