Education policies such as No Child Left Behind demonstrate Americans' conviction that all children are entitled to a quality education. It is not enough, however, to give students the academic knowledge to be successful workers. We also need to impart the skills and understandings necessary for young people to participate actively in a democratic society. The broader notions of citizenship and service are too often lost in the quagmire of nationally mandated testing, sanctions, and incentives focused on core academic subjects, such as math and reading.

To focus on the civic mission of schooling, ASCD, the Education Commission of the States, and the National Council for the Social Studies recently sponsored a meeting of representatives from the Bush Administration, the civic education community, and service learning organizations.

At this meeting, discussion centered on students' need to understand the rights and responsibilities of our democratic society in order to uphold and defend its freedoms. Participants recalled the disturbing gaps in students' civic knowledge that were revealed by the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress. The director of USA Freedom Corps briefed the group on the Administration's focus on civic education, including the "We the People" initiative launched by the White House and the National Endowment for the Humanities to support the teaching of American history, civics, and service. We are encouraged by the Administration's attention to these issues.

ASCD is called to action by a variety of factors, not the least of which are indications that young people in America are less engaged in civic life than earlier generations. A recent report from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, found that 57 percent of 15- to 25-year-olds are completely disengaged from civic life.

We need to address this disengagement by renewing our commitment to the fundamental mission of schooling in a democracy. Students must be well versed in both the content and realization of citizenship. We will only accomplish this by teaching them about history and civics while providing opportunities for students to practice the skills and virtues necessary for active and effective participation in our society.

At ASCD, we believe that service learning connects community service with academic study, teaching civic responsibility, enriching learning, and strengthening communities. We believe in giving students substantial opportunities to practice democracy; we are supporting this through our First Amendment Schools project, a joint initiative of ASCD and the First Amendment Center. First Amendment Schools are committed to upholding the democratic and public mission of schooling in America and to providing students with an apprenticeship in freedom and responsibility.

Our schools must educate students to be active citizens in order to build a generation of young people who understand and strive to live out democratic ideals. We agree with education historian Diane Ravitch's statement in Educational Leadership, "The public expects the schools to equip students with the tools to carry on our democracy and to improve it. . . . The U.S. public supports public education, both to provide equality of opportunity and to prepare our young people to protect and preserve our experiment in democratic living."

In order to achieve this, we must not only teach our students about history, civics, and service, but also build and nurture a school culture that gives students numerous opportunities to live out what it means to be a democratic citizen.

The First Amendment Schools project Web site is located at http://www.firstamendmentschools.org.

Diane Ravitch's article, "September 11: Seven Lessons for the Schools," is available at /readingroom/edlead/0210/ravitch.html.