Kentucky: Civic Literacy Initiative

Following the success of the 2005 Kentucky Summit on Civic Literacy, the CLIK created a workgroup consisting of Secretary Grayson, Senator Westwood, Representative Pullin, and other prominent government and education officials with the mandate of fusing the lessons and information gathered in the first two years of the initiative in order to update the strategy for the CLIK's success.

Rediscovering Democracy: An Agenda for Action, officially released Constitution Day 2006, fulfills this mandate. The Agenda calls upon Kentucky leaders to take four essential steps to increase the civic literacy and engagement of the Commonwealth’s Citizens. These recommendations, together with over sixty additional key suggestions, provide a blueprint for such a result. The key suggestions are as follows:

1) The establishment of the Kentucky Center for Civic Excellence in partnership with state universities or colleges.
2) The implementation of a pilot study of a high school government and civics course that integrates both civic literacy and civic engagement at the local, state, and federal level.
3) The creation of an annual teacher academy and network to provide professional development in the area of government and civics.
4) Increasing by five percent the degree to which government and civics are assessed in the blueprint of the statewide student assessment.

The report’s sixty additional recommendations focus on four distinct areas: civic education resources, civic programs and curriculum, professional development, and standards and assessment. The recommendations range from short-term to long-term goals and call upon numerous entities inside and outside state government to address the issue. Click on the link to the right to read the recommendations and discover ways that you or your organization can get involved!