WKCD constantly looks for resources helpful to those wishing to teach and work with adolescents in new ways. We update this information regularly. Click below for websites that offer information, ideas, exemplars, and publications in the following categories:
Education and school reform
Education news, information, and electronic newsletters
Global education and action
Service learning, citizenship, and justice
Youth development and policy
Youth media
Youth voting and politics
For many of our feature stories, we also create a special resource collection. Click below for collections focusing on:
Making writing essential to teen lives
Summer abroad programs for high school students
Teaching about civil rights
Teens and music
Youth and water resources
Youth organizing for school reform
Alliance for Excellent Education
www.all4ed.org/
The Alliance for Excellent Education is a a national policy, research and advocacy organization acting on behalf of millions of at-risk, low-performing secondary school students. It promotes high school transformation so that every student graduates prepared for postsecondary education and success in life.
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
www.ascd.org/
(ASCD) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that represents 175,000 educators from more than 135 countries and 58 affiliates. Members span the entire profession of educators—superintendents, supervisors, principals, teachers, professors of education, and school board members. ASCD offers broad, multiple perspectives—across all education professions—in reporting key policies and practices.
Buck Institute for Education
www.bie.org
The Buck Institute for Education is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving schools by advancing knowledge about the practice of teaching and the process of learning. In addition to providing research and program evaluation services, the Institute collaborates with teachers to develop innovative practices in the areas of project-based learning, problem-based economics, and school-to-work.
Center for the Social Organization of Schools
http://web.jhu.edu/csos
CSOS is an educational research and development center at Johns Hopkins University. Researchers at CSOS study how changes in the social organization of schools can make them more effective for all students in promoting academic achievement, development of potential, and eventual career success.
Center on Education Policy
www.cep-dc.org/
The Center on Education Policy is a national, independent advocate for public education and for more effective public schools. The Center produces publications, convenes meetings, makes presentations, and, upon request, provides expert advice. The Center works jointly with many other education, business, state, and civic organizations.
Coalition of Essential Schools
www.essentialschools.org
Founded by noted education reformer Theodore R. Sizer, CES is a national network of over 1,000 schools, 19 regional centers, and a national office. The Coalition’s Ten Common Principles (in the areas of school design, classroom practice, leadership, and community connections) provide a universal thread among members, but each school decides how best to apply them. The CES website provides information about member schools and regional centers, practical tools and professional development resources, discussion groups, and research and publications—including Horace, the CES journal, and Reinventing High School: Six Journeys of Change, case studies of innovative high schools produced collaboratively by CES and Jobs For the Future. A new feature is the CES Fieldbook, an interactive online collection of resources contributed by member schools.
Communities In Schools
www.cisnet.org
Through training, technical assistance, and partnerships, Communities In Schools, Inc. supports a nationwide, independent network of 1,500 schools in 32 states and the District of Columbia devoted to helping young people stay in school, learn, and prepare for life. The website provides program descriptions, including How It Works, and links to network members, state and regional CIS offices, and national partner organizations.
Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago
http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/
CCSR is a public research organization focused on Chicago school reform efforts. Some topics of CCSR’s studies include high school curricular reform, student mobility, and the Chicago High School Redesign Initiative.
Education Trust
http://www2.edtrust.org/edtrust
The Education Trust works for the high academic achievement of all students and for the permanent closure of the achievement gap through advocacy backed up by policy, research and analysis, and direct assistance to school districts. The Education Trust believes that all children will learn at high levels when they are taught to high levels.
Educators for Social Responsibility
www.esrnational.org
Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR) helps teachers create safe, respectful, and productive learning environments and helps young people develop the social skills, emotional competencies, and qualities they need to succeed in school and beyond. The website posts free lesson plans and discussion guides about the war in Iraq and other conflicts, plus a monthly electronic newsletter and other helpful resources about conflict resolution.
Edutopia
www.edutopia.org/
Edutopia is the website for the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF), a nonprofit operating foundation to celebrate and encourage innovation in schools. GLEF documents, disseminates, and advocates for exemplary programs in K-12 public schools to help these practices spread nationwide.
Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound
www.elob.org
Expeditionary Learning Schools Outward Bound (ELS) is a comprehensive K-12 educational design. The approach combines rigorous academic content and real world projects -- learning expeditions -- with active teaching and community service. The ELS design focuses on teaching in an engaging way. Faculty members receive intensive professional development in curriculum, teaching practices, and building a strong school culture. Expeditionary Learning is now being implemented in over 140 urban, rural, and suburban schools.
Facing History and Ourselves
www.facinghistory.org
Facing History and Ourselves is a national educational and teacher training organization whose mission is to engage students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and anti-Semitism to promote a more humane and informed citizenry.
Family Involvement Network of Educators
www.finenetwork.org
The Family Involvement Network of Educators (FINE) is a member organization of 800 higher education faculty, trainers, and parent groups seeking to strengthen family involvement in schools. The FINE website offers an array of resources, such as monthly newsletters, bibliographies of current family involvement literature, and a variety of online research briefs, reports, and papers on family-school-community issues.
First Person
http://www.firstpersondocumentary.org/
This project, with roots in North Philadelphia, brings forward—through video, newsletters, and stories—the first-person experiences of students in Philadelphia high schools as they struggle to get to college.
Institute for Educational Leadership
www.iel.org/
IEL is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization based in Washington, DC that is aimed at increasing student achievement and preparing young people to meet the challenges of the 21st century. IEL’s mission is to build the capacity of individuals and organizations in education and related fields to work together—across policies, programs and sectors.
KnowledgeWorks Foundation
www.kwfdn.org/
The KnowledgeWorks Foundation aims to increase the number and diversity of people who value and access education, by creating and improving educational opportunity at pre-kindergarten through high school and post-high school institutions, and through community organizations.
Middle College National Consortium
www.laguardia.edu/mcnc/
The Middle College National Consortium is a professional development organization for secondary and post-secondary public-sector educators. The Consortium provides ongoing technical assistance and support to both new and established middle college high schools as they implement educational reforms and engage in professional activities
National Academy Foundation
www.naf.org
The National Academy Foundation (NAF) sustains a nation-wide network of career-themed Academies that are organized as small learning communities.
National Association for Multicultural Education
www.nameorg.org
The National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) is a network of educators from preschool through higher education committed to cultural pluralism and multicultural education. The website posts position papers, resolutions, and a calendar of events; it also hosts a listserv. Its extensive online resources link to articles, journals, publishers, film festivals, curriculum, grant opportunities, and more.
National Association of Secondary School Principals
www.principals.org
In existence since 1916, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the preeminent organization of and national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and aspiring school leaders from across the United States and more than 45 countries around the world. The mission of NASSP is to promote excellence in school leadership.
The National Clearing House for Comprehensive School Reform
www.csrclearinghouse.org
NCCSR collects and disseminates information that builds the capacity of schools to raise the academic achievement of all students. Their website includes models of comprehensive school reform, a library of resources, and step-by-step aids for implementing and assessing school-wide reform programs.
National Council of La Raza
www.nclr.org/
The largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., NCLR works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. NCLR provides support to Hispanic community-based organizations. It also conducts applied research, policy analysis, and advocacy, providing a Hispanic perspective on issues including assets/investments, civil rights/immigration, education, employment and economic status, and health.
National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform
www.mgforum.org/
The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform is an alliance of over 60 educators, researchers, national associations, and officers of professional organizations and foundations committed to promoting the academic performance and healthy development of young adolescents.
National High School Alliance
www.hsalliance.org/
The National High School Alliance is a partnership of over fifty organizations representing a diverse cross-section of perspectives and approaches, but sharing a common commitment to promoting the excellence, equity, and development of high school-age youth.
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
www.nwrel.org
The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) is a private, non-profit corporation particularly focused on educational improvement in the Northwest region of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. NWREL posts a variety of online research, including Kathleen Cotton's ground-breaking 1996 study on Small Schools, School Size, School Climate, and Student Performance, as well as her December 2001 literature review, New Small Learning Communities: Findings from Recent Literature.
