Farmers Insurance has new civics program for schools

David K. Ross of Farmers Insurance has announced the availability of a brand new series of civics education programs, available free of charge to local educators.

In association with the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), Farmers Insurance Group will provide local teachers with The American Promise, an educational program that brings the American democratic system to life.

Since its premiere on KQED and PBS, The American Promise videos and accompanying lesson plans have reached 150,000 classrooms, touching the hearts and minds of more than three million students a year. Until recently however, The American Promise was available only to middle and high school students. Now, thanks to a partnership with AASA, The American Promise Elementary School Edition – Promoting Citizenship Through Literacy, is available for K-5 elementary schools. These materials provide civics lessons that meet literacy standards in Arizona.

“Preparing children for democracy is an important part of our community,” said Farmers agent David K Ross. “Farmers understands the important link between public schools and democracy and became concerned when budgetary cuts were forcing public schools to eliminate U.S. government classes. The fact that Farmers choose to do something about it–by creating this educational program–is a great example of corporate responsibility.”

“When we interviewed elementary principals and educators, they told us that they were in need of civics educational materials, but that they had to be tied into literacy standards,” said Randy Rice, Executive Director of The American Promise “So the lesson plans were created to adhere to both the NCSS Standards for Social Studies and the NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts.”

These lesson plans and videos are free to educators thanks to a grant from Farmers Insurance. “Creating and distributing educational programs has long been a priority for us at Farmers,” said Luisa Acosta-Franco, Director of Community Affairs & Sponsorship. “The American Promise is the largest and most successful program we’ve ever initiated.”

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