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A Handbook for Public Leaders

Mission Necessary: Nurturing the Next Generation in Self-Governance  

This new resource is aimed at helping Public Leaders PARTNER with teachers/schools to implement hands-on, local civic work.

Download Mission Necessary
or
Review below the table of contents and excerpts from the handook.

Table of Contents


Section I: Accepting Mission Necessary
Section II: KAT Executive Summary
Overview of KAT Model
Section III: A Note About Service Learning
Section IV: Defining Your Own Role
Section V: Why You? The A to Z Assets YOU Bring
Section VI: Just a Few KAT Examples
Section VII: Public Meeting Primer
Section VIII: Comments About Controversy
Section IX: “Culminating Projects” with a Civic Twist
Section X: Celebrate!

Excerpts

Section IV: Defining Your Own Role

KAT knows from the past decade of projects that there are certain phases of a project in which the public official’s help is most appreciated by the teachers. Once again, these might vary depending on your own circumstances.

• Offer to make a brief presentation to the class at the start of the program, presenting 2 or 3 possible areas where the community could benefit from student research and problem-solving.

• Suggest coordinating a tour/field trip to a public site of relevance. (Whatever works: It could be to a public hearing, a deteriorating park, a water treatment facility, the municipal building or recycling center, health department, or historic site that needs attention.)

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Be the Celebrity

Maybe you don’t think of yourself or your job as glamorous. But to KAT, WOW!

Here’s what we mean...

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Section V - Why YOU ? The A to Z ASSETS YOU BRING

A. You represent ACCESS. Your cooperation in this KAT process signals openness and responsiveness of government and public policy-making to the citizenry.

B. You provide BACKGROUND. You know something useful about the historical or political context of the issue being studied. Sometimes this context helps contribute BALANCE to students’ understanding of issues.

C. Where else can students get a better glimpse of local CAREERS in community development and public work ?

D. The authenticity and reality that accompanies you and this work is real, live DRAMA up close and personal!

E. Your EXPERIENCE is part of your EXPERTISE.

F. You can share some FINANCIAL FACTS about your position or the community or the issue being studied by the students. You can help students make realistic, relevant FORECASTS about the FUTURE...

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Section VII: PUBLIC MEETING PRIMER

And think about this…

How can we expect democracy to work well when most adults have never attended a routine school board or municipality meeting?

This chapter proposes the active use of public meetings - by educators and civic leaders - as significant, first-hand opportunities to educate students for responsible adulthood and citizenry in the U.S.

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Section VIII: “Culminating Projects” with a CIVIC TWIST

One of the statewide requirements for high school graduation in Pennsylvania is that each student complete a “culminating project.”

“The purpose of the culminating project is to assure that students are able to apply, analyze, synthesize and evaluate information and communicate significant knowledge and understanding.”

Title 22 Pa Code 4.23 (a) calls for each school district to specify its own criteria for implementation....

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