Report on the first Youth Summit on Youth Policymaking
Learning Life is pleased to share the content and impact of the first Youth Summit on Youth Policymaking (YSYP) this fall in the Washington, DC capital region.
Summit Content & Context
Over the afternoons of Saturday, September 27 and October 4 this year, 34 diverse 8th-12th graders in the region engaged in online then in-person learning, deliberating, and proposing of policies at school, city, county and/or state government levels that would give voice to youth 18 and under in policies that affect them.
In so doing annually in the fall, with public advocacy in between, the Summit’s long-term goals are to bridge two consequential divides between (1) education and power / policymaking, and (2) private, public and charter school students in the highly unequal, segregated Washington DC region.
Below are highlights from the impact evaluation, the youth policies the Summit’s young deliberators proposed, and the votes they gave to each policy, plus acknowledgements of all those involved in this first Summit. Click here for the full impact evaluation, completed by Georgetown University’s Civic Education Research Lab.
Participant Demographics
Gender: 24 female, 10 male
Race: 14 black, 12 white, 6 Asian, 2 mixed
School type: 22 private, 8 public, 4 charter
Residence: 29 Washington DC, 3 Maryland, 2 Virginia
Twenty-five of the 34 students completed a pre-survey and post-survey comparing their civic knowledge, interest and self-efficacy (i.e., feeling effective or capable) before and after the Summit. Twenty-four of the 25 attended both Summit sessions on September 27 and October 4, while one attended October 4 only. Sixteen of the 25 completed the pre-survey before the first Summit meeting on September 27, and nine completed it after September 27 but before October 4. In order to best measure impact of the Youth Summit (September 27 + October 4), the highlights below focus on the sixteen young deliberators who attended on both dates, and completed the pre-survey prior to those dates.
Civic Knowledge
Got definition of public policy right: Pre-survey: 75% Post-survey: 71%
Got stages of policymaking right: Pre: 46% Post: 69%
Civic Interest
Strongly agree “I am interested in government and policymaking”: Pre: 31% Post: 73%
Strongly agree “I like interacting with people who are different from me”: Pre: 75% Post: 80%
Civic Self-Efficacy
Strongly agree “I am comfortable speaking in front of group of people I don’t know well”: Pre: 38% Post: 53%
Strongly agree “I am confident in my ability to work with others to solve problems in our community”: Pre: 69% Post: 73%
The Policies the Youth Proposed & Their Votes on Those Policies
On the Summit’s second Saturday, in person, after preparatory remarks, the Summit’s young deliberators convened in six small groups or teams at six roundtables to each develop one policy to meet the needs of and/or give voice to young people in the DC region. The deliberators were assigned to tables to maximize diversity by school as much as possible.
YSYP youth then convened in one large group to explain their respective team’s proposed policy, one at a time, and answer any questions. The students then voted on all six proposals, each student receiving an equal number of token or votes to distribute among the six proposals as they each saw fit. Each team’s policy got the following vote totals:
Team 1: 51
Team 2: 28
Team 3: 37
Team 4: 35
Team 5: 25
Team 6: 34
You can read each team’s proposal in the photo collage above, and a second photo collage highlighting the Summit’s meetings and participants below.
What Participants Liked about the Summit
The post-survey asked “What did you like most about the Summit?” The student respondents liked most the social aspect (networking, interacting with diverse people) and being heard as youth. Here were some of the young deliberators’ answers:
“I liked connecting with people of all ages around DC.”
“I liked what we did – brainstorming ideas, narrowing them down then coming up with a policy. It was very productive and made me think more about what policy making might take and what it involves (including different levels of government).”
“I enjoyed that we had experienced policy makers and those in the position to make policies because they taught us quite a bit about what goes into making policies. Coming up with our policies was every fun and informative because I learned that I enjoy policy making, as well as the thinking
that went into making the policies.”
“I like the fact that people were passionate about their ideas. Everyone was engaged and enthusiastic about there policies and i was able to learn a lot about what is going on in different schools.”
“Engaging with people of different backgrounds to talk about real issues and learn new things.”
