Alliance Summits
GRADUATION SUMMIT HIGHLIGHTS YOUTH ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES
Committed to fostering and encouraging positive youth outcomes – including increasing graduation rates throughout Minnesota – the Minnesota Alliance With Youth, in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC), Search Institute and State Farm hosted a two-day Dropout Prevention Summit on November 17th & 18th. Part of an ongoing series of Summits being held statewide and nationwide, attention turned to helping those youth most in need of support.
The 1st day Metro Graduation Summit: Strategies for Engaging Youth in School included representatives from over 20 schools in Minneapolis, St. Paul and surrounding metro districts. The metro teams worked together to identify barriers and share best strategies in order to meet the challenge of increasing graduation rates – including a review of the 10 Key Strategies identified by the National Dropout Prevention Center to better engage youth in school and learning:
1. Professional Development
2. School-Community Collaboration
3. Family Engagement
4. Safe Learning Environments
5. Active/individualized Learning
6. Literacy Development
7. Mentoring/Tutoring
8. After-School Opportunities
9. Service-Learning
10. Alternative Schooling
To ensure follow-up and commitment to this issue, each school completed a “Commitment to Action Plan” to help support students on the path to high school graduation. The event featured a performance by youthrive and additional speakers from AchieveMpls and America’s Promise Alliance, as well as Peter Benson from Search Institute.
The 2nd day Statewide Graduation Summit: Policy and Action brought together a diverse group of representatives from all sectors – government, schools, cities, non-profits, business, health, funders, researchers, faith – as well as a host of youth all engaged in a candid discussion about five of the specific strategies identified by the National Dropout Prevention Center: After-School Opportunities, Family Engagement, Literacy Development, School-Community Collaboration and Service-Learning.
Participants were asked to fill out the “Commitment to Action Plan” to strengthen current efforts, initiate new strategic activity and prioritize work around measurable policy and program supports for young people. The Statewide Summit group plans to reconvene in the spring to evaluate progress and continue the necessary work ahead.
The MN Dept. of Education & MN Alliance With Youth sponsored the 2007 Statewide Graduation Improvement Summit and 2008 Community-level Mini-Summits which emphasized our need for positive youth development, and highlighted how the Five Promises can help facilitate such success in school completion. Over the last years, educational and young engagement leaders from across the state have worked diligently to implement such ideas and increase graduation rate for students in Minnesota – with many accomplishments.
The 2009 Metro and Statewide Summit is an expansion on these achievements, with community leaders working together to a come up with new innovations and make greater progress in order to meet the needs of those student groups still struggling. Throughout the metro-area and greater Minnesota, many student groups continue to face difficulties and leave school early before obtaining a diploma. The objective of these Summits was to explore and exchange the best ways we CAN engage these youth in school and learning.
Echoed over both days in St. Paul, success can be reached through innovative ideas and a purposeful sharing of resources. Success can be achieved by expanding our current efforts, and implementing policy and program supports for young people. Positive outcomes can occur for ALL youth in Minnesota, but only through communication and engagement. The urgent need for such solutions and action is NOW.
With funding provided by America’s Promise Alliance, this is a part of a multi-year effort to mobilize leadership summits across the country to address the high school dropout rate. For more information please contact Sarah Dixon, CEO & President for the MN Alliance With Youth, at (651) 528-8570 or sdixon@mnyouth.net
***RESOURCES***
~DROPOUT PREVENTION INITIATIVE: TEN STRATEGIES TO PREVENT DROPOUT~
~DROPOUT PREVENTION RESOURCE LIST~
~ENGAGING STUDENTS IN SCHOOL AND LEARNING~
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WANT HELP PLANNING YOUR OWN SUMMIT?
America’s Promise Alliance has developed the Summit Toolbox to help conveners plan and execute successful summit events that lead to follow-up action planning and implementation at the local and state level.
GO HERE to use the Summit Toolbox!
