The Children Discovering Justice curriculum will expand to Grade Three this year with new modules ready to be released next month for the 2023-24 school year.

With the updated curriculum, Third Grade teachers across the Commonwealth will focus on justice and Native peoples, consistent with the Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework. With lessons on tribal sovereignty, impacts of erasure on Native peoples, and through case studies of present-day advocacy, students will explore the hard history of this country and the reclamation that many are advocating for today.

In May, the Massachusetts Senate approved a budget that includes a 25% increase to the Civics Project Trust Fund to $2.5 million. The Trust Fund supports curriculum and teacher professional development around civic education, both on a state and school district level.

With the additional funds voted unanimously by a 39-0 vote into the Senate budget, but not the House budget passed in April, a Conference Committee of six members (Senators Rodrigues, Friedman, and O’Connor and Representatives Michlewitz, Ferrante, and Smola) has been meeting for the last six weeks to decide whether the final budget will include the Senate’s $2.5 million allocation or the House’s $1.5 million allocation.

With the final vote imminent, please click here to take two minutes to send a quick note to encourage your local State Representative and state Senator to support civics in the Conference Committee by increasing funding for the Civic Project Trust Fund to $2.5 million. The budget process should wrap up in the next week, so send your letter today.

Students in elementary schools across Massachusetts are using the Discovering Justice designed “Justice Cycle” tool to discuss and plan out civic actions for justice.

Grade 3 teachers in Springfield, Boston, and Cambridge are piloting the new Children Discovering Justice curriculum, walking them through a civic action project and showing elementary students that they can be changemakers.

“Students have to do a civics project in 8th grade and high school, so why not start practicing in elementary school? Starting earlier has a bigger impact on their community and allows them more opportunities for civic success,” said Victoria Suri, K-5 Curriculum Developer at Discovering Justice.

Rachel Leung, a 3rd Grade teacher in Boston is excited about the CDJ program. “My students and I have enjoyed exploring and learning with the [CDJ] civics curriculum. They are very curious about how the world works and this program helps to answer many of the questions they have. This program opens the students’ minds and shows them possibilities for the future.”

The unique curriculum includes guided lessons where students learn about perspective-taking, advocacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving in a collaborative learning environment. Using Discovering Justice’s Justice Journal, students plan, implement, and reflect on civic actions to enact change in their community. This can be as small as keeping their classroom clean or as big as partnering to support local organizations and movements.

“I enjoy learning about justice because I love helping people in need… I get to help people older and younger than me,” stated a third grade student in Boston.

Students in a Cambridge 3rd grade classroom decided to advocate for cooking classes in their ‘specials classes’ to learn more life skills. Another group was passionate about animal protection. Third grade students in Boston were concerned about keeping their learning environment clean and the lack of music classes. They decided to talk with their principal to learn more. Another third grade class is brainstorming actions they can take on gun control and school safety. Students are learning that they have a voice and are eager to advocate for change in their communities.

Contact K-5 Curriculum Developer Victoria Suri at vsuri@discoveringjustice.org to learn more about our free curriculum for Grades K-3.

On May 19, Discovering Justice Board Member Joshua Levy was appointed Acting United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. He replaced Rachael Rollins who resigned from her post. Because of his appointment, Josh has stepped down from his position on the Discovering Justice Board after more than a decade of service and another decade as a legal mentor volunteer.

Here is a statement about Josh by the Discovering Justice Board of Trustees:

As Board Members of Discovering Justice, a statewide civic education organization based at the Moakley Courthouse, we commend the appointment of our former colleague Joshua Levy as Acting United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.

Our loss is truly the Commonwealth’s gain.

In his 25 years of service to Discovering Justice, Josh’s leadership has helped young people examine the workings of the justice system, explore the ideals of justice, and prepare them to engage in American democracy.

Josh has always brought deep integrity, wise counsel, compassion and humility to the table. We are confident he will continue his work for justice and his commitment to the broader community and that his leadership will elevate the work of the US Attorney’s office to the benefit of all of us in Massachusetts.

Starting last week and continuing this week, twenty-six mock appeal teams of Massachusetts middle school students will present their Fourth Amendment cases in front of a panel of judges and attorneys with their friends and family in the audience.

Grappling with the complexities of a case addressing the legal limits of a public school’s ability to search a student’s electronic devices, student attorneys are delivering oral arguments and fielding panelists’ questions – a difficult task for even the most experienced lawyer. In many cases, the panels have been divided on whether to side with the petitioner or the respondent, a telling sign that both sides were balanced in their presentations and theory of the case.

“Balancing students’ rights online with their safety in schools is an incredibly timely challenge. Our students start the program feeling very passionately about one of the two sides of the issue but over the course of the program they realize just how complicated and hard it is to figure out what is just,” said Mock Appeal Program Manager Luke Matys.