Salt Lake City School District

Seal of Civic Readiness

The Salt Lake City School District seal features a torch, stars, and text.

6-Steps to Informed Civic Engagement Graduate with the Seal of Civic Readiness

The Seal of Civic Readiness (SCR) is a formal recognition high school students receive upon meeting graduation and SCR requirements. It is open to students in grades 9-12 and requires participation in the Salt Lake City School District Seal of Civic Readiness Showcase.
The Seal of Civic Readiness Showcase is where students demonstrate their civic knowledge, skills, and attiudes by presenting a civic action project they developed to address an issue in the community. The SCR Showcase occurs in April.
1. Follow the 6-step process to informed civic engagement by following one of two options:
- Option 1: Teacher Supported. In this option, teachers instruct students throughout the 6-step process and support them in developing their civic action project.
- Option 2: Independent (available Fall 2026). In this option, students engage in the 6-step process and develop their civic action project independently. Students have access to support materials through a Canvas course.
1. Develop and implement a civic action project that addresses an issue in the community
1. Present your civic action project at the Seal of Civic Readiness Showcase
1. Meet Salt Lake City School District graduation requirements
- Encourages students to become informed and engaged member of the community essential for democratic citzenry.
- Fosters authentic and meaningful student engagement in the community.
- Highlights students using their civic knowledge, skills, and attitudes in a real-world context and in ways that make a positive difference in their community.
- Extends students learning about civics to students practicing and participating in civics.
- Research suggests a positive correlation between civic learning experiences in high school and the future voting habits of young adults. Circle Growing Voters research.

Seal of Civic Readiness Showcase

Opening Remarks by Dr. Analis Carattini-Ruiz

Today is about you. Not just what you’ve learned, but what you’ve done with what you’ve learned.

This year marks 250 years since the founding of our country—250 years of people trying to figure out how to live together, make decisions together, and solve problems together.

That work has never been simple. And it has never been finished. What keeps it going is something we are focusing on today: civic hope.

Civic hope is the belief that your voice matters, that participation matters, and that things can get better when people stay engaged—even when issues are complicated.

It is not about pretending everything is fine. It is about choosing to stay involved anyway.

We know something important from research on communities: when people stop connecting with one another—when they stop participating in shared spaces and conversations—trust and community strength weaken. But when people stay engaged, build relationships, and show up for one another, communities become stronger.

Civic hope also asks something harder: the ability to listen to people who may not always agree with us, and to try to understand their experiences without shutting them out. That doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything. It means we stay open enough to learn from others.

And you have been practicing that kind of civic hope through the Seal of Civic Readiness.

You didn’t just study civics. You lived it.

You started by thinking about your community and your place in it.
You identified an issue that matters to you.
You researched it—listening to different perspectives and learning from information and experiences.
You planned and took action.
And now, you are here to reflect and share what you’ve learned.

That process matters. Because civic hope isn’t something we talk about—it’s something we build through action.