The Supreme Court Historical Society works to improve American’s understanding of the Supreme Court, the Constitution and the Judiciary through teacher training programs.

      The Society partners with Street Law, Inc., a nationally recognized leader in Civics education, to conduct the Supreme Court Summer Institute for Teachers each summer.

      We bring sixty teachers to Washington, DC each summer for an intensive and interactive six-day institute on how to improve their teaching about the Supreme Court.  The teachers hear first hand from leading practitioners what it is like to argue before the Supreme Court, the role of the Solicitor General, how cases are granted and study closely several historic and current cases.  Mixed in to the content is a healthy dose of methodology so that the teachers go back armed not just with knowledge about the Supreme Court but the tools to share it with their students most effectively.

      The program was launched in 1995.  Since then teachers from 49 states and the District of Columbia have participated.

      The Society was not content to stop there.  Since 2004, the Society has taken a smaller version on the road to cities around the country, including New York, Atlanta, St. Louis and Baltimore.  This has allowed teachers in urban school districts to participate in the program when they might otherwise not have been able to travel to Washington, DC. 

      Why focus on teacher training rather than on students?  In many school districts, teachers have five classes of 30 students each.  That is 150 students each year.

      More than 1300 teachers have participated in a version of the Supreme Court Summer Institute or Supreme Court Regional Seminar since 1995.   That makes over 195,000 students each year who are learning about the Court because of the Society’s efforts. 

      The Society hopes to bring this program to other cities around the country.  By joining the Supreme Court Historical Society, you can help insure that our nation’s youngest citizens are well versed in the importance of the Supreme Court and the Constitution.