Assessing the current state of civic engagement in the United States, this document argues for increased participation from the citizenry, and discuses a number of programs supporting this effort. Although individuals remain actively involved in many civic activities through church, voluntary, and political associations, recent decades have witnessed a decline in involvement. This has been coupled with an erosion of trust in government and a disenchantment with even the very ideals of civic progress. This report from the National Commission on Civic Renewal argues for a collaborative effort at civic renewal. The steps that can be taken in the schools to help achieve civic renewal are dealt with on pages 14-16. Specifically, the goals of the Commission are to (1) assemble important scholarly and practical work already under way around the country on the revitalization of citizenship and civic life, and inspire new benchmark studies on the current condition of our citizenship and civic life; (2) spark discussion and deliberation across traditional barriers such as party affiliation, ideology, and race; (3) reach consensus on clear, practical and dramatic recommendations for enhancing the quality of citizenship and civic life; and (4) inspire the creation of new institutions and alliances that can carry these efforts forward after the Commission's work is done. The volume profiles 12 model programs contributing to these goals: Local Initiatives Support Corporation; Children's Aid Society; Hands On Atlanta; National Fatherhood Initiative; Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America; Public Achievement, St. Bernard's Grade School; Youth in Action, San Francisco Conservation Corps; Character Counts! Coalition; U.S. Youth Soccer; Charlotte Observer: "Taking Back Our Neighborhoods"; Close Up Foundation; and Project Vote Smart. (MJP)