The Design Your Neighborhood curriculum is free for all public school teachers.
Sign Up to Teach
Our teachers build trust with students to share some of their most vulnerable reflections on their lived experiences. Our teachers open the door to creativity around subjects that they may not have had words to define, but have directly affected them, like displacement.
Together, we ask our students hard questions that bring to light how the systems of community planning have affected their perceptions of who they are and where they come from. Then, we challenge the students to consider how they might create more positive connections to their communities. Ultimately, by empowering youth to reflect on perceptions first, they recognize that they can use bottom-up thinking to envision how to design their neighborhoods.
“I found that the curriculum itself was very relevant, it was easy to deliver, and had practical implications for the kids. I think the time is well worth it and it has a long lasting impact. The kids enjoyed it and I enjoyed teaching it.”
— Andrea Hawkins, Head Magnet Middle School Teacher
Our teachers are critical to the Design Your Neighborhood curriculum. Curriculum that is proven to work still takes champions to implement, and the teachers who choose to teach the Design Your Neighborhood curriculum are breaking into a field that is on the forefront of empowering youth to lead their communities.
How it Works
Sign up to teach Design Your Neighborhood.
Ideally, students have their first experience with Design Your Neighborhood in 6th grade, and we encourage the 7th and 8th grade teachers to continue the progress.
Encourage grade level teams of teachers to sign up.
We encourage grade level teams of teachers to consider signing up as a group, so students are inundated with the material, deepening their knowledge. Spread the word with teachers at your school!
Review the curriculum projects for the class that you teach.
You can find those projects here with curriculum samples!
Attend a teacher training, virtually or in-person.
We will send you an invitation to teacher training after sign-up.
Learn about pre- and post-surveys.
Commit to providing your class with pre- and post-project surveys for program evaluation, and get a $100 stipend!
Teach the unit!
After you teach, you will partner with the Civic Design Center to implement the community-action component of the curriculum.