What is the CHS Civic Engagement Club?

The Civic Engagement Club is a new club on the Coronado High Schools campus. This club’s main purpose is to help more students engage with the State Seal of Civic Engagement.

The seal is an award by the state of California that goes on a student’s high school diploma. The state seal is a fairly new award as of 2020. As the name suggests, the seal is for high school students who have completed all of the necessary requirements and have shown their dedication to making civic change. Ms. Caputo, faculty advisor, says the Seal “honors the leadership that CUSD students demonstrate at school, in Coronado, and the greater San Diego community.”

The club provides the proper guidance and resources students might need to complete their project. Students can acquire the seal by creating a question that their project solves to some extent. Following this, students fill out the proper logs to track their hours and organize their project. The project can be anything the student wants: a short film, slideshow, essay, etc. Gigi Dugas, current club president and CHS senior, shares, “Students can learn about the requirements by reaching out to a club member or faculty member involved with the seal such as Ms. Caputo or by coming to a meeting.”

The club has meetings at least once a month on campus where you can find them in room 501 during lunch. Some insight into what happens at meetings is that students talk about issues with their projects, support each other, and eat treats. These meetings are announced on the club Instagram, “@chscec”. Another way to find out about meetings is on their Remind. Students can join their Remind by texting @chscec to 81010.

Why should students try and get the Seal of Civic Engagement?

In addition to their project being an amazing way to involve yourself with your community, the seal is an impressive achievement that displays hard work and commitment. Secondly, the seal can be a good resume tool when applying to college or jobs. The seal is a great award to have because it shows direct recognition from the state of California.

Hannah Cohen, vice president and CHS junior, says why she believes students should get the seal: “Students should get the seal because many are already interested and active in being civically engaged. The seal is simply a way to legitimize things for personal satisfaction and future resumes.”

Overall, the club is a great way to involve yourself in the Coronado community while you’re still in high school. You are able to help an issue you’re passionate about and try to fix it, even just a little bit. Any small difference can impact yourself and your cause.

Here is the CUSD link for more information and the seal application (for juniors and seniors): https://bit.ly/nado-civic