Public Education Network
www.publiceducation.org
Public Education Network (PEN) is a national association of local education funds (LEFs) and individuals working to advance public school reform in low-income communities across the country. PEN recently launched an ambitious national campaign called Give Kids Good Schools, which provides Americans with the information and resources they need to take action in their communities and improve their public schools.
Rethinking Schools
www.rethinkingschools.org
The Milwaukee-based Rethinking Schools is an education journal with a focus on equity, written by and for teachers, parents, and students. Balancing classroom practice with educational theory, the activist publication believes public education is central to the creation of a humane, caring, multi-racial democracy. The website posts excerpts from the current issue, an index of articles, archives, and order information for other books and publications. An extensive online resource section links to helpful education sites, with a special collection on school vouchers.
Rural School and Community Trust
www.ruraledu.org
The Rural School and Community Trust is a national nonprofit dedicated to improving rural life by strengthening relationships between schools and communities and engaging students in community-based public work. The Rural Trust website features information and project descriptions of partner schools and communities involved in place-based education in 33 states. It also posts extensive material on rural education public policy, and a library of reports, newsletters, and other proceedings. The site also offers links to a large number of education-related sites and resources, as well as opportunities to join the Rural Trust network.
School Redesign Network at Stanford University
http://schoolredesign.net/
SRN’s mission is to help create, support and sustain equitable schools that are intellectually rigorous, high performing and provide all students with the opportunity to acquire the skills needed for college and to meet the workforce demands of the 21st century. SRN serves as a research-driven resource for schools, districts, charter developers and other support providers attempting to transform instructional, administrative, and organizational systems and cultures.
Small Schools Workshop
www.smallschools.com
A group of organizers, educators, and researchers based in Chicago, the Small Schools Workshop offers a wealth of online resources for those interested in small schools: a calendar of events and training opportunities; books, research reports, and bibliographies; speeches and interviews; listservs and a job board.
Small Schools Project
www.smallschoolsproject.org
The Small Schools Project, part of the University of Washington's Center on Reinventing Public Education at the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs, supports new small schools in Washington state and nationwide. Its web site posts an array of small schools resources--links to small schools and other organizations; research, academic papers, and digests of recent media articles; plus a variety of tools for interested educators and parents.
Teaching for Change
www.teachingforchange.org
A Washington, DC based non-profit, Teaching for Change provides teachers and parents with tools to transform schools into socially equitable centers of learning. The website offers a calendar of events, an online catalogue of books, videos, and posters for the classroom, and resources on terrorism, the war on Iraq, and socially relevant curriculum and school reform. “Behind the Headlines” links to sites and stories with critical analysis about current events typically missing from the mainstream media.
Edweek.org
www.edweek.org
Based in Washington, DC, Education Week and Teacher Magazine are published by Editorial Projects in Education (EPE). Both are leading periodicals in American education; most would call Education Week the newspaper "of record." At edweek.org, you can access articles and special features from Education Week and Teacher Magazine as well as a digest of daily education news from newspapers nationwide. You will also find EPE-published reports on a wide range of topics, as well as information on books of interest to educators.
EducationNews.org
www.ednews.org/
For education news without the frills, ednews.org offers a detailed digest of news articles and commentary updated daily. Browse news blasts, commentary, and reports on education-related topics in a mostly text-based interface. Articles are searchable by author, date, or topic. The website is also a good place to find book recommendations and education articles of interest picked out by the ednews.org staff from a breadth of periodicals and other publications.
EduWonk.com
www.eduwonk.com/
Written by Andrew Rotherham, co-founder and co-director of Education Sector, eduwonk.com is a blog that delivers education news, analysis, and commentary. Discussion topics are updated several times each week, along with interview transcripts and book reviews. Eduwonk.com also includes links to other education blogs on the web, education news and analysis websites, and other educational resources and organizations. Education Sector, the parent organization, is a non-profit and non-partisan education think tank.
