We want to live in a world where every student has a role in creating the culturally and cognitively appropriate tools and support they need to pursue their dreams and talents. In this world, teachers, counsellors and administrators are highly trained, highly valued, and deeply invested in building school communities that center whole person learning – and wellbeing! – for each student.
Because the education of our youth is among the highest priorities in this world, there are abundant resources to meet all the learning needs of each student. Students have access to the best equipment and technology. Broadband is available to everyone. Environments at school and at home are set up to support learning – which means, first and foremost, that youth have stable housing, parents/caretakers can make living wages, and all other family members are well-cared for.
Social-emotional learning through strong, trusting, intentional relationships – peer-to-peer and teacher-student – fosters a deep sense of belonging. Youth feel safe to share their experiences and ideas with others in their school community, counsellors are always available, and mental health support is built into school routines, including mindfulness practices and quiet spaces to process. Language for describing emotions – and strategies for regulating them – are integrated into everyday conversations.
Classes are small so that teachers can attend to each student and their unique learning style. Content is engaging, fun and includes multiple perspectives that help youth explore their own identities, and understand and appreciate the many cultures that make up their communities. Curricula shares an accurate, unflinching version of U.S. history, so that youth know how we got here, how we can begin to repair the damage, and how we can avoid repeating harm. It is also designed to prepare youth for life, with courses on job skills, taxes, civic engagement, trades, and navigating college – which is free to all youth who want to attend.
Most importantly, schools draw on youth resilience, brilliance and resourcefulness by partnering with students to ensure that systems continue to provide the education that young people want and deserve. Student Advocacy Councils exist for all grade levels, and youth sit at the decision-making table with school districts, City Councils and County Supervisors as school systems continually evolve to meet youth needs.
The Issue
Education is a reflection of, and often perpetuates, the oppressive systems that exist in the United States. The vast disparities among schools – in resources, in teacher training and compensation, in courses and content – mirror the disparities between white communities and communities of color, and rural and urban areas. Course content offers a single narrative about the world that reflects and sustains the position of those in power.
Without the tools to support social-emotional learning, identity formation and cultural competence, peer pressure to assimilate to certain ârightâ ways of being is enormous. Stereotypes and status symbols leave youth feeling disconnected and alienated, and often the targets of bullying and harassment. Providing few life skills and trades courses, school systems put pressure on youth to attend college – or funnel them to prison through exclusionary punishments. School counselors and mental health resources to help youth cope with these pressures are scarce, and Student Resource Officers target youth of color and young people struggling with mental health issues.
In 2020, COVID-19 only exacerbated underlying disparities in education. Since the digital age began, youth in rural areas have struggled to fulfill assignments that require internet access. With shelter-in-place orders, these youth struggled to attend school at all. Many low-income youth lack the technological equipment and skills that affluent youth take for granted. The burden of contributing to the family income and caring for younger siblings only increased in the pandemic, and living in close quarters with family members made concentrating on online classes only that much more challenging.
âWhen you have siblings, you can’t just help yourself, you also have to help them. I help my little cousins, and sometimes I have to stop during class. And we donât have enough internet for everyone in the house who needs it.â
Most importantly, students have little say in designing the systems – curriculum, teaching methods, staffing, discipline, and scheduling, among other components – in which they spend most of their waking hours, and which fundamentally shape them as they grow into adulthood. Even when opportunities are available for youth to provide input – like youth commissions and student advisory councils – adults struggle to get past their assumptions about youth and listen deeply to youth voice, especially when they bring up issues that challenge the status quo.
âAt the school board meeting, it was really clear that the adult board members were comfortable with certain kinds of updates – they expected the youth board members to talk about dances, the PTA. But when the youth started bringing up deeper issues, like racial justice, the supervisors didnât want to talk about it and actively shut down the conversation.â
Young people are often hand-picked for these kinds of positions, favoring youth who come from privilege and/or can âcode switchâ – who look like little adults in their dress, speech and manner. Few spaces where decisions are made are youth-friendly.
âI felt like I didnât belong there, and I was afraid to speak because I didnât have the right words.â
yli signs on to be a co-chair and sponsor of the 3rd Annual Latinx Graduation CelebraciĂłn in partnership with Education and Leadership Foundation and Fresno Unified School District. The CelebraciĂłn … Continued
REP 559 youth and their adult allies surveyed ~280 Fresno Unified students for their Mental Health Awareness Campaign. With this information they created outreach and educational materials that they then … Continued
Youth Across Madera Coalition members hosted and facilitated a ITIN x Financial Literacy workshop for young people across the county at their local library, highlighting the importance of what an … Continued
Youth Leadership Institute co-hosts FUSD Candidates Forum with Faith in The Valley, Power California, CV UP, Californians for Justice, Woven Coalition Justice, and CMAC. Read more about the forum here!
3rd Year Senior Fellows in yli’s statewide journalism program, Calafia, present their research on the impacts of generative AI on youth creatives to nonprofit leaders at TechSoup.
