Student Leaders Surprise Teachers

Classnotes Podcast (January 19, 2024). Many programs in public schools take a while to bear fruit. This is not surprising since schools are systems, and positive change requires systemic change. But we have also seen change occur quickly when adults shift their perspective about students, particularly students who don’t fit a certain mold.

IDRA is testing such a process through our new Youth Leadership Now project. This field-initiated, research-based program that is federally funded is examining how the program can transform not just participating students but also whole school communities.

We are partnering with the Texas Education Service Center Region 19 to pilot this program in several schools in Texas. Youth Leadership Now combines three key strategies. First, it takes key elements from IDRA’s highly successful Valued Youth Partnership program and adds mentorship of tutors by eighth grade teachers, who help them prepare to transition into high school. And it incorporates IDRA’s family leadership model, Education CAFE, to engage families and tutors in equity action projects.

In this podcast episode, Hector Bojorquez, IDRA’s director of operations and educational practice, who conceptualized this project, had a nice conversation with two guests from Fabens Middle School. Ana Luna is the YLN teacher coordinator who has worked 18 years in the districts as a math and technology teacher. Her assistant, Beatriz Nuñez, joins the discussion as they talk about what they have seen in the students’ first four weeks as tutors. Christie L. Goodman, APR, Fellow PRSA, provides an introduction and overview of Youth Leadership Now.

Show length: 12:07 min

Resources

IDRA Youth Leadership Now

Clint ISD & Youth Leadership Now: 23/24 School Year – IDRA Pilot Program Update

IDRA Valued Youth Partnership

Flier: How VYP transforms student socio-emotional learning and relationships with school

IDRA Education CAFE

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