I have a foggy memory of the political fights that went on many years ago to grant an observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday as a federal holiday. I recall that it went in stages: first there were non-binding resolutions which acknowledged that his leadership on civil rights were extraordinary, then they suggested a holiday to honor his work would be kind of nice thing to do, then real resolutions were introduced, then states started to adopt the holiday, then Arizona was a hold-out and then finally, finally MLK Day was official and federal and banks and schools were closed. Since Americans tend to not take healthy, extended vacations, but rather a pile-up of three and four day getaways, many people were thrilled at the thought of another Monday off, particularly in January and especially if the snow is good.

But then another identity about MLK Day began to take shape, and that was the idea of committing yourself to a day of service. Instead of a day off, MLK Day is a day ON. Use the day to serve your community by giving your time to work at a homeless shelter, pick up trash at the beach or park, do home visits to the elderly, mentor a kid, even take yourself down the local police and fire stations and introduce yourself to the people who will protect you in the event of an emergency. The sentiment behind this “Day On” is obvious: Dr. King was a man of action behind his words, which is what gave his leadership the credibility and the power to create change. If we all participate by serving, then we carry on the legacy of civil equality.

What if you are reading this at work? Or you click on this tonight after your epic powder day? What if you did not have the opportunity to volunteer today and now that you think of it you really want to do something in the spirit of MLK, and you have already donated and prayed for Haiti (and keep doing that too by the way)? I have something for you to do.

I would like you to support the US Public Service Academy, either for the first time, or the 48th time. I would like you to call or write an email to your Representative and to your Senators. If you have not signed the petition to create the first undergraduate institution to train public servants in leadership, policy, emergency management, ethics etc. in return for five years of service, then do that too. I would like you to demand of your Representatives and Senators that you want a place where young people are educated to serve the needs of the people so that the margin for error during an emergency like a Katrina or a Haiti is slim to none. Did you text off a donation to Haiti? Did spend a mere five minutes on that task and then post it to your Facebook status? Well, then spend 15 minutes today using your voice to demand that our government place value on the people who want to take care of our education, our safety, our health, by creating an institution on par with our military academies to train them. We deserve this.

Get to links for your Reps and Senators offices by going to this link on the USPSA website, or here or here. You can fill out one of their email forms, or call their offices directly to speak to a staffer. Other than the most obvious civic duty which is voting, it is also our job to tell our elected officials how to do theirs. They serve us, not vice versa. Use your time today to make MLK proud and participate in the process of being a citizen. It is a great honor and I guarantee you will feel fulfilled. Thank you for your support as always.

Last week, the New York Times wrote a story on the findings of a study on the graduates of a marquee teacher training program, Teach For America.  The study’s aim was to find out what the level of civic engagement was for the alums of the program, after they completed their two year commitment to teaching.  They were surprised to find that civic involvement was lower than expected.  Since the US Public Service Academy was founded by two TFA alums and several of our volunteer coordinators are too, not to mention that TFA fully endorses the legislation, I wanted you to hear directly from Genevieve Quist, a TFA alum and the California State Coordinator for our Youth Advisory Councils. ~Justine Hebron

Part of my motivation for acting as California’s State Coordinator in USPSA’s efforts is rooted directly in my experience as a Teach For America corps member. I liked the idea of making public service more accessible to college students, and providing those future public servants with a rigorous education. What got me hooked, however, was the initial comparison made to Teach For America. What kept me going through my 70 hour work weeks, in addition to the amazing kids in my Los Angeles classroom, was my belief that I was part of a larger movement working towards something critically important- educational equity. The culture that I observed and participated in, both as a corps member and as staff at the Summer Institute training program, was one of professionalism, dedication to students and the larger mission, and relentless pursuit of results. What if building a United States Public Service Academy could do for jobs in government what Teach For America has done for teaching positions in low-income public schools?

