From Classroom to Ballot: Educating the Next Generation of Voters

Do you want to inspire and prepare your students to use their voice in the democratic process? Through interactive discussions and nonpartisan lesson activities and lessons, educators from PA Youth Vote and the National Liberty Museum will equip teachers with the tools and strategies needed to foster civic engagement and voter literacy in students. Explore methods to teach elementary, middle, and high school students about democratic processes, critical thinking in evaluating information, and the importance of voting in sustaining a healthy democracy, and leave with lesson plans and resources ready to be applied in the classroom.

This professional development workshop is available to teachers, school faculty, and educators of all kinds. Following the workshop, attendees are invited to stay for a panel discussion, Voices and Votes: The State of Free Speech After the Election, hosted at the National Liberty Museum. For more information, visit the event page on our website.

Pennsylvania educators who attend the full PD session and panel discussion are eligible for 3 hours of Act 48 credits.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

4:30 pm From Classroom to Ballot teacher professional development workshop begins

6:00 pm Voices and Votes panel begins, followed by Q&A with the panelists and moderator

7:30 pm Panel and Q&A concludes

8:00 pm Doors close

PRESENTERS

Allison Cepis, Museum Educator & School Programs Associate at the National Liberty Museum

Allison Cepis is the Museum Educator and School Programs Associate at the National Liberty Museum. Before entering museum education, Allison spent a decade teaching in Philadelphia schools, earning master’s degrees in secondary education in English and literacy for all grades from Saint Joseph’s University and Rosemont College. Throughout her career, she has created engaging ELA curricula. Allison believes that museums and historic sites should be easily accessible, highly inclusive, and reflective of community input. She is dedicated to using education as a form of social justice and aims to help young learners make meaningful connections to the humanities during their visits to cultural institutions.

Thomas Quinn, Education & Policy Director at PA Youth Vote

Thomas Quinn co-founded PA Youth Vote in 2021, and as Education & Policy Director he is focused on getting public school students to the polls every Election Day, all while teaching full-time at Central High School. He was given the President’s Award by the Pennsylvania Council for the Social Studies, was named a Philadelphia Integrity Icon by the Accountability Lab, and is a Teach Plus Pennsylvania Policy Fellow. In 2025 he aims to build a network of educators across the state to impact the ways we teach civics to empower students and their communities.