If our aim is to sustain a functioning, self-governing republic, then it is not only appropriate but essential that deep constitutional study be centered in ordinary institutions. We cannot confine this work to boutique seminars for the well-connected and already powerful. The work must also happen where most Americans – especially future teachers – actually train: regional public universities, teaching-focused colleges, and continuing education programs that are accessible and affordable.
The cultural shift we need will not come from tinkering with semester requirements or adding standardized tests. It will come from going upstream and transforming the preparation of the people who will teach civics in the first place. Teachers are civic multipliers. A single well-prepared teacher can reach hundreds of students a year, thousands over a career.
These programs are doing incredible work, but one-off degrees, even excellent ones, cannot by themselves shift the culture of civic education. The real power comes when we create cohorts of teachers as they are groups trained together, equipped with the same constitutional depth and pedagogical skill, and supported through ongoing collaboration.
The Ashbrook Center in Ohio has been building such networks for years, hosting summer academies and seminars where teachers return annually to deepen their understanding of the Founding and exchange classroom strategies. Each Ashbrook teacher can reach up to 5,000 students during their career. Gettysburg College offers immersive programs rooted in American history and democratic practice that bind educators into lasting professional communities.
Now imagine scaling that model through our public universities. Each state could run annual cohorts of 25–50 educators who complete graduate-level civic training through programs like UVU’s MACGCL or ASU’s civic leadership degree. These teachers would not just return to their own classrooms; they would serve as civic leaders for their districts, mentoring colleagues, running professional development, and modeling how to teach first principles in a divided age. If just 50 teachers per state complete these programs annually, and each teaches 150 students per year for 20 years, that’s 7.5 million students reached nationally – a generation transformed.