Youth Summits
A Closer Look at Exemplary Youth Summits: Delaware
Delaware: A Successful First Summit
By Pat Quann
The Delaware Law Related Education Center held
its first youth summits on April 27, 28, and May 4, 1999 in each of Delaware's three
counties. Nine high schools and three junior high schools participated and approximately
250 students attended. A grant from the Youth for Justice program of OJJDP and donations
from local businesses supported the program.
The goal of the summits was to help students understand how public policy is developed.
The format was based on the model developed by the Constitutional Rights Foundation in
Chicago. Each summit was designed to analyze three public policy issues. The issues were
identified through a series of meetings with teachers and students in each county. The
Center suggested some policy issues, but students were ultimately responsible for choosing
topics. Each of the counties agreed to include relationship violence as one of the policy
issues, and two counties selected alcohol abuse as a second issue. Other policy issues
chosen by the students were abuse of child labor laws, school safety, aggressive drinking,
and restricting materials on the Internet.
Once the policy issues were selected, the Law Related Education Center compiled a
Teacher's Handbook that included a set of lessons to teach prior to the summits. These
lessons included information on the selected issues and public policy development. The
Center provided each teacher with copies of a survey for the students to administer to
their classmates prior to attending the summits. A large number of resource people from
both public and private organizations helped to develop the student lessons and the survey
materials, and they worked directly with students at the summit. In many cases, the
resource people were policy makers in their organizations.
After a brief opening session, students attending the summits were divided into six
working groups. Each of the three chosen policy issues was assigned to two groups. Each
group was also assigned one resource person to serve as an advisor. The students used a
guide for policy analysis and developed a series of recommended responses to the public
policy issue. At the end of each summit, students presented their responses to an elected
official for feedback and discussion. The officials were Congressman Michael Castle
through a satellite link from Washington, D.C., Delaware Attorney General M. Jane Brady,
and Sussex County Councilman Vance Phillips.
Pat Quann is Executive Director of the Delaware Law Related Education Center
>>OJJDP and Youth Summits
>>Lawyers Lead, Participate, and Support
>>Young People Across the U.S. Confront the Problems That
Affect Their Lives
>>Profiles: Addressing Concerns of Young Women; Solving
Problems in the Virtual World
>>Profile: The International Youth
Environmental Summit
>>A Closer Look at Exemplary Youth Summits: Delaware
>>A Closer Look at Exemplary Youth Summits:
Minnesota
>>A Closer Look at Exemplary Youth Summits: Oregon
>>A Closer Look at Exemplary Youth Summits: Illinois
>>Conclusion: The Future of Youth Summits; Best
Practices
>>Resources and Links
Teachers/Students Home | Technical
Assistance Bulletin No. 18 Main Page