WORCESTER—The DCU Center was buzzing with student energy on June 2 as hundreds of young people from Central Massachusetts gathered to present their visions for change at the 2025 Massachusetts Civics Project Showcase.
Worcester Public Schools scholars from Forest Grove Middle School, Dr. Arthur F. Sullivan Middle School, and North High School represented the district at the regional civics showcase.
Part of a series of four regional showcases held across the state this spring, the Worcester event featured civics projects from local middle and high school students tackling real-world issues including teen mental health, housing and homelessness, road safety, and educational equity.
Hosted by the Healey-Driscoll Administration in partnership with Generation Citizen, the event marked the third stop in the state’s Civics Showcase tour, following events in Dartmouth and Springfield. More than 800 students from 61 school districts participated statewide, with dozens of Central Mass schools represented at the Worcester showcase alone.
Described by organizers as a “science fair for civics,” the event gave students a platform to present action-oriented projects to a wide array of volunteer community advisors — including educators, local leaders, healthcare professionals, and nonprofit organizers. Advisors offered feedback, asked questions, and nominated stand-out projects for commendation.
Dave Buchanan, a longtime civic learning advocate and one of the advisors at the Worcester event, praised the students’ engagement and creativity. “These showcases show how much students care about what’s going on in their communities and about learning how to make change,” he said in a press release. “That’s what this is all about.”
“Their powerful, student-led projects tackled real community issues—such as racism, clothing and food insecurity, pedestrian and traffic safety, middle school late buses, addiction, and solar power,” said the WPS’ Instagram post. “These projects were among those selected by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to be featured at this year’s Worcester event, part of a statewide series hosted in partnership with Generation Citizen.”
The students presented their projects to community advisors, who engaged them with thoughtful questions and provided written feedback to teachers later in the week—along with announcements of projects receiving special commendations.
The showcase series is part of a broader effort launched in 2023 to support a 2018 state law that incorporated student-led civics projects into both eighth-grade and high school curricula. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and Generation Citizen have since worked with districts statewide to bring those projects to life.
“Civics Project Showcases are a great opportunity for students to meet their peers from other communities and share their passions with each other,” said Governor Maura Healey in the release. “These students identified issues and presented solutions, and I’m grateful we are able to provide a forum for them to learn from one another.”
The final event in the 2025 series was held June 6 at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute in Boston, where students participated in a panel discussion on youth civic engagement with Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler.
Commendation-winning projects from all four showcases will be featured on the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website.
