Ahead of USA’s 250th anniversary, feds’ $3.6M grants to help train Duval teachers in civics
The Florida Times-Union | By Steve Patterson | October 14, 2025
Duval County Public Schools teachers will get extra training on teaching civics through federal grants totaling $3.6 million for local colleges to help schools prepare lessons involving the 250th anniversary of America’s founding as an independent nation.
The country’s semiquincentennial in 2026 will be a chance to tell young people about core principles behind the country’s government and people involved with the teacher-training efforts are aiming to animate their thinking.
“Civics isn’t just memorizing dates and facts — it’s about preparing students to think critically and participate in democracy,” Diane Yendol-Hoppey, a University of North Florida professor, said in a release from UNF about $2.1 million the school is slated to receive.
Florida State College at Jacksonville is being awarded $1.5 million by the U.S. Department of Education, which this year awarded 85 new grants nationally in American history and civics.
Both UNF and FSCJ partnered with the Duval school district in applying for the funds.
“We expected to get one. We didn’t expect to get both,” Superintendent Christopher Bernier said when he announced the grants during the School Board’s Oct. 7 meeting.
The funding “gives our kids, our community, our teachers, an opportunity to really make civics education come alive,” Bernier said.
Including UNF, five schools in Florida’s state university system were allotted a combined $12.5 million in federal civics grants.
Customed students participate in militia training during the Georgia Historical Society’s Georgia Day Expo in February at the Savannah Civic Center. The approach of the 250th anniversary of America’s founding is helping fuel efforts to improve civic knowledge among schoolchildren nationally.
The push for stronger civics instruction coincides with efforts across the state to mark the approach of America’s July 4, 2026 anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by rebels who broke away from the British empire to form a new type of government.
The funds for UNF will pay for a three-year program to help 90 middle school civics teachers deepen their understanding of foundational documents such as the U.S. Constitution and explore ways to bring civics issues alive in classrooms.
FSCJ’s funding is meant to help train teachers at 100 middle schools and high schools. College officials will be working with the school district to confirm the details of the grant’s rollout, said FSCJ spokeswoman Jill Johnson.
The school district will also be working with the University of Central Florida’s Lou Frey Institute, which provides civic instruction material through the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship used in classrooms around the state.
“I’m thrilled to partner with UNF, FSCJ, and the Lou Frey Institute on this transformative investment in our teachers and students,” April D. Slade, the school district’s director of K–12 social studies, said in written remarks about the funds. “By building a sustainable pipeline of expertly trained civics teachers, we will expand access to rigorous instruction, improve performance on key benchmarks and deepen students’ sense of civic responsibility across every neighborhood we serve.”
