The Civic Changemakers Project Citizenship in Action Over the summer,members of the Senior Class
were actively engaged in their communities, lobbying for new legislation, building affordable housing, planning a new podcast to bring awareness to mental health issues, and helping children and adults with disabilities, as part of their Civic Changemakers Projects (CCP). A diploma requirement, the CCP offers students an opportunity to work independently on a service project in their local communities, and put into action what they have learned over the course of the school’s four-year citizenship curriculum under the Center for Citizenship and Just Democracy. Funded by a $100,000 grant from the Edward E. Ford Foundation and matched by school donors, the Center for Citizenship and Just Democracy encourages students to explore and practice active citizenship animated by the ideas and example of Frederick Gunn. The four-year curriculum is based on the mission of the school and encourages students at every level to engage in topics and projects of interest that foster self-awareness and responsibility. Through the Civic Changemakers Project, they are becoming active citizens — active in changing the world in the same entrepreneurial way as Mr. Gunn.
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The Frederick Gunn School Bulletin
Left to right: Robin Wright ’22, Paul Clement ’22, Sean Hall ’22, Grace Noh ’22, Theo Mercier ’22 and Kyra Briggs ’22 with Bart McMann, Director of the Center for Citizenship and Just Democracy, which is currently based in Tisch Schoolhouse
Lobbying for change Robin Wright ’22 spent two weeks this summer working as an intern for Sean Michael Peoples, Esq. ’79, a partner at the law firm of Brown Paindiris & Scott, LLP, in Glastonbury, Connecticut. In addition to practicing law in Hartford, Peoples has served as the District 6 Probate Court Judge in Glastonbury and Hebron since 2015. As part of the internship, Peoples introduced Wright to family law, criminal defense law, probate, trusts, and estates practice as well as personal injury and workers compensation law. Wright learned how to analyze a complex personal injury file and discuss it, sat in on several Probate Court hearings at the Glastonbury-Hebron Probate Court, and toured the Connecticut State Law Library, Connecticut Supreme Court, and Hartford Superior Court. Wright also had the chance to meet with retired Connecticut Probate Court Judge Timothy Keeney, a former U.S. Navy SEAL who, in 1972, led the team that recovered the Apollo 17 spacecraft when it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. “Robin is a mature, professional, serious, and compassionate student who is not afraid to take advantage of opportunities when they come to him,” said Bart McMann, Director of the Center for Citizenship and Just Democracy.
