Youth Engaged in Leadership and Learning YELL A Handbook for Program Staff , Teachers, and Community Leaders John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Th eir Communities 2nd Edition © 2007 From YELL ©2007 John W. Gardner Center “All citizens should have the opportunity to be active, but all will not respond. Th ose who do respond carry the burden of our free society. “I call them the Responsibles.” – John W. Gardner American Leadership Forum Class VIII Graduation, San José 1997 From YELL ©2007 John W. Gardner Center ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Youth Engaged in Leadership and Learning (YELL) was developed with the support and guidance of individuals and organizations who partnered with the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities (JGC) between 2000 and 2006. In particular, we are grateful to our partners at the McClymonds Educational Complex in West Oakland and at Kennedy Middle School in Redwood City, California. YELL would not exist without the young people, school, and community leaders who worked together with JGC to increase youth voice and participation in decision making. The content of the YELL curriculum has been greatly enhanced by the Americorps members and Stanford students who helped to document our work, provided ideas and activities for the curriculum, and served as staff in the YELL program. WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING FOUNDATIONS FOR THEIR GENEROUS SUPPORT OF YELL: Atlantic Philanthropies Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Foundation William and Flora Hewlett Foundation David and Lucile Packard Foundation San Francisco Foundation Stuart Foundation Surdna Foundation Walton Family Foundation Editors: Yolanda Anyon, Katrina Brink, Marie Crawford, María Fernández, Mary Hofstedt, Jerusha Osberg, and Karen Strobel Youth Advisors: Anahí Aguilar, Jessie Burgueño, Rebecca Flores, Sandra Mendieta, and Vanessa Valencia Field Testers: Yolanda Anyon, María Fernández, Mary Hofstedt, Arnulfo Medina, Jessie Molina, and Karen Strobel 2nd Edition Project Managers: Mary Hofstedt and Katrina Brink 2nd Edition Production: Laura Ma (Administation), Mark Sloneker and Jodi McPhee (Design), and Ruth Schechter (Proofreading/Editing) Photo Credits: Yolanda Anyon, Kali Cheung, Maria Fernandez, Mary Hofstedt, and others ©2007, 2001 The John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities This version was released on December 1, 2007. This document may be reproduced without oral or written permission for youth development or classroom use. Permission must be obtained to reproduce this document in circumstances other than those described above. Please send your requests to [email protected] or call 650-736-8495. From YELL ©2007 John W. Gardner Center YELL CURRICULUM CONTRIBUTORS The following people were active participants in the research, development, and writing of the YELL curriculum. PROJECT DIRECTORS UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT YOUTH STAFF AND MENTORS Yolanda Anyon STAFF AND INTERNS (CONTINUED) María Fernández Julie Afsahi William Carter Mary Hofstedt Elizabeth De Rham Brittany Chambers Jocelyn Hughes Ben Eloy Tannak Chan Arnulfo Medina Elisa Marie Overall Toto Chittharath Jessie Molina Amanda Posner Diego Contreras Natalie Tofano Ruiz Cynthia Cruz SENIOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATE Sarah Schulman Ruth Cruz Karen Strobel Rachel Spitzer Ryan Czaple Leah Sullivan Bianca De La Torre RESEARCH ASSISTANTS Jocelyn Sze Rebecca Flores Julianna Bunim Judy Wang Brytteni Floyd-Mayo Becky Shea Burrow AMERICORPS STAFF Malcom Ford Ernesto Colín Monica Foster Mary Boktor Jerusha Osberg Conner Jamaal Germaine Tannak Chan Josh Corngold Lavana Gurley Amie Cheung Jennifer Crawford Alex Hernández Kali Cheung Dabney Ingram Ashley Jones Caroline Chumo Ben Kirshner Taylor Kemp Michelle Coughlan Alyssa McLean Travell McFay LaTonya Davis Natasha Marsh Sandra Mendieta Joycelyn Hughes Sandra Naughton Angela Nevárez Eui Hwang Ingrid Nelson Francisco Pinto Tarik Kahsai Daphne Ross Erika Ponce Natasha Marsh José Saldívar Kianna Reed Lindsay Poland Ingrid Seyer-Ochi Sopheak Sam Damon Steele Charles Simms Sunny Yu Xenia Simms GRADUATE STUDENT CONTRIBUTORS YOUTH STAFF AND MENTORS Jenny Sokly Jill Cheney Jesse Torres Jennifer Cohen Anahí Aguilar Clarence Thomas Meredith Honig Patricia Akolo Josh Tucker Ken Ikeda Tashika Boston Vanessa Valencia Hanna Song Mirna Bresic Lauren Stevenson Jessie Burgueño Greg Wright Anne Zummo We also acknowledge the more than 250 young people who shaped YELL as a project and approach to social change, the community leaders who worked with youth to make change happen, the administrators and teachers who supported YELL as a school-based strategy for positive youth engagement and systems reform, and the volunteers, friends, and myriad supporters of all ages and levels of involvement. We extend a special