As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, one educational nonprofit sought to improve civics education through grants – to one teacher in each state.

Geneva High School social studies teacher Lucas Rojas was the lone Illinois recipient of a $5,0000 Teaching America250 Awards grant. It was given by The Jack Miller Center, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit “committed to solving the national crisis of uninformed citizenship by teaching America’s founding principles and history,” according to its website.

Rojas, a teacher for eight years, and chairman of the Social Studies Department for four years, teaches U.S. government, AP U.S. government, and political campaigns and elections. He’s already got a project mapped out with the grant money.

“Our idea is to create a wall that honors students from Geneva High School who have gone on to serve in the military,” Rojas said. “We want to create a display that honors these students.”

It would include an interactive television screen where visitors could scroll through and see the veterans and their profiles, he said.

“One of the big roles students will have in taking the lead is identifying veterans and interviewing them,” Rojas said. “That’s the main piece of the project. It would be a database of veterans from GHS and an opportunity for the public and students to engage in the profiles and click through.”

The second piece of the project would be creating a mural that honors the nation via the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, Rojas said.

“We may reach out to local artists or our own art students,” Rojas said about the mural. “One thing the Jack Miller Center is incorporating in this grant, is making sure students and the community – everyone who receives a grant – is aware of the founding principles of the country.”

The project has to be completed by December.

Rojas teaches 90 to 150 students per semester. They will all be involved, as will the Social Studies National Honor Society. So as many as 200 students may participate.

In addition to himself, Rojas said all social studies faculty will be involved as they brainstorm together.

“I was one who got the grant, but they are as much recipients in my mind,” Rojas said. “We always try to think of ways we can get students involved in civic education.”

In the current divided nation, Rojas said he has found students are a little hesitant to engage.

“This is actually a great time to teach this course,” Rojas said of his campaigns and elections class.

“There is always something in the news to pull from what is happening in the world into the classroom and connect what we are learning in class with what’s going on in the world,” Rojas said. “I get students talking with each other about the issues of the day and talking about the importance of getting involved in their community to see that they can have an impact on the world and the community around them.”

But it is also a challenge.

“How do we bring back good civic discussion in the classroom while making sure all viewpoints are heard and respected?” Rojas said. “The classroom can be a safe and productive place for these conversations. We share a lot of good thoughts. I think it’s important that the classroom is the place where all different perspectives are welcome.”

Jason Bhatta, another social studies teacher, said when the Wall of Honor project puts the focus on veterans and their service, “kids will get a deeper understanding of our Constitution and what it means in our daily lives, the protections that it affords us.”

“To have kids connected to the project, to have the community connected to the project and to honor vets that came from GHS – the historical perspective and tying it to our Constitution – it’s a really cool project,” Bhatta said.

Rojas also received a Fulbright Teachers for Global Classroom Program Scholarship.

“As part of the program, I participated in a graduate-level course last semester on Global Education and I will be traveling to Uruguay this June to further research global education, along with Uruguay’s education system,” Rojas stated in an email.

Principal Tom Rogers praised Rojas’ work in the classroom and in representing the school – as well as getting a grant for the Wall of Honor.

“It’s a work in progress, but a very exciting one that we’re looking forward to implementing,” Rogers said. “He is a great ambassador for the social studies department, as well as Geneva High School as a whole. ... We are very proud of him at the high school and how he represents us.”