City School is often referred to as
an "after
school" program. Better to think of it as an out-of-school
program that offers "summer, after school and weekend programming to
develop the
power of youth to build a more just society."
Combining community service, academic study and leadership development,
City School programs offer teens an in-depth understanding of issues
confronting them in their daily lives, in their communities and in the
media. Youth develop and practice leadership skills to work
toward
building a better, more just community and world area.
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Question: In terms of
developing youth leadership, where has your organization made a
difference?
We should begin with the SLP or Summer Leadership Program. While
we
have three pathways that occur all year long. Our largest pool of young
people who stay with City School come from the summer program.
The Summer Leadership Program (SLP) brings together a diverse group of
60 to 70 students for 6 1/2 weeks in a community classroom learning
environment. Students participate in:
- a creative and exploratory research seminar
- a related internship in a community-based
organization
- a youth created project to make positive change in
the community
- diversity and leadership training
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During the school
year we have three different pathways: education, organizing and
organizational leadership.
Our "City School Pathways to Change" diagram demonstrates how the
choices made by the youth influence their lifelong careers as
educators, organizers and leaders.
Pathway
|
Impact on Youth
|
Lifelong Impact
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| Education |
Youth community educators |
Lifelong educators |
| Organizing |
Youth organizers |
Lifelong organizers |
| Organizational Leadership |
Youth program coordinators |
Lifelong organizational leaders |
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Click the diagram to enlarge.
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 Community educators
Our young people learn skills
around curriculum development, agenda creation, doing research and
presentations. As an example, a young woman created a workshop on
animal cruelty. To do this, she had to research definitions of
animal
cruelty, what resources exist around the issue of animal cruelty, the
laws, organizations and so on. That's her passion, that's her
love,
that's her interest. She essentially did a mini community course
for
us.
Organizers and advocates
We are skill-building around specific
advocacy work. Youth are learning what a campaign map is, how to
conduct research related to their interest, how the legislative budget
works, public speaking and member recruitment. They are some of the
folks who helped organize the rally that happened in February where
1000 young people from across the state came together at the State
House over Jobs for Youth.
Organizational leaders
Our young people are learning how to run
an organization. The staff brings the youth onboard by doing a
workshop on The City School organizational income and expenses so they
can understand that. It's budgeting but from a different
standpoint.
Youth help organize events, for example, our June 2nd event
"Celebrating Change." They help with phone calling for getting
gift
certificates donated and other forms of fundraising.
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Graduate Leaders United (GLU)
Finally, we should mention GLU or Graduate Leaders United. These
are
the youth who graduated from the SLP summer program. They have a
special status within City School because they have already
demonstrated commitment and leadership.
So their roles include:
- Helping coordinate a major Youth Summit in Boston
each May
- Advocating for youth funding for jobs
- Coordinating youth-led events
- Arranging and leading overnight retreats
They also receive one-on-one mentoring with adult staff.
Many of our youth stay with us for years. Something about working
on
social justice issues causes them to blossom and want to make a
difference in the world about them.
For more information,
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