Schools didn’t forget America 250. They just decided to ignore it

My son and I spent the summer immersed in American history. For the Fourth of July, we drove down to Colonial Williamsburg to hear the Declaration of Independence read aloud from the balcony of the old Capitol. We visited Philadelphia and stopped into Independence Hall and saw the Liberty Bell. We read history books together, and we even made a huge Martha Washington cake.As both a teacher and a father, a summer built around America turning 250 years old was thrilling, and I had hoped some of that excitement would survive into our nation’s K-12 schools this September. My informal investigation into school plans for this new year reveals, however, that my wish for our schools has already been dashed, as they seem to have moved on from any real focus on America at 250.Despite a huge nationwide building up to July, I quickly noticed that the theme of the American experience was not being continued into the fall. In August of 2026, for instance, I was sent California’s state superintendent’s official welcome-back letter, where he set out what this school year would be about: The budget, the new cellphone policy, all-gender restrooms, suicide prevention information on student ID cards, and literacy webinars. The letter rightly talked about building schools where every student can thrive, but it made no mention of our country turning 250 or of the import of civic education or civility in our polarized times. The omission of anything to do with history or civic formation frustrated me, and I spent time in the weeks since reading numerous school opening messages — messages that essentially tell families and communities what an institution thinks deserves attention, and the anniversary did not make the list. Despite looking at public districts and many private independent schools, I have yet to find one that mentions the anniversary. I am sure some schools did, and I would be glad to hear from them.Philadelphia Independence Hall (Christopher Tremoglie) I dug deeper and found that the resources were there all along. New Jersey invited districts to become “Revolutionary Schools” across the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years, the federal Education Department launched a national initiative around the anniversary, and many other states developed their own materials. Schools were not left without help.My point is that there appears to be an informal consensus to say nothing at all. Of course, talking about the anniversary means deciding what to say about the country, and that may be where the hesitation begins. Any serious discussion of the founding raises questions about what was admirable and what was shameful in our nation’s past, and parents, teachers, school officials, and communities often disagree deeply about how to interpret and present that past. In a school environment where almost any difficult subject can become a source of controversy and then intense national attention or scrutiny, saying nothing starts to look like the safest option.This is a wasted opportunity because students need to understand enough about our country to make sense of the present moment and our disagreements for themselves. This is not an argument that schools should tell children what to think about America or require some particular kind of patriotism. It is an argument that teaching American history and civics belongs in our schools and that we should continue the themes present in America at 250.The fact is that our children do not pick up American history simply by living here. It must be taught, and values and ideals must be passed down from one generation to the next. A national survey this summer released by the Cato Institute and Morning Consult found that 61% of Gen Z did not know what the country’s 250th anniversary commemorated. My son understandably did not know why we were standing outside Independence Hall until I explained it to him; I was honored to do so. Children are not born knowing why Lexington and Concord mattered or what the Constitution does and does not do. Families have an important role in teaching these ideas, and so do our schools.For schools, teaching civics and American ideals requires far more than another assembly or a speaker brought in for a day. The larger opportunity is curricular, and the American experience should be integrated regularly and deliberately. I want to note that this work should not be confined to civics and social studies, either. Classes in the humanities are full of books, speeches, and documents that connect students to the arguments and experiences that shaped the country, and there is no reason schools could not include these in their curricula. I am reading Esther Forbes’ Johnny Tremain with my son right now, and it has brought up questions and ideas with my son that all our students should be wrestling with as they mature into citizens. Schools must take on this responsibility.None of this is theoretical either. We are weeks away from a midterm election, and many of the arguments around us involve American institutions themselves. The last national civics assessment found only 22% of eighth graders at or above the NAEP Proficient level. A student who cannot explain why we have a Senate is going to have a hard time evaluating an argument about whether we should continue to have one.Fortunately, there is an obvious place to begin, and here is my challenge: Constitution Day is just around the corner, and federal law already requires educational institutions receiving federal funding to provide an educational program about the Constitution each year. This year, Constitution Day should be more than a box to check for funding — it should be a day where history lives, and civics are taught. Schools should read parts of the Constitution out loud and together, like the Declaration of Independence on July 4, and then explain why the government was built the way it was, discuss the amendments, and teach students about the fights that produced them. These topics are explosive in today’s world and should prompt students to ask questions and disagree with one another. Once Constitution Day ends, I ask that schools do not simply put everything away again; instead, please thoughtfully incorporate more American history and ideals, the good and the bad, into the curriculum.WHAT TO MAKE OF THE BERNIE AND BANNON ALLIANCE?We adults have the chance to shape our children and share with them particular values and ideals; I tried to do that with mine over the summer. I suspect that he will remember the Martha Washington cake, but he may forget exactly what we saw in Williamsburg. What I hope he remembers is that his father thought this history mattered enough to take him to these places, put these books in his hands, and spend the time with him, celebrating and bringing it alive.Now, our schools have millions of children in front of them, and they have the same opportunity. America spent a summer telling these same children that turning 250 meant something, and there is no reason to let that end here. September should not be the moment we stop explaining why.