RESOLUTION NO. 260617
title
Sponsor: Councilmember Nathan Willett
RESOLUTION - Directing the City Manager to collaborate with area school districts, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, philanthropic partners, and private sector employers to evaluate the feasibility of reestablishing the Exchange City educational program for Kansas City-area students and to report recommendations to the City Council.
body
WHEREAS, from 1980 through the mid-2010s, Exchange City served tens of thousands of Kansas City-area fifth-grade students through an immersive educational experience designed to teach municipal government, economics, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and civic responsibility; and
WHEREAS, Exchange City provided students with the opportunity to operate a simulated city by serving as elected officials, judges, police officers, bankers, business owners, factory workers, journalists, broadcasters, and other community leaders while learning firsthand how local government and the private sector work together; and
WHEREAS, participating students learned practical life skills including budgeting, banking, writing checks, paying taxes, managing loans, interviewing for jobs, operating businesses, and understanding the responsibilities of citizenship through hands-on, experiential learning; and
WHEREAS, Exchange City became one of the Kansas City region's most beloved educational traditions, welcoming students from throughout the metropolitan area and inspiring generations of young people to better understand the importance of public service, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement; and
WHEREAS, the program concluded in the mid-2010s following the expiration of its facility lease and declining philanthropic and educational funding during and after the Great Recession, rather than because of diminished educational value or community support; and
WHEREAS, recent public interest and widespread community nostalgia demonstrate that...
Click here for full text