Advocacy/News
Stay Informed
MCSS promotes all areas of social studies through collaborations with other educational non-profits and the MA Department of Education. We advocate at the state and national level to recognize social studies education. Given our nation’s fractured discourse and challenges to its foundational democratic values, we are especially committed to the advancement of Civic education. Below are some of the ways we are working to advance social studies, and ways that you can join the effort.
Navigating Difficult Discussions
The Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies has developed a resource to equip K-12 educators with practical, state-aligned strategies for teaching difficult histories and current events in the Social Studies classroom in an era of increasing national volatility...
If teaching Social Studies were easy, everyone would be teaching it
Being a Social Studies teacher today is both exciting and unnerving. When I was an undergraduate student at Boston University (Go Terriers!) back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I initially planned to teach math. I did well in math in high school, taking double...
2026 MCSS Teacher Awards!
The Massachusetts Council for Social Studies is proud to announce the recipients of the 2026 Awards for Excellence in Teaching. The Council presents these awards each year to exceptional educators in a variety of social studies disciplines from across the...
Navigating Global Issues in the Social Studies Classroom
May 19, 2025 9;00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Charles Hopkins is the Director of Teaching and Learning at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), where he helps to develop teaching resources and works with instructors and institutions who use CFR Education’s global...
2025 MCSS Awards of Excellence – Winners!
See the list of winners here! Our awards ceremony will take place at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation in Waltham on April 29th, from 4:30-6:30. All are welcome to join this celebration of some of the finest social studies educators across the...
Nuclear Disarmament Education – A Teacher’s Conference – 5/10-11
Educating for Peace: A Teachers' Conference for Nuclear Disarmament Education - May 10th/11th at the Ikeda Center in Cambridge, MA. This weekend-long conference seeks to bring together and empower middle and high school teachers and educators to explore effective ways...
Massachusetts Civic Learning Week – March 10-14
Register Now! Civic Learning Week 2025: Civic Learning for a Strong Democracy March 10-14, 2025
Using Colonial Society Sources in Early American History – Summer Seminar 2025
June 24-26, 2025. The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, in collaboration with the Society of Colonial Wars, is sponsoring a three-day Summer Institute focused on the Revolutionary Period using the Colonial Society’s extensive resources. Designed for 5th-12th grade...
2026 MCSS Teaching Awards – Winners Announced Soon
Nominate a Social Studies educator in your community who engages students’ intellects and imaginations, and makes a real difference. Read more at our Awards Page. The application process is built to be educator-friendly, requiring a narrative description of the...
Submit a Proposal for NCSS 2025
National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) invites you to submit a proposal to present at the 105th NCSS Annual Conference. This year's theme, "Because democracy depends on it”, asks each of us to consider new ways in which we can help students see themselves as...