PEN Weekly NewsBlast
www.publiceducation.org/subscribe.asp
The PEN Weekly NewsBlast is a free e-mail newsletter featuring school reform and school fundraising resources. The Public Education Network, a national association of 86 local education funds working to improve public school quality in low-income communities nationwide, produces it. There are currently 46,215 subscribers to the PEN Weekly NewsBlast. Subcribe:
Progressive Policy Institute
www.ppionline.org/
In an effort to turn away from the polarized "left-right" debate that marks much political discussion, the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) seeks to develop a more balanced dialogue, which they call "third way thinking." See their "Education" section for policy reports and articles relating to teacher quality, federal education policy, and innovative strategies.
SchoolMatters
www.schoolmatters.com
The just-unveiled SchoolMatters.com is the largest easily searchable collection of education performance data ever assembled. In addition to student achievement information, financial data and demographic breakdowns, the service includes powerful analytical tools and objective analyses provided by Standard & Poor's. It marks a collaboration among the Council of Chief State School Officers, Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services, Achieve, Inc., and the CELT Corporation.
Small Schools Listserv
This listserv posts daily articles from newspapers around the country about small schools, charter schools, and school reform efforts that take school size into account. It also provides an extraordinary window into the local struggles and triumphs of cities and towns nationwide, as they strive to improve their schools. In addition, the listserv provides an important forum for discussion, job postings, and queries among its members. Sign up: smallschools-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Stateline.org
www.stateline.org/
A politics and policy news-based website staffed entirely by professional journalists (and funded by the Pew Charitable Trust), stateline.org was originally intended as a resource for journalists who cover state government. Over the years, stateline.org has expanded its scope to publish articles and reports of interest to a broader group of consumers, organized on a state-by-state basis. Users can browse the website's archives by date, state, or issue. National legislation like No Child Left Behind is also covered in detail, and the site has a long list of useful links.
Capitol Forum
http://choices.edu/capitol_forum/index.cfm
How should the U.S. government manage its role in the complex network of international politics? How can youth express their opinions about U.S. behavior in the international community? The Capitol Forum, a program of Brown University's Choices Program, is a civics education initiative that puts high school students on the floor of their state capitols debating the U.S. role in global politics. This website provides information for starting Capitol Forum chapters around the country.
CitizenShift
http://citizen.nfb.ca/onf/info
CitizenShift is a global interactive platform where youth and adults can explore social issues through films, photography, articles, blogs and podcasts. Focusing on a new theme every month, this is a space to engage with other activists and creative people and share media. CitizenShift is inspired by Challenge for Change, a 1960s experimental National Film Board initiative that involved communities in the documentary filmmaking process. Topics for recent youth media projects include tolerance, peace and conflict resolution, and youth empowerment.
ePALS Classroom Exchange
www.epalscorp.com/
ePALS Classroom Exchange is an international organization that provides school-safe email and collaborative technology to classrooms all over the world. Used in 191 countries, ePALS's multilingual network has made it possible for more than 4.6 million students and educators to employ the Internet for communication and cross-cultural learning, and share their ideas and experiences with one another.
Global Classrooms: A Model UN Initiative
www.unausa.org/programs/gcmun.asp
While Model U.N. has been part of extra-curricular activities at colleges and high schools for more than two generations, the program is still seen as something that goes on outside the everyday curriculum. As such, the United Nations Association is broadening the scope of Model U.N. through programs like Global Classrooms, which integrates Model U.N. curriculum units into classroom instruction. This website features curriculum materials for teachers and an accompanying student workbook, research materials for issues of international policy, and links to Global Classrooms around the country.
Global Dimension
http://www.globaldimension.org.uk
This UK-based website provides free educational resources to teachers on themes like climate change, poverty, water, and fair trade. Included, too, are over 800 resources for teachers.
