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| continued.... Much of the work undertaken by YELL participants holds special appeal for young people because it increases their voices in decision-making in settings where they often feel marginalized and under-served by society’s institutions. Currently, there are two YELL projects in the San Francisco Bay Area: one at Kennedy Middle School in Redwood City and the other at McClymonds High School in West Oakland.  PHOTO: A group of West Oakland YELL students prepare a video documentary about the community's impression of McClymonds High School and its students. YELL participants study issues that impact their own lives.With guidance from Stanford graduate and undergraduate students and Gardner Center project staff, students learn to narrow down a topic for their research; use a variety of research methods to identify community needs (e.g., surveys, interviews, focus groups, videos); analyze their findings; develop recommendations recommendations and plans for action; and present their findings to community leaders. “I didn’t know we had so many people that cared about what’s going on …. Sometimes they’re just scared to open up … and talk about the problems,” explained YELL participant Magdalena Larios. The important issues students choose to research are influenced by their own experiences and by what is happening in their school and neighborhood. For example, during year one of the project in Redwood City, the YELL participants came up with the research question,“How do we make Redwood City better for youth?” One of the youths’ recommendations was getting an overpass built over a major highway intersecting their neighborhood in order to improve transportation access to school and other community services. Although they did not succeed in getting the overpass built, their report and presentations to community groups resulted in a meeting with the City Council about their findings.They also were invited to participate in the deliberations regarding how the city’s funding to youth-serving community organizations would be distributed.The students felt like they were finally having a voice in their community.“I didn’t know we had so many people that cared about what’s going on …. Sometimes they’re just scared to open up … and talk about the problems,” explained YELL participant Magdalena Larios. This past year, the Kennedy students narrowed their focus on the issue of transportation access by looking at the cost of bus fares.They experienced significant success as they produced a video to gain support for the effort and set up a school fund to provide discount passes to students.The youth continued their fundraising efforts this summer and plan to write letters and make presentations of their findings to the community in the new academic year. The important issues students choose to research are influenced by their own experiences and by what is happening in their school and neighborhood. Accomplishments and Challenges One of the accomplishments of the students’ work in both YELL projects has been its impact on community decision-making.Traditionally, young people have not participated alongside adult policymakers in most U.S. communities. However,YELL students’ presentations to various community agencies and boards impressed leaders in both Redwood City and West Oakland. Little by little, some of these policymaking bodies have experienced a paradigm shift and invited youth to participate on them. 
PHOTO: Kennedy Middle School YELL studentsbrainstorm future leadership opportunities. At McClymonds High School in West Oakland, for example, the school’s Leadership Team of teachers, administrators, and support staff created two youth seats to ensure student representation.Two YELL participants also joined the board of directors planning a new health center at the school. And in recognition of their additional responsibilities in the program, the principal agreed to provide youth mentors (second-year students who are role models for new participants and assist with planning and learning) with academic credit for a school elective in leadership. Redwood City YELL students have also met with success, and now participate on a number of community boards that make decisions which affect young people’s lives. The goal of the YELL project—to involve young people in planning and leading change in their neighborhoods—is quite an ambitious one, according to Gardner Center researchers.They are beginning to identify the most significant challenges to successful implementation which include absenteeism, failing grades, school safety, and family mobility. An equally important area that requires additional support, Gardner Center researchers say, is the adult community’s readiness to apply the resources, time, and understanding of practices that promote positive youth development. While many community service programs and related research look at young people engaged in activities that alleviate problems, programs such as the Gardner Center’s YELL project are demonstrating that young people are not only interested in alleviating problems but are quite capable of being actively engaged in determining ways to solve them. As John Gardner championed the future of young people, the Center’s YELL project continues his legacy through its work to make young people not only leaders of tomorrow, but leaders of today. |