Youth Summits
Young People Across the U.S. Confront the Problems That Affect
Their Lives
Examples from Alabama to Wyoming
During the 1997-98 school year, youth summits occurred in 32 states, from Alabama to
Wyoming, using a variety of models. According to data collected by Youth for Justice and
the Social Science Education Consortium on 21 states' summits, the smallest state programs
involved less than 50 student participants, and the largest involved over a thousand.
Summits took place in a variety of venues, from school auditoriums and state courthouses,
to churches and the local TV station.
For more information on summits in your area, and the organizations sponsoring the
following summits, consult the ABA Division for Public Education's Directory of State LRE Projects
In Alabama, approximately 150 students from throughout the state convened at
Sanford University to discuss youth violence/violence prevention in breakout sessions
moderated by their peers-other students trained in peer mediation. The summit ended with a
plenary session in which each of the breakout groups made a closing statement, and one
school provided a closing song.
In Arizona, the summit was designed by a youth planning committee and funded in
part by the Arizona Parent-Teacher Association and the Arizona Bar Foundation Center for
Law-Related Education. Almost 300 students attended workshops on a variety of topics,
including the rights and responsibilities of young people, conflict resolution, stress
management, communication techniques, decision making and problem solving, and community
service.
In Iowa, recent youth summits have involved middle school-aged participants,
because organizers felt that middle-schoolers did not have as many options as high school
students for extra-curricular activities. The Young Lawyers Division of the Iowa State Bar
Association and the Center for Law and Civic Education worked together as part of the
national pilot program of Youth Empowerment Summits. Organizers chose the topic of
juvenile justice and relationship violence by surveying middle-schoolers before the summit
to determine their interests. The summit began with a debate between the Des Moines Deputy
Police Chief and a Drake University sociologist on waiving juvenile criminal offenders
into adult courts. Students then broke into smaller groups to discuss different aspects of
the topic and formulate policy recommendations. The 1999 summit focused on substance
abuse, based on student recommendations in the previous year's evaluations. Breakout
groups developed policy recommendations for different agencies such as police, the
superintendent of schools, and lawmakers.
The 1997-98 Kentucky Youth Summit was held in the historic state capitol building
in Frankfort. Approximately 125 students from schools as well as group home/alternative
education settings participated. Prior to the summit, students had chosen the topic of
lack of parental involvement in juvenile issues and conducted background research. At the
summit the students discussed the topic in groups of 15-20 participants. They then
presented their findings to a panel of experts, which included the General Counsel from
the Kentucky Supreme Court, as well as professors from area universities.
In Louisiana, 250 teenagers experienced the jury selection process first hand,
when a Louisiana Judicial District Court judge led a mock voir dire session. Students then
broke into groups of 25-30 to attend interactive sessions such as "How Well Do You
Know the Law?," in which they were quizzed on their knowledge of teenagers' rights
and responsibilities; "High Crimes and Misdemeanors," in which they were asked
to determine how to define high crimes and impeachable offenses; and "Police
Patrol," in which students were given scenarios-policemen responding to domestic
violence, loitering, and speeding situations, for example-and a crash "police
academy" course, and asked to role play the situation. Lawyers, judges, police
officers, and others facilitated each of the breakout sessions.
The Montana LRE project partnered with the Flathead County Peer Court to hold a
county-wide youth summit involving 53 students. Participants conducted interviews in their
schools to gather information on attitudes toward conflict as well as interest in peer
courts. They then attended peer court training, and used the information they had
collected to develop guidelines for a peer court training manual.
In New Hampshire, 120 upper elementary school students explored conflict
resolution, and made their own "conflict free" T-shirts. They were guided by
adults specially trained in different aspects of mediation at the elementary school level.
In North Carolina, the Center for the Prevention of School Violence coordinates a
summit based on their "Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE)" curricula
and programs. The April 30, 1999 summit marked the fourth annual youth summit in North
Carolina and was attended by 1,000 students, who participated in activities and sessions
focused on non-violent responses to conflict. Past summits explored such topics as gun
safety, peer influence on behavior, and driving while intoxicated.
In Ohio's 1999 "Stopping the Violence" summit was attended by 1,600
students, teams of five to six students presented the results of their research on
problems of violence or delinquency in their schools or communities and their proposals to
stop the violence. Their work was showcased in a "project fair," where students
presented their work to and answered questions from other fairgoers in an interactive
session. Students had the opportunity to talk to state and local officials, policy makers,
legislators, and representatives from youth agencies and local organizations. Summit
participants chose the five best projects, which were presented as the concluding event of
the summit.
Vermont's most recent youth summit had its best ever turnout, with over 100
middle and high school students and many Vermont Law School student speakers gathering at
Vermont Law School. Participants discussed a variety of topics, including "Prison
Life: Myths and Reality," featuring a representative from the Vermont Department of
Corrections as well as one current and two former inmates, and "The Death Penalty in
New Hampshire: Is it Time to Breathe New Life?", featuring a Vermont Law School
Professor.
The West Virginia State Bar's Citizenship and Law-Related Education Committee
sponsored three regional youth summits in 1999 with support from a grant from the Youth
for Justice program of OJJDP. Each summit was coordinated with assistance from the West
Virginia Center for Civic Life, which used the National Issues Forums materials that
addressed the question "Our Nation's Kids: Is Something Wrong?" Students from
various high schools, and teachers, probation officers, counselors, state legislators,
lawyers, police, and other community representatives deliberated in small groups over what
problems exist and who should take responsibility for remedying them. Each small group
then reported their conclusions to the large group and the day ended with students from
each high school meeting to discuss what action they could bring home with them.
Students from the Milwaukee Public Schools, and Oregon and Monona Grove high schools
planned the 1998 Wisconsin Youth Summit. Students in grades 7-12 were invited to
research changes in the juvenile code that affected parental liability, loss of driving
privileges, elimination of the right to a jury trial, and other issues affecting minors,
prior to attending the daylong event. The summit began with a panel of experts
representing the views of judges, attorneys, and community resource people who were
instrumental in enforcing and rebutting changes in the code. Students then presented their
findings to the summit participants. The event concluded with a dinner and talent show.
The Wyoming Law-Related Education Council also offered students a chance to learn
more about legislation affecting them. One summit took the format of a compressed video
conference focusing on youth-related issues. The other was a legislative conference that
focused on influencing the state legislature to pass youth-related laws. A teen court law
and a "zero-tolerance" law were passed in the state legislature in part because
of these summits.
For more information on summits in your area, and the organizations sponsoring these
summits, consult the ABA Division for Public Education's Directory of State LRE Projects
>>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
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