Under our system of constitutional democracy, it is a grave problem that millions of Americans have never actually read The Constitution of the United States.

As a result, the National Education Project is working to create a renewed and vibrant awareness of The Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights in the lives of millions of Americans.

In support of this effort, the National Education Project has three major initiatives underway for 2008:

1. The 3rd annual "National Constitution Day Celebration on the Mall" in Washington, D.C., Sunday, September 14, 2008:
   
   The Constitution of the United States celebrates its 221st birthday in September 2008, and, to help mark this great event, The National Education Project, Inc., a non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation, is sponsoring the 3rd annual "National Constitution Day Celebration on the Mall" in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, September 14, 2008.*
   
   Modeled after the Fourth of July program on the Mall each year, this annual Constitution Day celebration is a non-partisan, non-political patriotic event, which is free and open to all, and devoted solely to a grand public celebration of The Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.
   
   Please plan to join us at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 14, 2008, to hear a word-for-word, public reading of the entire Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights, some of the most powerful and majestic words ever written by a free people.
   
   We are gathering at the foot of the United States Capitol Building on the west side, next to the Capitol Reflecting Pool. Please see the map below.
   
   You and your family and friends would be most welcome
   
   
   
   Click to Enlarge
   
   Our 2007 Constitution Day program included all of the following activities, and we plan the same basic program, plus, perhaps, fireworks, for the Constitution Day celebration on Sunday, September 14, 2008:
   
   
   • Fife & drum corps musical prelude; a military Color Guard; the Pledge of Allegiance; The Star Spangled Banner
   
   
   
   • An elegant and moving swearing-in ceremony for new U.S. citizens sponsored by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service
   
   
   
   • A fife and drum corps leading the children on a "Fun Walk" around the Mall
   
   
   
   • A word-for-word public reading from the main stage of the entire United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights
   
   
   
   • Face painting, a juggling clown, a magician, and storytelling for the kids
   
   
   
   • Plus, free American flags, pocket-size copies of The United States Constitution, commemorative wristbands, and copies of the National Education Project's "Three Constitutions" poster
   
   
   
   • A concert to end the 2008 Constitution Day celebration, with everyone singing God Bless America, America the Beautiful, and Auld Lang Syne.
     
     
   • FIREWORKS!!! (planned)
     
     
   
   For a copy of the complete 10-page "Program of Events" for the 2007 "National Constitution Day Celebration on the Mall," please Click Here.
   
   
   
   

   
   
   

   Cokie Roberts, author of Founding Mothers, reads the Bill of Rights. To see the video, please Click Here.
   To see photographs from the 2006 & 2007 Constitution Day Celebrations, please Click Here.

   
   Preparations for the September 14, 2008, Constitution Day celebration on the Mall are well underway.  In addition to the general public, including Washington-area schoolchildren, we will be inviting most of official Washington to this event, including:
   
   
   • Representatives of the executive and judicial branches of the federal government
   
   
   
   • All members of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives
   
   
   
   • Service personnel from all branches of the U.S. military
   
   
   
   • All members of the Washington diplomatic community
   
   
   
   • Local government and school officials, as well as their families and staff
   
   
   
   • National and local media will also be invited to attend.
   
   *
   
   Donations:
   
   
   • If you are wondering how the National Education Project pays for all this, it is through the generosity of corporations, foundations, law firms, and the general public.
   
   
   
   • In short, people just like you, and we would be most grateful for your support.
   
   
   
   • If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to support the 3rd annual "National Constitution Day Celebration on the Mall" and our efforts to create a renewed and vibrant awareness of The Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights in the lives of millions of Americans all across the country, please Click Here.
   
   *
   Invitation To You And Your Family & Friends:
   
   
   • We happily extend to you, and your family and friends, a cordial invitation to attend the National Education Project's 3rd annual "National Constitution Day Celebration on the Mall" in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, September 14, 2008. You would be most welcome.
   
   
   
   • Until then, we will be revising this page with program updates for the September 14 Constitution Day celebration, so please check back here periodically during 2008.
   
   *
   Further Information:
   
   
   • For further information, please call: 202-543-3500
   
   
   
   • Or contact us by e-mail: Director@National-Education-Project.org
   
   
   
   • For a one-page handout describing the 2007 "National Constitution Day Celebration on the Mall" in Washington, D.C., please Click Here.
   
   
   • 
     Click to enlarge
   
   *
   
   * Kindly note: Constitution Day actually falls on September 17, the day
   The Constitution of the United States was signed in 1787.
   
   However, to make it convenient for the largest number of people,
   especially children, to attend our celebration on the Mall
   each year, the National Education Project will always
   hold the event on the Sunday immediately
   before September 17.




2. The "Three Constitutions" Poster:
   
   The Project's "Three Constitutions" poster depicts two of the rarest historical documents in America:
   
   a. The only copy of The Constitution of the United States signed     by all members of the last all-male United States Supreme     Court; and
   
   b. The only copy of The Constitution of the United States signed     by all members of the first United States Supreme Court in the     history of the country with a female justice.
   
   The poster also shows a third Constitution, which has nine blank lines that represent the future justices of the United States Supreme Court, future justices who are now in elementary school somewhere in America (including, perhaps, your son or daughter).
   
                                     
   
   During the last three years, the National Education Project has provided just over 250,000 free copies of the "Three Constitutions" poster to schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as to schools around the world sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense for the children of military personnel.
   
   Classroom teachers use the posters to teach about The United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, but the schools have also distributed tens of thousands of the posters directly to the children, usually 5th graders. The children then sign the posters and take them home as a compelling reminder of the promise of America for themselves and their families.
   
   The National Education Project will be distributing free copies of the "Three Constitutions" poster at the "National Constitution Day Celebration on the Mall" on Sunday, September 14, 2008, in Washington, D.C.
   
   If you wish to purchase a copy of the "Three Constitutions" poster, please Click Here.




3. The "Proud Owner of the U.S. Constitution" T-shirt:
   
   The "Proud Owner of the U.S. Constitution" T-shirt displays some of the most inspiring and majestic words ever written by a free people, words that belong to you and to all Americans:
   
   a. The front of the shirt displays the "Preamble of the Constitution of     the United States."
   
   b. The back of the shirt displays the "First Amendment of the Bill of     Rights."

   

   If you wish to purchase a "Proud Owner of the U.S. Constitution"
   T-shirt, please Click Here.

Goal 2: The Project's National Literacy Program

Regarding the vast problem of illiteracy facing this country, the National Education Project proposes to:

• Raise reading and math scores across entire cities by providing reliable and effective tutors on a massive scale to elementary school children who must have this help if they are to master the basic literacy skills required for employment in a technological economy;*
  
  
• Establish these tutoring programs on a city-wide scale in city after city all across the country; and
  
  
• Provide tutors on such a massive scale as to create a rebirth of learning throughout America that will rival the Golden Age of Pericles.
  

  * It goes without saying that Americans who can't read,   can't read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Are the tutors from this Project effective? All of our tutors work under the direct supervision of elementary school classroom teachers, who provide written evaluations of the effectiveness of the tutors at the end of each semester.

Here, for example, is what a 2nd grade public school classroom teacher in Chicago had to say after just one semester of tutoring:

"Bill [the tutor] was a very positive force in both Gregory's and Bernard's school year. He motivated the boys with stories, guided activities, and games. The boys felt very special because they had Bill as their tutor.

"Gregory gained 1 year and 8 months in reading. Bernard gained 1 year and 1 month in math."

Click Here to find out how the National Education Project can produce similar results in elementary schools throughout your city.