Global Kids
www.globalkids.org
A New York-based nonprofit, Global Kids (GK) helps prepare urban youth as global citizens and community leaders, offering professional development for teachers, in-class academic workshops, and training for youth in leadership development, global awareness, conflict resolution, school change, diversity, civic participation, and more. In addition to program information, the website offers profiles of GK student leaders, a monthly newsletter, a calendar of events, and links to other resources.
Global Schoolhouse
www.globalschoolhouse.org
In partnership with Lightspan.com, a free education portal, Global Schoolhouse offers extensive online resources and information on collaborative learning. The projects section of the website hosts a projects registry, an online database of hundreds of examples of effective collaborative learning projects, plus the specialized programs CyberFair, GeoGame, FieldTrips, and Newsday. Communications tools include online conferencing for connecting distant teachers and classrooms, mailing lists, discussion boards, and electronic newsletters. The professional development area posts links to resources and organizations.
The Globalist
www.theglobalist.com
The Globalist is a daily online magazine that features articles and media links related to the global economy, politics, and culture. Combining cutting analysis with story telling, the Globalist covers the most important people, companies, and organizations in the world. This site contains news articles updated daily, a research center, and a searchable archive of feature stories.
Global Youth Action Network
www.youthlink.org/gyanv5/index.htm
In partnership with TakingITGlobal, the Global Youth Action Network is a growing collaboration among youth organizations in almost 200 countries, providing resources and recognition to inspire, inform, and involve a generation in creating a better world. Online databases searchable by topic or geographic region catalogue thousands of articles, interviews, organizations, resources, events, and opportunities. The site also posts information for project ideas, funding possibilities, and material on the annual Global Youth Service Day. Members can join discussions with real-time translations available in seven languages. And don’t miss the Global Gallery, which accepts online submissions of art and writing and exhibits the work of youth from all over the world.
Global Youth Connect
www.globalyouthconnect.org/
Global Youth Connect is devoted to inspiring, supporting, and connecting youth who are working to protect human rights around the world. After a global conference in Rwanda in 1997, a group of young international leaders bonded together to build an organization whose goal would be to prevent such atrocities from occurring in the first place. This website contains an explanation of the many programs Global Youth Connect is involved with, as well as contact information for project coordinators around the world.
Idealist.org
www.idealist.org
A project of Action without Borders, Idealist.org aims to build a world where all people can live free and dignified lives in a healthy environment. The site serves as a clearinghouse for information, job openings, volunteer opportunities, internships, events, and resources posted by nonprofits in 153 countries. A special Kids and Teen section offers information, resources, and extensive links regarding volunteer opportunities, starting and funding projects, and forums for discussing personal issues. Particularly impressive is the directory (with links) of organizations started by youth.
iEARN
www.iearn.org
iEARN, the International Education and Resource Network, is a nonprofit that helps students worldwide work together via the Internet and other technologies on projects that enhance learning and benefit society. The iEARN network includes over 20,000 schools in nearly 110 countries, reaching approximately 1 million students each day. Though much of the website is dedicated to iEARN participants, non-members have access to a wealth of project ideas—in language and creative arts, social studies, and math/science/the environment, among others. Also available to general users are teacher guides to international collaboration on the Internet and “Connecting Cultures” (a post-September 11 resource). The site displays extensive collections of students’ work, including anthologies of essays and poetry, websites, art exhibits, reports to government officials, and more.
InternationalEd.org
www.internationaled.org/
InternationalEd.org is a website for Asia Society's initiative to improve K-12 teaching and learning about the geography, history, economics, culture and languages of other world regions. Its current work focuses on creating small international studies secondary schools; a network of states that's examining ways to make statewide improvements in international studies in the schools; supportive national policies and creative partnerships to help spread the message about the importance of international studies to our nation's future. The website provides information about small school design on curricular resources on international studies for states on conducting research and leveraging resources to make international education a new basic in schools on national initiatives that support international studies in schools.
International Youth Foundation
www.iyfnet.org
A global network operating in 31 countries, the International Youth Foundation (IYF) and its partner organizations identify effective programs for children and young people, advocate for improved policymaking, and work to increase philanthropy for youth. The IYF website offers information on nearly 150 programs in 30 countries, which can be browsed either by country/region or by area of focus. It also posts roughly a dozen country reports and provides links to its 33 partner organizations in 31 countries.
