Youth Advocacy Council Update

These last few months have been a whirlwind for the YAC, from Real Talk Remix to listening sessions with the IPS School Board. Through all these experiences, the youth have decided on issues that they want to focus on in the coming year:

•          Bullying
•          Sexual Abuse
•          Hunger
•          Own Your Future
•          Education Reform 

The youth will take these topics and a few more and present them at the ASC-Me Conference (Advocating, Skill building  Creating Solutions) on April 27. This day-long event will be open to youth all over the city.  The YAC will host breakout sessions on these important issues.  

These next few months will be busy as the youth try to learn as much as possible as they can about these issues. The youth will spend many hours designing a curriculum that will be easily understood by middle school and high school youth. They will develop activities that will help participants build skills in those areas and develop action steps.

If you think that this sounds like a lot, it is. If you would like to help in any way or know of a youth who would want to facilitate, please let me know. The YAC and us are really excited for this conference and are excited to see all of this year’s work come together.

Danielle Guerin

Written by: Danielle Guerin, AmeriCorps VISTA

“When I think about education, I feel it’s important that an individual grabs this opportunity. If not, I believe that they will not be prepared for the world around them. Education is a must in a world that is changing every day.”

That is one of the most poignant quotes that came out of Real Talk Remix, a youth roundtable discussion, which was held this past October. The event was held in partnership with WFYI’s American Graduate program. 16 youth, from 5^th to 12^th grade, came together to talk about education and what needed to be changed.

The youth came up with their  three biggest issues in school:

1. Structure of the education system
2. Teacher-student communication
3. Bullying and safety in schools

Attendees of Real Talk Remix had many suggestions for the improvement of their education experience. From concerns with student/teacher/counselor relationships, to student-student bullying issues to the overall structure of curriculum of schools, these youth believe we can do better. The youth who attended the event left with new ideas about what they could do to make their schools better. MCCOY came up with the following next steps:

•The Youth Advocacy Council will incorporate what they heard from peers into their working groups on education reform and bullying. They will advocate on these issues in the coming year through tracking legislation on the topics in the state legislature and hosting "listening sessions" for youth to voice their concerns on the issues of bullying and education reform.

• MCCOY will incorporate youth feedback into our 2013 Legislative Priorities of education, bullying, and youth violence. Focusing on the following priorities:

• Embrace a comprehensive evidence-based approach to prevent all forms of peer aggression, including bullying, gangs, dating violence and suicide that provide resources and training to all school personnel and that foster school environments and interactions that promote positive social skill development
• Re-engage disconnected youth and adults in education and career-focused opportunities

•If you'd like access to the full Real Talk Remix agenda and format to host your own Real Talk, email Danielle Guerin.

To view the full report, go here.