McCormick Foundation: FreeSource

My colleagues and I in the Civics program-and undoubtedly many of you-are dedicated to encouraging and supporting young people in their development as active participants in civic life. We do this, in part, by offering youth-centered programming, promoting the civic mission of our communities' educational institutions, and supporting organizations that foster civic learning and engagement throughout Chicagoland.

We recognize that in order to follow this developmental trajectory, young people must have opportunities for their ideas and opinions to be heard, and to be valued. So, this month, we focus our attention on the topic of cultivating youth voice.

Neelam Noorani, who serves as the lead educator for the Freedom Express traveling museum, shares insights gleaned from attending the Engaging Youth in Leadership program hosted by Loyola University on April 11. An age-diverse panel offered perspectives on the value and means of empowering youth voice in community organizations, and equipping young people with the critical-thinking and problem-solving skills that underpin effective leadership.

Professional development coordinator Janice Belzowski attended the 18th annual Youth Summit organized by the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago, a current Foundation grantee. Her article offers a behind-the-scenes perspective on this remarkable platform for youth voice, as well as the supporting curriculum and service learning experiences that pave the way to this yearly culminating event.

Students deliberate on an issue during the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago's Youth Summit on April 27 at Dirksen Federal Courthouse.

Students Find Voice at Youth Summit
By Janice Belzowski, Professional Development Coordinator

Allowing students the opportunity to have authentic voice isn’t easy. It takes planning, preparation, a little structure, and most importantly trust. Few organizations know this better than the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago (CRFC) which has been providing a platform for student voice for the past 18 years through the Youth Summit. The CRFC knows that when students have the opportunity to voice their thoughts and opinions on issues that matter to them, positive change occurs.

On April 27 three student-chosen topics were discussed at length amongst nearly 200 Chicagoland high school youth at the culminating summit; however, the program itself is much broader than this event alone. This year, the program engaged nearly 1,000 students at 15 high schools. The participants surveyed more than 1,600 of their peers on issues for the Summit and reached an additional 8,400 other students and community members through Summit service projects. The CRFC also provides a supporting curriculum to help teachers facilitate the program in their classrooms. The students at the event were a representative delegation from each of the participating schools.

“I think the summit is important for a few reasons. One – it allows students to select current issues that are important to them – it lends their voice to these issues,” said Dee Runaas, CRFC’s director of high school programs. “Secondly, it teaches students about public policy and how those policies have a direct impact on them. Another nice aspect of the Summit is that it is student- driven and student-led. Once the students choose the policy issues they are interested in, they are trained to facilitate discussion on these issues with their peers and they also lead their peers in developing service projects around an issue of their choice.”

Engaging Youth in Leadership
By Neelam J. Noorani, School Programs Educator

The Loyola University Chicago Center for Experiential Learning hosted a panel titled, Engaging Youth in Leadership in April. The panel was moderated by Ashley Slupski, Community Youth Support Specialist at Loyola University Chicago and focused on the why, what and how of engaging youth in leadership.

The panel members represented various youth organizations around Chicago, and included Sara Kerastas, Education Programs Director at About Face Theatre; Gwyn Siebert, Community Programs Coordinator at Concordia Place; Ayoka Samuels, Senior Program Director at Gary Comer Youth Center; Lindsay Hayden, Membership Specialist at Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana; Jackie Rosa, Youth Council Program Director at Mikva Challenge; Ilana Zafran, Director of Leadership and Justice at Umoja Student Development Corporation; and Jamilyn Bailey, Program Director at Posse Foundation Chicago.

This is a summary of their main points:

WHY?

First of all, why should we invest our time, knowledge, wealth, and sanity to teach youth leadership skills and provide them with leadership opportunities? Sara Kerastas referenced the late Whitney Houston’s song Greatest Love of All when giving her answer – the children are our future, and it is our responsibility to provide them with the skills necessary to succeed in life. The panelists all agreed that it’s not just in the best interest of youth to learn how to be leaders, but it is in all our best interests to ensure that the youth of today are prepared to be the leaders of tomorrow.

To read more about the panel, please click here.

In This Issue:

