Youth volunteers participated in a Youth Access Survey (YAS) training today.  The training, led by Katrina Socco of Youth Leadership Institute, was designed to enhance the participants’ awareness of how alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) affect various communities.  Upon participating in the activities and reflecting on the questions posed, the youth began to develop a critical consciousness of the importance of their role in shaping change in their environment.  They spent a major portion of the training time reviewing the 2008 Youth Access Survey tool administered in the Jefferson Union High School District (JUHSD), and engaged in a process of editing to remove, modify, add, and simplify survey questions based on current pop-culture trends and observations.  Youth also learned about the process of proctoring the YAS, and developed a collective identity for their group.  After a period of brainstorming and deliberation, the youth ultimately decided on calling themselves, “Be The Change,” a bold statement of their heartfelt convictions to action-orientedness and civic engagement.

“Be The Change” will receive additional trainings in the near future to engage with adult stakeholders at the students’ respective school in the District.  This training process will prepare the youth to work in tandem with school administrators, teachers, and their peers to collect the survey data.  In a future training, Be The Change will receive guidance on how to enter and analyze survey data to execute the next steps in the YAS process.

Stay tuned for more updates on this important and exciting project!

12►

NCPP Staff would like to give a huge THANK YOU! to all the youth who took the time out of their Saturday to attend today’s training!