This issue–a bit longer than usual–prepares teachers and instructors for the upcoming 2020 Census, looking to the past and anticipating data about to be collected. As with the best endeavors in the United States, our efforts combined public, private, and non-profit organizations. Each contribution from employees of the Census Bureau has been crafted to provide an entry point into essential data. You will also find background on the census, apportionment and redistricting for state and federal elected offices, the variety of surveys conducted beyond the decennial census, and how data are collected and analyzed. We hope you will find these perspectives useful throughout the coming school year, and that you will share these resources with colleagues and community members.
Beyond what might be familiar about a census here in the U. S., investigate a review of the census in Bangladesh, one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Invite students to consider the similarities and differences counting people in rural and urban areas. Looking back, observe how the census came to gather a wide variety of information, particularly regarding slavery. Looking forward, ponder the first census to collect a significant amount of data online. Take time to explore the digital mapping tools described in the issue, many of which are made available by the Census Bureau. The expectation for putting these materials together is that if you are inspired by a lesson plan, but realize additional background information would be helpful, you will be able to find that information efficiently, perhaps in one of the articles on census geography. Several lesson plans provide an orientation to materials available from the Census Bureau's Statistics in Schools program.
For the construction of these materials, thanks are due to former National Council of Geographic Education Executive Director Zach Dulli, educators and researchers who agreed to share their expertise, and the geography division and educational team of the Census Bureau. Please read their biographies to appreciate the varied backgrounds of these thoughtful individuals. We have overcome hurdles of publishing in concert with a government agency (multiple readings and approvals, in addition to the standard peer review process), and worked to focus the conversation about the many geographic aspects of the census. We hope you find these materials useful in your classroom and community conversations.
ORCID
Rebecca Theobald 
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7025-8424