Calendar of Events

Top 10 Freedom in the News Headlines

Stay in Touch

May Welcome


McCormick Foundation Civics Program: TEACHER BULLETIN \| May 2012 / Volume 47
In This Issue: May Welcome Students Find Voice at Youth Summit Engaging Youth in Leadership Top 10 Freedom in the News Headlines Calendar of Events *Teaching a summer school session or at a academic-based summer camp? Book the Freedom Express traveling museum!* Upcoming Professional Development opportunities Thursday, May 24, 4pm-7pm Pritzker Military Library Educator Open House Chicago, IL Saturday, May 12(Session II) 10 am-2pm Early Chicago workshop Chicago History Museum Chicago, IL Wednesday, May 30, 4:30pm-7pm Facing History and Ourselves After-School Workshop - The Book Thief Chicago, IL Top 10 Freedom in the News Headlines Examining Fans’ Rights to Jeer at Games(NYT) Chicago Bartender's Racist Facebook Rant Gets Her Fired From Proof(HP) City Revokes Testing Word Ban(NYT) Tenn. governor 'probably' will sign evolution bill(AP) Iowa paper devotes front page to fighting bullying(AP) Hunger Games again on list of challenged books(AP) Op-ed: Protecting Face-to-Face Protest(NYT) Alpharetta student loses suit over ouster as school president (Atlanta Journal Constitution) Should teachers and students be Facebook friends?(FAC) Supreme Court upholds limits on religious messages(SC) Stay in Touch Follow us on Twitter! Join us on Facebook! Subscribe to Freedom in the News	May Welcome My colleagues and I in the Civics program-and undoubtedly many of you-are dedicated to encouraging and supporting young people in their development as active participants in civic life. We do this, in part, by offering youth-centered programming, promoting the civic mission of our communities' educational institutions, and supporting organizations that foster civic learning and engagement throughout Chicagoland. We recognize that in order to follow this developmental trajectory, young people must have opportunities for their ideas and opinions to be heard, and to be valued. So, this month, we focus our attention on the topic of cultivating youth voice. Neelam Noorani, who serves as the lead educator for the Freedom Express traveling museum, shares insights gleaned from attending the Engaging Youth in Leadership program hosted by Loyola University on April 11. An age-diverse panel offered perspectives on the value and means of empowering youth voice in community organizations, and equipping young people with the critical-thinking and problem-solving skills that underpin effective leadership. Professional development coordinator Janice Belzowski attended the 18th annual Youth Summit organized by the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago, a current Foundation grantee. Her article offers a behind-the-scenes perspective on this remarkable platform for youth voice, as well as the supporting curriculum and service learning experiences that pave the way to this yearly culminating event. Sincerely, Courtney Brouwer Assistant Director of School Programs Students deliberate on an issue during the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago's Youth Summit on April 27 at Dirksen Federal Courthouse. Students Find Voice at Youth Summit By Janice Belzowski, Professional Development Coordinator Allowing students the opportunity to have authentic voice isn’t easy. It takes planning, preparation, a little structure, and most importantly trust. Few organizations know this better than the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago (CRFC) which has been providing a platform for student voice for the past 18 years through the Youth Summit. The CRFC knows that when students have the opportunity to voice their thoughts and opinions on issues that matter to them, positive change occurs. On April 27 three student-chosen topics were discussed at length amongst nearly 200 Chicagoland high school youth at the culminating summit; however, the program itself is much broader than this event alone. This year, the program engaged nearly 1,000 students at 15 high schools. The participants surveyed more than 1,600 of their peers on issues for the Summit and reached an additional 8,400 other students and community members through Summit service projects. The CRFC also provides a supporting curriculum to help teachers facilitate the program in their classrooms. The students at the event were a representative delegation from each of the participating schools. “I think the summit is important for a few reasons. One – it allows students to select current issues that are important to them – it lends their voice to these issues,” said Dee Runaas, CRFC’s director of high school programs. “Secondly, it teaches students about public policy and how those policies have a direct impact on them. Another nice aspect of the Summit is that it is student- driven and student-led. Once the students choose the policy issues they are interested in, they are trained to facilitate discussion on these issues with their peers and they also lead their peers in developing service projects around an issue of their choice.” To read more about the Youth Summit, please click here. Engaging Youth in Leadership By Neelam J. Noorani, School Programs Educator The Loyola University Chicago Center for Experiential Learning hosted a panel titled, Engaging Youth in Leadership in April. The panel was moderated by Ashley Slupski, Community Youth Support Specialist at Loyola University Chicago and focused on the why, what and how of engaging youth in leadership. The panel members represented various youth organizations around Chicago, and included Sara Kerastas, Education Programs Director at About Face Theatre; Gwyn Siebert, Community Programs Coordinator at Concordia Place; Ayoka Samuels, Senior Program Director at Gary Comer Youth Center; Lindsay Hayden, Membership Specialist at Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana; Jackie Rosa, Youth Council Program Director at Mikva Challenge; Ilana Zafran, Director of Leadership and Justice at Umoja Student Development Corporation; and Jamilyn Bailey, Program Director at Posse Foundation Chicago. This is a summary of their main points: WHY? First of all, why should we invest our time, knowledge, wealth, and sanity to teach youth leadership skills and provide them with leadership opportunities? Sara Kerastas referenced the late Whitney Houston’s song Greatest Love of All when giving her answer – the children are our future, and it is our responsibility to provide them with the skills necessary to succeed in life. The panelists all agreed that it’s not just in the best interest of youth to learn how to be leaders, but it is in all our best interests to ensure that the youth of today are prepared to be the leaders of tomorrow. To read more about the panel, please click here.