Since 2013, CYCLE staff have been responsible for the design and facilitation of an annual Youth Leadership Institute (YLI) for Nellie Mae Education Foundation grantees. One of the values CYCLE holds dear is “Partnership” -- we partner with communities and school districts looking to build collective power through grassroots leadership, organizing, advocacy, and relationship building. We support youth, families, and educators -- focusing on those most impacted by injustice -- to fight for and win policies and practices that create equitable opportunities and outcomes for all students. A new book, At Our Best: Building Youth-Adult Partnerships in Out-of-School Time Settings, features empirical research, conceptual essays, poetry, artwork, and engaged dialogue about the complexities of youth-adult partnerships in practice. In “Why Couldn’t That Have Been Me?,” Kristy Luk, Noah Schuettge, Keith Catone, and Catalina Perez use the team’s experiences planning and facilitating YLIs to explore how to build spaces for authentic youth leadership without reinforcing adultist structures and practices. The team talks about “Levels of Youth Participation/Power” and how that has guided their support for the Youth Planning Team (YPT) that makes important decisions to plan, design, and facilitate YLI.

In February 2020, CYCLE staff selected 12 students from all over New England to be part of YPT for YLI 2020. This team will plan and implement YLI with CYCLE staff.

Erick Tamay and Amber Mora, two returning Youth Planning Team members were asked questions about their hopes for the Youth Leadership Institute and this is what they had to say:

Why were you interested in being part of the Youth Planning Team this year?

Amber: Every year I attend YLI I am never disappointed. Last year I was on the planning team and it was so fun getting to be “behind the scenes” for YLI and I just wanted to be able to enjoy it again. Also it’s my last year of high school and I wanted to be able to enjoy the opportunity of being on the planning team my last year of YLI.

Erick: I am interested because of the community that we create through the planning process and for how empowering the experience is when learning and making new friendships at the same time.

What is your biggest hope for the Youth Leadership Institute this year?

Amber: My biggest hope for YLI is for it to be another fun learning experience as it always is.

Erick: During the planning process and after all the hard work made, my biggest hope is to make YLI even more successful than the last, strengthening our relationships and creative power within our communities.

What are you excited about for the Youth Planning Team/YLI this year?

Amber: I am excited to get closer to the other youth I get to work with to plan this amazing event.

Erick: I am excited to bond and create strong new friendships. Each YPT member is a new color to my life and having them in the team makes the experience more rewarding.

YLI 2020 Update: CYCLE continues to prioritize the health and emotional needs of our YLI community. After gathering information from the news of COVID-19, feedback from youth, and the feedback of the Youth Planning Team, we’d like to introduce to you “YLI 2020 ‘The Remix’”. The Remix is a series of virtual workshops focusing on similar organizing and leadership content as before, centralizing community building. We will be hosting this virtually on the same days that YLI was previously scheduled -- August 3rd to 5th, 2020 -- and will be following up with more information in the upcoming weeks.

CYCLE Blog

Youth-adult Partnerships and CYCLE's Youth Planning Team