Purdue event showcases high school solutions for community issues

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —Students will tackle community problems Tuesday (Dec. 6) as part of a showcase for Project Citizen, a collaborative effort between Purdue University's College of Education and area high schools.

Students from Oakland High School will present their solutions to community issues related to public policy from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in Purdue University's Stewart Center, Room 218. The event is free and open to the public.

The local Project Citizen is an effort by the College of Education's James F. Ackerman Center for Democratic Citizenship and area high schools to promote participation in local and state government.

As part of the program, groups of students identify a problem in their community, gather and evaluate information, examine potential solutions, select a solution and develop an action plan for implementing the solution. This year, student projects cover community issues like homelessness, addiction, animal shelters and recycling.

"Project Citizen is unique because it shows high school students how they can affect change in their community. This program effects change in issues that are critical to the Lafayette area and shows students that they can make a difference," said Phil VanFossen, director of the Ackerman Center and interim associate dean for learning in the College of Education.

During the showcase, each team of students will present its proposal and action plan for solving the issue through public policy. A panel of local community members and Purdue faculty, including State Rep. Sheila Klinker and Judge Michael Morrissey, will judge the projects.

Project Citizen was developed by the Center for Civic Education, a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational corporation, and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. 

Writer: Brian L. Huchel, 765-494-2084, bhuchel@purdue.edu

Source: Phil VanFossen, 765-494-2367, vanfoss@purdue.edu