Talk:Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization

.

Request to expand Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization article; add "History," "Notable Initiatives," and the infobox.
The Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization (PLATO) is a non-profit organization that works to increase the presence of philosophy in K-12 schools and the broader public throughout the United States. It is governed by a staff and board of directors and volunteers. Alongside organizations including the American Philosophical Association's (APA) Pre-College Philosophy Committee, the North American Association of Community of Inquiry (NAACI), and the International Council for Philosophical Inquiry with Children (ICPIC), PLATO is one of the major United States organizations involved in promoting and expanding Philosophy for Children (P4C). PLATO's work includes providing resources such as K-12 philosophy lesson plans, workshops for educators, and their Philosopher-in-Residence program.
 * What I think should be changed (include citations):

History
1996 - 1997: Center for Philosophy for Children

In 1996, the non-profit Northwest Center for Philosophy of Children was founded by Jana Mohr Lone. That year, she and fellow philosopher David Shapiro started the Philosophers in the Schools program in Seattle and ran the organization’s first workshop for teachers at the University of Washington. The Northwest Center for Philosophy for Children became affiliated with the University of Washington Department of Philosophy in 1997.

2010: The Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization

Jana Mohr Lone and Roberta Israeloff (director of the Squire Family Foundation ) launched PLATO in 2010 as a part of the American Philosophical Association’s (APA) Committee on Pre-College Instruction, with the support of the Squire Family Foundation, the Center for Philosophy for Children, and the APA.

2012: PLATO Becomes a Nonprofit

PLATO became an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Washington state in 2012. The original Advisory Board for PLATO became the Founding Board of Directors, which included: Arik Ben-Avi, Steven Goldberg, Mitch Green, Roberta Israeloff, Jana Mohr Lone, Joseph Oyler, Wendy Turgeon, and Thomas Wartenberg.

2021-2022: PLATO and Center for Philosophy for Children Merger

In 2021, PLATO and the University of Washington’s Center for Philosophy for Children began merging into a single, independent nonprofit organization. The merger became official on January 1, 2022.

Initiatives
Philosophers in the Schools and Other Philosophy Programs for K-12 Students

Since 1996, PLATO has run free “Philosophers in the Schools” and family programs in Seattle’s most underserved communities. This program brings regular philosophy classes into schools around the Seattle area, and through a grant from the Whiting Foundation, expanded its philosophers-in-residence program in 2023 to three high schools – in Boston, Philadelphia, and Seattle. The philosophers-in-residence help design new lesson plans, run professional learning community workshops for teachers, mentor college students, lead parent programs, and are available for consultations with both students and teachers.

'''Philosophy Toolkit

The Philosophy Toolkit is a searchable index of over 250 free philosophy lesson plans for all ages, including a children’s literature library with lesson plans for children’s books. Each lesson plan has content information, recommended grade level(s), and required time for the activity. Topics include ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, fairness, reasoning, morality, identity, beauty, music, friendship, and more.

Grant Program

Since 2016, PLATO has supported a variety of programs oriented towards increasing access to philosophy through the annual PLATO Grant Program.

Precollege Philosophy and Public Practice (P4) Journal

PLATO’s journal, Precollege Philosophy and Public Practice (P4), published its first volume in 2019. P4 is an interdisciplinary, open-access, peer-reviewed online journal for philosophical and/or empirical research on precollege philosophy, its impact and interaction with related areas such as public philosophy, dialogue-based education, ethics education, and human development, and general public-facing philosophy scholarship. In addition to theoretical and empirical research articles, P4 features book reviews relating to the focus areas of the journal and shorter "Notes from the Field" pieces on public and precollege philosophy initiatives. The journal releases a new volume each year. ''

Questions: Philosophy for Young People Journal Aligning with PLATO’s mission of supporting young people doing philosophy, Questions: Philosophy for Young People is PLATO’s journal focused on publishing K-12 students' philosophical works. Ranging from stories and essays to poems, photographs, and drawings, Questions is a unique venue for showcasing young people’s work. Additionally, Questions publishes articles, lesson plans, discussions, book reviews, and more, written by scholars and teachers about doing philosophy with young people. The journal releases a new volume each year.

Biennial Conference

PLATO hosts a Biennial Conference on philosophy education, bringing together educators, scholars, and students to share ideas for doing philosophy with young people and the public.