How Policy For The People Is Providing A Voice To All High School Students
It is our choice to stand on the sidewalk and let the chaos in our system play out in front of our eyes… or have a go at changing it. Daily, students encounter a plethora of problems with their schooling. If given the opportunity, these students can act as the harbingers of change, helping school administrations to roll out new policies. Keeping this in mind, the team at Erevna’s Policy for the People decided to hold the Students Improving Schools (SIS) Conference, Education Policython, and Researchathon to have the voices of the student community set in motion, while also setting up a means for interschool networking.
The SIS conference hosted multiple opportunities for participants to hear from various speakers and expand their understanding of our society’s current problems. Students also had the chance to attend individualized breakout rooms for interacting with a pair of mentors to further on an already brimming discussion. In this component of the event, students delved into discussion around the various tracks, including mental health, standardized testing, socioeconomic and racial inequity, grading, online education, special needs learning, and extracurriculars — conversing extensively with their peers about the same and learning from each other more about these contemporary issues.
Students then engaged in breakout sessions with peer mentors. They were given an introduction on how to implement the PTA Approach (Problem, Theory of Change, and Assess) to their own policy ideas. Along with the help of mentors and judges giving them guidance and feedback, students drafted a letter to set the gears of change in motion, which they submitted on the second day of the event. Over the next few hours, participants engaged in meaningful conversations with mentors to gain insights into their proposals.
After judges deliberated, the results were subsequently announced, and this truly enriching experience came to a close with far-reaching impacts on the character and aspirations of many.
“I enjoyed every aspect of the event,” said one participant. “I think it prepared us well to write our essays and letters and sparked curiosity and ideas about issues within the education system and how to solve them.”
In total, there were 100 student participants, 66 fascinating submission pieces, 24 volunteers, eight judges, six mentors, four speakers — alongside interesting, close-knit discussions held during peer mentoring workshops. After successfully conducting SIS, the Policy for the People team, believing there needs to be more to be done, organized the Education Policython so that students had the opportunity to further push their ideas and limits on a bigger and better scale. Most participants were high school sophomores and juniors from the United States, predominantly from the New York City school districts. This pattern was still prevalent during Policy for the People’s Education Policython.
The Education Policython took place from February 20th-21st, 2021. Students worked in teams to draft a policy brief and Op-Ed or letter that engaged with problems impacting the high school education and collegiate institutions. At 450 sign-ups, 350 participants, 65 policy submissions, nine speakers, and 19 countries represented, the Education Policython was a resounding success!
“Thank you so much for this amazing and essential Policython as we have been truly sure that we wanted to educate the public on these topics. This was the perfect opportunity for research and engaging everyone!” exclaimed a participant.
At the Education Policython, participants were encouraged to delve into topics impacting high school education systems and collegiate institutions, such as standardized testing, mental health, assessment and accountability, remote learning, racial and socioeconomic equity, sports and extracurricular activities, and special learning needs. During this policython, student attendees were invited to attend workshops and meet mentors who are real educators or professionals in educational reform — all while networking with a diverse, multinational network of peers. Participants also had access to mentor hours and resources curated by Policy for the People’s organizers and interns. The event’s goal was to equip the students with the necessary tools to create a change among their communities.
Upon submission, Policython participants were eligible to earn awards for their policy proposals, such as cash prizes, access cards to our partners’ subscription services, and post-event certificate letters.
The team now looks onto their next big event — the Researchathon from July 2–4, 2021. The Researchathon is a competition that funds and supports great youth-led environmental, social, and technology ideas. It is a research marathon for young people who have ideas that tackle ecological, social, and technological issues. We want new concepts for programs, companies, products, and projects that could use our support to be brought into reality. There will be four main tracks for the Researchathon- technology, environment, healthcare, and racial and sociocultural. Read more about us below:
If you are inspired by Policy For The People’s initiatives and hope to take part in the next great event, click the link below to sign up for the Researchathon!
