Introduction
After having had one successful Kentucky Summit on Civic Literacy and numerous regional summits at various locations around the state, members of the Workgroup, led by Secretary Grayson, convened the 2005 Kentucky Summit on Civic Literacy on October 4th and 5th.
 |
Who Participated? |
 |
Similar to the 2004 Summit, participants included "a diverse range of student, teacher, and administrator representatives from K-16 education, media, civic organizations, and elected officials.”
|
What Occurred? |
|
October 4th began with an interesting discussion titled "Out of the Horse's Mouth: A Dialogue Between Politicians and College Students." The purpose of this session was to engage students' attitudes regarding politics and their understanding of connections between community service and involvement in the political process. Summit participants were asked to reflect on the exhange between the panelists of local and state elected officials and the students and to discuss how the information could possibly be applied to educational policies as well as practices in the classroom.
Participants also heard from Ted McConnell, Director of the Campaign to Promote Civic Education, about the National Civic Initiative, its progress, Kentucky's role in the initiative, and critical action items that had yet to be addressed. In addition, Secretary of State Trey Grayson brought participants up to date on the progress the Kentucky Workgroup had made.
Most of the day on October 5th was devoted to developing a strategic plan to ensure the restoration of civic education and opportunities for meaningful engagement in schools, K-16, and community-based settings throughout the Commonwealth.
|
Outcome |
|
Based on the numerous breakout sessions- Professional Development, Teacher Content Knowledge, Service Learning, Standards and Assessment, Civic Engagement, Role of Colleges/Universities, Role of Community Groups, Adult Education/ESL, Integrating Civics Into Other Subject Areas, Funding, Extra-curricular Opportunities for Students, and Teacher Preparation- Secretary Grayson proposed that recommendations from each of the sessions, along with information learned from the Elected Officials/Student Dialogue, be combined and a report be issued to the general public.
Several months later, Rediscovering Democracy: An Agenda for Action came to fruition.
|