State Mandates Constitution Day Lessons, County Offers Plans on Women’s Suffrage
The Board’s Celebration of Women’s Suffrage Ad Hoc Committee has partnered with Oakland Schools to help educators lead exciting and educational programming for Constitution Day on September 17th in honor of the 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage. Experts from Oakland Schools have compiled a number of high-quality lesson plans, which were created by trusted and reliable public and private organizations, that focus on Women’s Suffrage and the 19th Amendment. A link to the complete list of recommended lesson plans can be found on the Board’s website at www.oakgov.com/VotesForWomen.
“We are excited to partner with Oakland Schools in our joint effort to teach students about the suffragettes and their decades-long fight to secure the constitutional right to vote for women,” said Commissioner Marcia Gershenson (D-Bloomfield Township).
“Constitution Day provides a great opportunity to highlight the journey toward realizing the vision of a democracy for all citizens, including the struggle for women’s suffrage,” said Oakland Schools Social Studies Consultant Stacie Woodward. “We hope educators find these resources useful as they plan meaningful learning experiences for their students.”
Constitution Day, whose origins date back to 1940, commemorates the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787. In 2004, Congress passed a law requiring federally funded educational institutions to teach students about the Constitution every year on or around September 17th. The U.S. Department of Education does not mandate or prescribe particular curricula or lesson plans.
Commissioner Gershenson serves as chair of the Celebration of Women’s Suffrage Ad Hoc Committee, which also includes Commissioners Angela Powell (D-Pontiac) and Tom Kuhn (R-Troy). Throughout the next year, the committee will invite Oakland County residents to learn more about the history of women’s suffrage through a variety of programming and events.
To learn more about the Women’s Suffrage Ad Hoc Committee, visit www.oakgov.com/VotesForWomen. For more information about Oakland Schools, visit www.oakland.k12.mi.us.