Constitution Day, September 17th, is a valuable opportunity to spread the word that we need to count every child in the upcoming census. All k-12 educational institutions receiving federal funds must create learning materials for their students about the Constitution, so they may be eager to join this activity. Kentucky Youth Advocates created a great inexpensive model for advocates to engage with teachers, schools, and their community to discuss why participating in the census helps children. The campaign encourages teachers to uses Statistics in Schools; a program created by the Census Bureau to teach students about data and about the value of participating in the census.
Although September is approaching quickly, there is still time to use or adapt Kentucky Youth Advocates’ campaign in your state to reach several target audiences:
• Parents: when children bring their assignments home, their parents see them. One in three parents saw Statistics in Schools’ materials in 2010.
• Families with young children: many elementary school children have younger siblings.
• Teen mothers: teen moms who are still in school will receive information about the census from their teachers.
• Linguistically isolated families: these families often leave young children off of the census. Since the child is frequently the family translator, teaching the child about the benefits of the census is an opportunity to inform linguistically isolated parents so they count their young children.
Kentucky Youth Advocates’ Campaign – Statistics in Schools Sweepstakes
The campaign will occur during Constitution Week, September 16th – 20th. Four monetary awards will be given to the school of one preschool or kindergarten teacher, one 1st to 5th grade teacher, one 6th to 8th grade teacher, and one 9th to 10th grade teacher. Teachers can win if they use the Census Bureau’s Statistics in Schools curricula. Participating teachers will be chosen by random selection. More information about Kentucky Youth Advocates’ census campaign can be found here.
Another opportunity to use this or a similar campaign is March 2-6th, which is Statistics in Schools Week.