thanks to the following people who helped make YELL an integral part of their schools and communities: Edna Acri, Ken Klieman, Karin Kelley-Torregroza, Renée Matsunami, Anthony Mickens, Sandra Portasio, Beth Ross, and Warren Sedar. From YELL ©2007 John W. Gardner Center ABOUT JGC John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Th eir Communities at Stanford University Youth Engaged in Leadership and Learning (YELL) was developed with the support and guidance of individuals and organizations who partnered with the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities (JGC) between 2000 and 2006. JGC MISSION AND VISION JGC partners with communities to research, develop, and disseminate effective practices and models for youth development and community renewal. By bringing together community leaders and sharing new knowledge, we support the implementation of quality programs for and with young people. JGC FOUNDERS JGC was founded by Professor Milbrey McLaughlin in 2000. As the David Jacks Professor of Education and Public Policy at Stanford University’s School of Education, Professor McLaughlin’s research combines studies of K-12 education policy in the United States and the broad question of community and school collaboration to support youth development. The mission and vision for the JGC emerged from conversations between Professor McLaughlin and John W. Gardner, and their shared determination to create healthy and thriving communities. THE JGC’S NAMESAKE, JOHN W. GARDNER1, BELIEVED THAT: • Healthy, thriving communities must actively support youth — through policies, programs, and services — to become contributing participants and leaders. • Community leaders (neighborhood activists, mayors, council and board members, etc.) and youth-serving organizations (schools, recreation departments, youth clubs, etc.) all benefi t when they are united in their efforts to serve both youth and community. • Communities must invest in their youth in substantial ways. Most essential is the development of youth leaders, a community’s immediate and future leaders. John W. Gardner also believed that Stanford University, his alma mater, has the responsibility to address issues that affect the greater community. Therefore, as a center based at Stanford, the JGC also works with students, faculty, and staff to carry out its work to support youth leaders, the communities in which they live, and the broader fi eld of youth development. For more information on the JGC please visit our Web site: http://jgc.stanford.edu. 1 John W. Gardner (1912-2002) believed in the potential of individuals, their institutions, and society as a whole, and he chose to focus on challenges as possibilities rather than obstacles. He served as President Johnson’s Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and was a Founder of Common Cause and the Independent Sector. He was the author of numerous books and spent most of his life studying and writing about leadership and community. From YELL ©2007 John W. Gardner Center TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Background of YELL ..............................................................................................................................................................xiv A Note on Youth Leadership ...................................................................................................................................................xv Youth Leadership in Action ....................................................................................................................................................xvi The Guiding Framework and Applications of YELL .................................................................................................................xvii Purpose of the YELL Curriculum ...........................................................................................................................................xviii Overview of YELL Units ..........................................................................................................................................................xx Facilitating YELL Sessions.......................................................................................................................................................xxi GETTING STARTED: PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING YELL Starting a YELL Project or Program ..........................................................................................................................................2 Five Steps for Successful Recruitment ......................................................................................................................................3 Strategies for Retention ...........................................................................................................................................................6