Gov. M. Jodi Rell Center for Public Service Announces Winners of Inaugural Civility Awards

A classroom of Hamden sixth graders and members of a Farmington High School Political Action Club are this year’s recipients of the inaugural Governor M. Jodi Rell Center for Public Service Civility Awards. Located at the University of Hartford, the Rell Center created the awards to raise the bar for civil discourse in American society and to highlight the ways that teachers, schools, and school groups can teach or coach others to positively spread civility, respect, and collaboration.

Changing the World Through Spoken Word Poetry was the winning K–8 division entry submitted by Mary Nelson’s sixth-grade class at Spring Glen Elementary School. Students were asked what they would like to change in the world. Students wrote about racism, gun violence, religious tolerance, immigration, and LGBTQ issues and presented them at the 2019 Dismantling Systemic Racism Conference in Hartford

The Farmington High School Political Action Club was the winner in the high school and university division for encouraging students to become more involved in politics through hosting and moderating debates that emphasize a non-partisan and civil approach to political discourse.