Communities across the country have set up citizens academies over the past two decades. The programs educate civic-minded folks about the gears of local government, and how they might chip in. 

“It’s a cheap, easy, very direct way to get meaningful community engagement,” says Michael Lawson, city manager of Woodland Park, Colorado.

“Every municipality should be working very hard on engaging with its residents,” he adds. “Never stop working on earning trust.”

The programs can last several weeks and are often free. Participants meet local officials like the mayor and visit a range of departments – public safety, waste management, zoning offices – led by local staff. 

Citizens take advantage of local services daily, like when they turn on the tap or take trash to the curb, but that exists as “background noise for most people,” says Rick Morse, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Through citizens academies, he adds, “that faceless bureaucracy now becomes a person.”

That’s helpful not just in knowing the right person to field complaints, says Christopher Parisho, an academy participant in Wichita, Kansas. It can help someone “reach out to the right people when something is done right,” he adds. 

The lifeguard’s legs disappear into the pool. A few tense seconds pass. He emerges with an arm around a limp young man whom he hauls to the deck for CPR.

The audience applauds. Over a dozen Coloradans on bleacher seats are touring Woodland Park’s aquatic center, a sparkling, tiled complex with ample lap lanes. They convened earlier that April evening to learn about Parks and Recreation – not the hit sitcom, but the city department that hires local teens as lifeguards. The evening’s visit is part of an eight-week citizens academy, which ends with a graduation ceremony.

“It’s been super interesting,” says Dan Carroll in the pool parking lot. His doubts about the building’s $11.9 million expense to the city were quelled, he says, after learning about its use.

“I’m going to promote it,” says Mr. Carroll about the academy program. “I think more and more people need to know how the city operates.”

Communities across the country have set up citizens academies over the past two decades. The programs educate civic-minded folks about the gears of local government, and how they might chip in. Proponents also say they have a role to play in shoring up trust.

“It’s a cheap, easy, very direct way to get meaningful community engagement,” says Michael Lawson, Woodland Park city manager.