Our public school system was originally created to produce good citizens. Indeed, Thomas Jefferson argued for a national school system because “a foundation [would be] laid for a government truly republican.” Today, that foundation is shaky, with young people increasingly disengaged from the nation’s political life.

In his recent book Why We Vote: How Schools and Communities Shape Our Civic Life (Princeton University Press, 2006), David E. Campbell shows what schools can do to strengthen that foundation. He finds that adolescents who attend schools which foster civic responsibility develop into engaged adults who vote. Civic responsibility, in turn, is rooted in an appreciation of America’s shared civic culture. While today’s public schools celebrate “diversity,” Campbell argues that it is time to reemphasize what we have in common with each other.

How can schools promote a sense of civic responsibility? Can ‘schools of choice’ provide models for fostering community? Please join us as Campbell discusses what America’s schools can do to strengthen the “foundation for a government truly republican” with former governor Bob Wise (D-W.Va.), president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and William A. Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Frederick M. Hess, director of education policy studies at AEI, will moderate the discussion.