Long before his election last fall, Rhode Island Secretary of State Matt Brown had proven his dedication to the growth of civic engagement in his state. As the national service movement flowered in the mid-1990s, Brown was there as founder and executive director of City Year Rhode Island. The program successfully supported a statewide volunteer corps with hundreds of young people placed in full-time community service positions. Later, while attending Yale Law School, Brown created Democracy Compact, a non-partisan voter education program. During that initiative's pilot year, there was a 41 percent increase in young voter participation statewide. Now, as secretary of state, Brown has maintained the same priorities. He continues to work to bring citizens and their government closer together.

Last week, Brown launched CIVICS 101, a new curriculum-based civic education initiative aimed at high school students. Using a curriculum developed from best practices around the country, the program will teach students about voting and volunteerism, and how the two are both integral to becoming active and responsible citizens. The class is designed to ultimately get students involved in upcoming municipal elections. A pilot program will start this fall in two schools, and Brown hopes it will expand to reach thousands of students in the next few years.

The first segment of the class explores local Rhode Island history and government; the second illuminates the local electoral process by examining what it means to run for office in Rhode Island. The class culminates with a discussion of volunteerism, public service, and other ways that citizens can participate in their government. Traditional lectures are combined with discussions, hands-on activities, and voter registration drives to make the often sleepy topic of civics tangible.

Since a vital democracy requires an active citizenry, Brown believes that as secretary of state it is his responsibility to help weave those priorities into the state's educational system. "From the earliest days of the United States, our schools have had a civic mission to teach students what it means to be an informed and effective citizen," he said. "CIVICS 101 will help develop a new generation of civic leaders in Rhode Island."

This semester 150 eleventh graders will participate in the program. Since the initiative's unit-based structure is easily replicated and taught directly by teachers in local school systems, a smooth expansion should be possible.

Although the nation's growing crowd of non-voters is not restricted by age, Brown is especially interested in targeting students. He says that while young people vote in dismally low numbers, they are, as a group, among the most active volunteers. That signifies a desire to make a difference, and goes a long way toward debunking the myth that young people simply don't care. Brown witnessed that desire while leading City Year and knows its strength. So he sees the goal of civic education as taking the same passion that makes young people care about community service and focusing it on the voting process.

Other Brown initiatives have focused on allowing citizens to demand more accountability from and access to their own government. For example, the legislature recently passed into law his proposal to create a statewide "Electronic Town Crier." It requires all local municipalities to post on the secretary's website announcements of all upcoming public meetings. Soon, any citizen will easily be able to find out when groups like the zoning committee or board of education are meeting in their towns. By next year, Rhode Islanders will even be able to request instant email notification of approaching events. It is quite an improvement over the archaic, three-centuries-old method of posting a simple sign on the meeting room's door, Brown said.

Ultimately, Brown sees active participation as an underlying value that guides his work as both an elected official and a voting Rhode Islander. "A free democratic society depends on the knowledge, talent, and virtue of its citizens," he said.