Civic Education Programs and Materials

The JFK Library is the host site for the National Student Mock Election (NSME) for Massachusetts. This voter education program is held every two years to actively engage students in grades K-12 in state and national campaigns, and emphasize the importance of voting and the power of their ballots.

In this lesson plan, high school students debate our nation’s priorities by establishing their own “simulated” federal budgets. After analyzing the proposed FY 2022 discretionary budget, students will be asked to design a FY 2023 budget with a group of their peers.

Civics for All of US is a new national civic education initiative from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, the Center for Legislative Archives and the National Archives that promotes civic literacy and engagement. As part of this initiative, the education team at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, the Center for Legislative Archives and educators across the National Archives will be providing teachers with programming, curricula, and exceptional field trip experiences both online and in-person.

Every year, the Kennedy Library recognizes up to 100 middle school students from across Massachusetts with the John F. Kennedy Make a Difference Award for the impact they have made in their communities through service projects.