Public Achievement is a youth initiative in which young people learn basic methods of taking public action and become civically engaged. The civic roles of young people are often limited, such as future voters or as citizens in training. Public Achievement breaks away from these limited definitions with a simple idea—ordinary people of all ages have the desire, insights and talents to address society's problems, and to build a common world. Public Achievement's work is anchored on a few core ideas: everybody can do citizen work (especially K-12 students); power starts in each of us when we find an issue important to us; democracy is messy and often frustrating but it can accomplish extraordinary things; and we learn by doing public work. 

Public Achievement works best when a college and K-12 school or youth-based organization collaborate.  Typically, a college student serves as a "coach" to a team of 6-8 students. The students pick a public issue they want to address and the college student coaches them on developing an action plan to address the issue. In the process, students acquire important public skills, including public speaking, social accountability, responsibility, interviewing, developing agendas, networking, and running a meeting.  Throughout the process core concepts such as democracy, citizenship, freedom, self-interest, diversity, and power are also introduced and reinforced.

We are partnering with sites in the greater Manchester, N.H., area to incorporate Public Achievement into their programs. If you are interested in becoming a Public Achievement site, please contact Dan Forbes at (603) 641-7108 or dforbes@anselm.edu for more information.