Credentials

Ready for a dynamic, interdisciplinary approach to civics learning? 

	At the KAT Fair in Pittsburgh, students present their project on municipal bridges to public.

Students educated in a democracy should be able to understand a range of  public issues and be skilled enough to take responsible civic action when warranted. This doesn't happen automatically.

Recognizing the need for a dynamic, hands-on approach to civics learning, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania Citizen Education Fund, in cooperation with Sharon Kletzien, Ph.D. at West Chester University, developed Kids Around Town ® (KAT).  Beginning  with only five pilot sites during the 1993-94 school year, KAT is directed by Ann Rappoport, Ph.D., and has to date been used by over 6000 students across Pennsylvania as well as other states.   KAT has received numerous awards and acknowledgements and has been cited in several national journals and publications.

KAT  is an inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning that is designed to motivate youngsters, while integrating into the regular school schedule. Using the KAT Model, students apply their growing academic skills to research and resolve an issue that concerns them in their actual communities. In doing so, KAT promotes high academic achievement, consistent with national standards in language arts and communications, mathematics, and science, as well as social studies, while fostering civic efficacy and responsibility. Research results document KAT's success. Like life itself, KAT is interdisciplinary and interactive.

KAT represents best educational practices, involving learners directly in process and content. Students:

• select meaningful issues to study;
• involve themselves with real problems and people in their communities;
• connect school-based skills to real life;
• serve and improve aspects of their communities;
• empower themselves as citizens and problem-solvers.

KAT represents best teaching practices, invigorating classrooms by:

• varying the learning media and styles of learning available to a wide range of students;
• empowering teachers as co-learners, coaches and facilitators of learning;
• building into the KAT project authentic evaluation and assessment.

We thank all our funders for supporting KAT's work.  

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