UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Ace Parsi was the very definition of the civically engaged student at Penn State, from serving in Student Government Association to being among the first undergrads to pursue a minor in civic and community engagement.
Today, the 2005 political science and economics graduate gets to promote his long-held ideals in his role as director of coalition engagement at iCivics, the nation's largest provider of free, non-partisan civic education resources. Parsi’s duties include partnering on outreach initiatives with more than 270 civically engaged organizations throughout the country, including the American Federation of Teachers, National Indian Education Association, American Bar Association, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, and Penn State’s own McCourtney Institute for Democracy.
From March 6-10, iCivics is cosponsoring the first-ever national Civic Learning Week, which features numerous programs geared around the critical importance of civics education, including an event at Washington, D.C.’s National Archives that will be attended by elected officials from both sides of the political aisle.
“We’re not where we need to be right now when it comes to civics education, but I think we’re going in the right direction,” Parsi said. “Both political parties are very much in agreement on the issue, despite what you read in the media. This is a leading issue among Democrats and Republicans, and one that we all need to care about and invest in.”
“It’s easy to take democracy for granted when it’s the only system you’ve ever known,” said Jenna Spinelle, communications specialist for the McCourtney Institute and producer/host of its “Democracy Works” podcast. “I admire the dedication that Ace puts into his work because he knows what it’s like to live without the rights and freedoms that democracy provides. He’s an inspiration to everyone working to strengthen democracy in the United States through civics education, bridge building, and other reforms.”
Indeed, Parsi’s zeal for civics can be traced to his childhood. His family came to the United States from Iran when he was 8, and his experiences as an immigrant and English language learner informed his early worldview.
While at Penn State, Parsi was heavily involved in SGA, where he helped found its service awareness committee. And through the civic and community engagement minor, he completed several highly impactful projects.
“I love the land-grant philosophy of Penn State, and I came out of my experience there with a deep appreciation for the role that public education plays in a democracy,” said Parsi, who currently lives in Morgantown, West Virginia, with his wife, Claire, and daughter, Ella.
After graduation, he moved to California to serve with AmeriCorps, which placed him in the Fair Oaks Community School in Redwood City. There, he ran an after-school program, led literacy efforts, and taught English as a Second Language to students’ parents.
Parsi eventually decided to pursue his master’s degree in public policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, which provided him with “a systemic structure to think about policy.” From there, he held several policy and research positions, including director of innovation at the National Center for Learning Disabilities, director of deeper learning at the National Association of State Boards of Education, and director of policy at the National Service-Learning Partnership.
His first exposure to iCivics came through serving on the steering committee and the implementation, pedagogy, and curation task forces of the Educating for American Democracy initiative.
Since joining the organization in 2020, Parsi said it’s been nothing short of a dream job.
“I just think that schools in this country have this core civics responsibility,” Parsi said. “You see these surveys that ask how important it is to live in a democracy. For the World War II generation, the percentages are very high, but when you get to the younger generations, those numbers are much lower. People have to choose to live in a democracy by being involved in it, and so every person in their formative years needs that education to secure that promise.”
Parsi attributed the drop in civics education to several factors, from the increasing emphasis on STEM education to the focus on standardized testing that came in the wake of Congress’ passage of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001.
“And cash-strapped school districts with lower-income students have pulled back the most. Those are the areas where we want more civics education,” Parsi said. “Every student, regardless of their zip code, should get a high-quality education in this area, because civics education isn’t something that flows through the DNA stream — it’s a skill you develop. And the lack of it is a real problem now in these polarized times, when people from across the political spectrum see each other as the enemy. Which is unfortunate, because people in other parts of the world, including Ukraine and Iran, look to us as a model.”
Despite the obstacles, Parsi is hopeful for the future — especially when he can point to recent triumphs like a provision in the last Congress’ omnibus spending bill that provides $23 million in K-12 civics education over the next several years. Even better, the measure was supported by both Democratic and Republican members of the House and Senate.
“I don’t know how this will all play out, but we need to get more people engaged in civics education and take it seriously,” Parsi said. “Our democracy requires all of us to be a part of the process, so I feel really blessed to work with organizations that realize why their resources are desperately needed now. It does make me feel patriotic to work with colleagues who think differently but believe in our democratic experiment.”