My experience in the classroom propelled me towards graduate research in Social Policy, will guide me in the policy and advocacy job market when I complete my degree, and has encouraged me to consistently give money and time to child focused non-profits and legislative efforts. Teach For America is the most formative professional experience I’ve had. Stanford’s study, “Assessing the Long-Term Effects of Youth Service: The Puzzling Case of Teach For America”, suggests that not all corps members feel the same way I do:

“Financed by the William T. Grant Foundation, the study surveyed every person who was accepted by Teach for America from 1993 to 1998. It is being published this month in Social Forces, a journal published by the University of North Carolina. The study compared “graduates,” who completed their two years; “dropouts,” who entered the program but left before the two years were up; and “nonmatriculants,” who were accepted but declined the offer. It included 1,538 graduates, 324 dropouts and 634 nonmatriculants. Nearly 45 percent of those sampled returned the 34-page survey.

While Teach for America graduates remain far more active than their peer group, the findings indicate that the program neither achieves an earlier organizational goal of “making citizens” nor produces people who, in great numbers, take their civic commitments beyond the field of education.”

Does this imply that my original motivation for supporting USPSA was somehow flawed? I completed Teach For America three years ago, but my teaching experience is still relatively fresh in my mind. Do the study results foreshadow a possible future self- more cynical, less engaged? Regardless of the results of this study, I believe it is possible for an organization to instill a culture and create a network that can work for the broader good in a systemic, long term capacity. Although the verdict on TFA may still be unclear, and perhaps hard to ever measure accurately, I believe the United States Public Service Academy’s impact on our generation may be quite powerful.

USPSA students will enroll at 18, graduate at about 21, and then work in public service through age 26; this experience will help to create a cohesive culture of service among America’s youth. When I was in college, and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life after graduating, one of Teach For America’s recruitment flyers caught my attention. It asked: “Over 90% of members of Congress have law degrees. What would our country look like if over 90% had experience teaching in a low-income public school?” What would our country look like if more talented, rigorously trained college seniors committed to a wide spectrum of public service positions? Passing H.R. 2102 will help us find out. ~Genevieve Quist

As a Regional Coordinator for the USPSA, I oversee the all-volunteer force of our Youth Advisory Council for seven western states.   In each state we have a national representative and in some cases a state coordinator.  We all work together to pursue endorsements from our personal rolodexes, local media, local elected officials and first responders, civic organizations, and on and on up the chain to Congressional Representatives and Senators to be co-sponsors of our bill.  Almost every single case of a Congressional co-sponsorship was a result of one of our YACers having direct contact with that politician as their constituent and their dogged pursuit to get the message about the Academy in front of them.

I had little to no experience with grassroots organizing before I became involved with the Academy movement.  There were many things I cared about policy wise, but never knew how, or clearly felt as passionate about any other as I do the Academy to take action.  In this case I have a strong opinion, and the ability to articulate it, even though learning how to get that message out has been harder than I thought.  In many cases, it has been like trying to grow grass, without the benefit of a sod farm.  One blade at a time…

This past Sunday we had our monthly conference call with Chris and Shawn and all the state chairs and coordinators.  We reviewed all the goings-on in the House and Senate, as well as all the endorsements and publicity at the local level.  I find that we are all most excited to hear about these Congressional updates because a new co-sponsorship somehow feels the most tangible in moving the cause forward, even though it is often the grassroots work that gives us the credibility because we have such vast and growing support for the idea.

My biggest challenge in working with my team is keeping them engaged at the grassroots level, especially since it felt like we had such huge momentum in 2008.  Not only was it a monumental election year, but we held a National Conference in DC in April and had a wildly successful Youth Conference in July which resulted in huge co-sponsorship gains after the YACers stormed Capitol Hill.  And then, reality smacked down, the economy faltered, health care debates derailed, and my little lawn suffered a huge drought.

But a very interesting piece of information came up on the conference call that I think bears repeating LOUDLY.  At this point in the 111th Congress, we have 75 co-sponsors in the House for H.R. 2102, The US Public Service Academy Act.  At the exact same time in the 110th Congress, we had less than half that number of co-sponsors.  Less than half!  So in fact, all the fertilizing we have been doing since then and now IS WORKING!  All the Op-Ed writing, all the emailing, all the phone calling, all the tweeting, all the elevator speech-making, all the little things that feel like they get lost are actually growing into real co-sponsorships from real Representatives.  The drought is over my friends, and we are coming to plant you in the lawn next!