3rd Year Senior Fellows in yli’s statewide journalism program, Calafia, publish The Creative Code, a 4-part podcast on the impacts of generative AI on youth creatives. Listen to their podcast … Continued
Capital & Main feature the work of 3rd Yeasr Senior Fellows in yli’s statewide journalism program, Calafia, on the impacts of generative AI on youth creatives in an article entitled, … Continued
yli San Mateo completes 20 community education presentations on topics such as Vaping, Alcohol & Drug Prevention, Mental Health, and Wellness to 975+ youth and over 10 schools/CBOs throughout San … Continued
yli ECV and youth attend the Restorative Justice Practices Convening in La Quinta, CA alongside other youth and partners from the Community Justice Campaign. Youth had the opportunity to participate … Continued
As part of Alianza’s Community Justice Campaign, ÂĄQue Madre! Media staff and youth presented Health Equity Report findings and recommendations to the Coachella Valley Unified School District LCAP Hearing and … Continued
Youth journalists in Calafia, yli’s statewide journalism program, publish a zine and podcast entitled, False Promises: The Chasm Between Hope And Home.
yli San Mateo partners with San Francisco State University Department of Public Health to host interns as part of their fieldwork experience. This partnership highlights the school-to-workforce development pipeline.
The Sacramento Bee published Short-term rentals are ruining what we love about small California towns, an article by Jesse Morris, youth journalist in yli’s statewide journalism program Calafia.
The Fresno Bee published Fresno’s minimum wage workers have a key need: affordable apartment housing, an article by Alexis Zuniga, youth journalist in yli’s statewide journalism program, Calafia.
Jessica Mendieta (Co-Chair), Annika Parmar (Community Relations Officer) and Sammy Lee (Co-Chair) from the Marin County Youth Commission nominated for the Heart of Marin Youth Volunteer of the Year Award!
Since October 2023, youth in Marin Organizing for Racial Equity have been organizing walk outs from school in support of Palestine. In addition, youth have been attending the Board of … Continued
A summer youth workforce development program rooted in the belief that education is for liberation, YEEE! was launched in partnership with San Mateo County Office of Education, Peninsula Conflict Resolution … Continued
Sunnyside Friday Night Live, Roosevelt Friday Night Live, and Betting on our Future (BOOF) hosted the Fresno Teen Summit with 71 youth participants. The event featured a local community leader … Continued
The Desert Sun published My Flying Doctors experience helped affirm the need for healthcare, an article by Adamari Cota, a youth journalist in yli’s statewide journalism program Calafia.
The winning project was to design and implement their own program advocating for educational equity through direct resources and a multi-media campaign.
Silicon Valley Community Foundation Journalism program launches first ever cohort of 10 youth, who publish a total of 20 works on yli’s blog. One of these is picked up by … Continued
Transform Fresno Youth Leadership Development Program Youth leaders co-facilitate a workshop at the 2nd Annual Transform Fresno Summit. The purpose of the Program is to nurture creative project ideas and … Continued
The English Learner Storytelling Project is designed for English Learners in Fresno Unified School District to share their experiences as EL students in FUSD â the good and the bad. … Continued
In partnership with Daly City Youth Health Center, yli carries out a Civic Empowerment Training Series. Youth were able to speak directly to city council leaders, advocates and school board … Continued
Five high school to transitional age youth across Silicon Valley are chosen to participate in the first cohort of San Mateo County yli’s youth journalism program
The Marin County Youth Commission education committee submits a resolution to the Marin County Office of Education to support the implementation of Ethnic Studies in Marin schools.
Hazel Ventura was published in The kNOw’s “New World” print publication, and then again in yli’s YALL publication “ÂĄoye! ntsia nov! Our Youth Experience Vol. 1.”
The Student Advocacy Council and Madera Youth Commission train Madera Community College staff and students to implement their own Student Advocacy Council.
VoiceWaves partners with Compound, a local culture and arts center, to host monthly workshops where Youth Reporters share the skills they learn with members of the public.
Friday Night Live California Youth Council (CYC) accepts two Fresno County FNL Leaders to represent Fresno County at the Sate Level. Nicole Lee, leader from Roosevelt High School FNL and … Continued
On April 3rd, 5 young people were officially sworn-in to serve on the very first term of the newly established City-Wide Youth Commission. This is an historic moment in the history of the City of Madera, demonstrating City Hallâs commitment to including youth at the decision-making table.
Coachella Unincorporated and ÂĄQue Madre! Media programs partnered with KQEDâs The California Report to create, edit and co-host a show uplifting stories from the Eastern Coachella valley related to mental health, community, education and youth power.
In January 2019, the Merced Sun-Star delivered copies of Walking our Paths to communities across the county. This is WeâCed Youth Mediaâs 7th such publication, featuring the stories of young people, but with a very special twist. The entire publication was produced by the young people themselves.
BHC Merced awarded two ‘Cultivators of Change’ awards to YLI young people. First, We’Ced Youth Media was recognized for their part in leading the Trans Day of Remembrance + Trans … Continued