What Comes Next & Three Ways to Help
Between the Summits planned for each fall, Learning Life is organizing meetings with DC area middle and high schools and classes, civic, community and parent-teacher associations, relevant university groups, school and government boards, and others to (a) share the YSYP program, (b) recruit new student participants, and (c) make the case for involving youth 18 and under in policymaking that affects them to strengthen democracy’s future in our nation’s capital region.
YSYP alumni have the opportunity to volunteer as Youth Policy Advocates, recruiting new Summit participants, and advocating for youth by, among other things, speaking at the above-mentioned public meetings about their Summit experience, the youth policies the young deliberators proposed, and the need for youth engagement in school, city, county and/or state government policies affecting youth.
Any one in the DC region can help advance YSYP in three ways:
- Schedule a Summit presentation to your class or group by emailing email@learninglife.info with your group’s name, city and state, contact person (name, title, telephone and email), at least three proposed meeting dates and times, and details to meet online preferably, and in person only in some cases depending on location. Presentations can be 5 to 30 minutes long, depending on your class or group’s meeting needs.
- Copy and share via your social media the following call for student deliberators: “8th-12th grade students in the Washington DC area: Want to make new friends, deepen your understanding of youth issues, learn about policymaking, and/or exercise leadership in amplifying youth voices? Then RSVP now to request your seat at the DMV Youth Summit on Youth Policymaking this fall.”
- Sponsor an 8th-12th grade young deliberator starting at $100. The full fee in 2026 will be $200 per student. Your sponsorship covers all or part of the fee for one or more students whose families cannot afford the full fee. When you contribute, please add “Youth Summit sponsor” in the Note box.
Acknowledgements
Learning Life thanks Georgetown University’s Civic Education Research Lab, including its Director & Principal Investigator, Diana Owen (who is also one of Learning Life founder Paul Lachelier’s former professors!), and Research Specialist, Jamie Joseph, for the Youth Summit evaluation. Working with Paul on the evaluation design, Jamie carried out the bulk of the data collection, and all the literature review, data analysis and writing.
Thanks to Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy Professor Lia Merivaki for moderating the in-person Summit on October 4, and to speakers Ondřej Bárta, Senior Associate at People, Dialogue and Change, and Lianne, Katie, Niamh and Ben, staff and advisors at Child Rights International Network. Lianne kindly put together this 17-minute video interview with Katie, Niamh and Ben specially for the Youth Summit to lay out how youth are and can be involved in international climate change policymaking.
Learning Life also thanks all of the policy professionals and graduate students who volunteered as senior and junior policy mentors to the Summit’s young deliberators: Ryann Alonso, Chelsea Dade, Paul Friedman, Alana Hackshaw, Zayd Hamid, Suzanne Lachelier, Andy McLeod, Victoria Paul, Destiny Sharpe, Allison Silberberg, and Rob Young. Special thanks to junior mentors Chelsea, Victoria and Zayd for preparing and presenting an effective “Policymaking 101” presentation, and to senior mentors Allison and Paul for offering their perspectives on policy to the Summit students at the September 27 online meeting in prep for the October 4 Summit in person.
Learning Life thanks the DC area school staff and teachers who shared the Summit opportunity with their students, and two DC social studies teachers in particular — Lynn Darby of MacArthur High School, and Brian Cunningham of The Lab School — for taking the time and effort to accompany their students to the Summit, and staying with them throughout the Summit, on a day these teachers would otherwise have off.
Last but certainly not least, we thank our sponsors who made it possible for youth whose families could not afford the full Summit fee to take part in YSYP: Marcia Anglarill, Matt Clausen, Patrick Cole, Mark Dreiling, Gretchen Ehle, Amy Fischer Bruey, Chip Hauss, Joe & Teresa Krettek, Cindy Mah, Chris McShane, David Meskill, Liudmila Mikhailova, Sherry Lee Mueller, Mark Nelson, Tony Perez, Isaiah Poole, Seth Radwell, Bill Schneider, Joe Toles, John & Carmen Vaughan, Nancy Walker, Emily Wasek, Margaret Willingham, and Ben and Sarah Yavitz.
