PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization

PLATO, the Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization, is a non-profit that brings philosophy and ethics to young people. It runs classes for students, training and resources for teachers, and support for families who want deeper conversations at home. Its stated mission is to nurture young people's curiosity, critical thinking, and desire to explore big questions through philosophy and ethics programs for students, educators, and families. The organisation began in 2010 as a project of the American Philosophical Association, created together with the Squire Family Foundation and the Center for Philosophy for Children, and became an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit in 2012. On 1 January 2022 it merged with the University of Washington Center for Philosophy for Children, which had been founded in 1996, and now operates as a single independent organisation. PLATO's work spans online philosophy classes for elementary, middle and high school students, the Philosopher-in-Residence Program that places trained instructors in K-12 schools at no charge to public schools and non-profits, the Middle School Ethics Bowl, the Washington State High School Ethics Bowl, an open-access Ethics Case Library written by students, philosophy club stipends, grants, a biennial conference, and the peer-reviewed journal Questions: Philosophy for Young People.