NetAid Global Citizen Corps
www.netaid.org/global_citizen_corps/
NetAid educates, inspires, and empowers young people to fight the pandemic of global poverty. Its Global Citizens Corps educates young people in the U.S. about impoverished areas of the world and helps them mobilize resources in their schools to combat world poverty.
One World Youth Project
http://www.oneworldyouthproject.org/index.html/
One World Youth Project was founded in 2004 by then 18 year-old Jessica Rimington from Massachusetts, United States. It is a unique sister-school program for middle and high school students, linking groups in the US and Canada with groups from around the world together in learning partnerships for the purpose of community service toward the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
Peace Child International
www.peacechild.org
An international nonprofit based in the U.K., Peace Child International empowers young people to inform themselves and take action to change the world. It has grown since its founding in 1982 to include over 500 youth groups in 120 countries, with consultative status at the United Nations. Its signature program, Be the Change!, helps young people worldwide plan, propose, and complete projects in areas like environmental conservation, sustainable development, human rights, education, and health. The website offers opportunities for online discussions, free newsletters, and order forms for reports and publications.
Peace Corps
www.peacecorps.gov/wws/
The Peace Corps has launched a new web-based initiative to give educators and students the tools and resources to plan, develop, create, perform, and evaluate a service-learning project. Online features include project ideas, lesson plans, guides to standards, links to other service-learning sites, and stories and tips from returned Peace Corps volunteers. The site is part of a larger website called World Wise Schools (www.peacecorps.gov/wws/), an inquiry-based education program that connects classrooms to current Peace Corps volunteers and offers lesson plans and materials about other countries and cultures—including maps, statistics, videos, stories, letters, and other primary sources.
Schools Online
www.schoolsonline.org
Schools Online helps students access the Internet for learning and cross-cultural dialogue. By developing Internet Learning Centers and facilitating teacher professional development, Schools Online has equipped nearly 6,000 schools in the U.S. and over 400 schools abroad with equipment and resources to get online. The website includes a useful digest of technical resources for teachers.
TakingITGlobal
www.takingitglobal.org
TakingITGlobal is a global online community, a network of tens of thousands of young leaders in over 200 countries, creating positive change in their communities and around the world. Membership is free and allows visitors to interact with various members of the community, to contribute ideas and experiences, and get inspired.
TUNZA for Youth
www.unep.org/tunza/youth
A sector of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), TUNZA for Youth was initiated in 2003 as a long-term strategy for engaging young people in environmental activities. The word "TUNZA" means "to treat with care or affection" in Kiswahili (a sub-regional language of Eastern Africa). Supporting environmental awareness and information exchange, TUNZA works to foster a generation of environmentally conscious citizens, capable of positive action.
UNICEF: Voices of Youth
www.unicef.org/voy
Started in 1995, Voices of Youth is dedicated to making sure young people from all countries learn more, say more, and do more about the world they live in. The website offers discussion boards, interactive stories, and guidance for how to take action that allow youth to partner across the globe on issues related to human rights and social change.
World Savvy
www.worldsavvy.org
World Savvy’s mission is to educate and engage youth in community and world affairs. Through three core programs for youth and educators, World Savvy helps young people develop skills for thinking critically about global issues in the 21st century. Those core programs now reach 6,000 students and more than 350 teachers annually in California and New York, and the website has valuable resources for teachers and students.
YouthActionNet
www.youthactionnet.org
Looking for a way to build a website or publish work from a youth web page? This website created by and for young people spotlights the vital role that youth play in leading positive change throughout the world. It also includes a space for youth web-publishing, plus information on volunteer, educational, scholarship, grant, and job opportunities.
Youthink!
www.youthink.worldbank.org
On this website managed by the World Bank, youth can find information about global issues like poverty, development, and conflict, all gathered by experts from the World Bank. Hundreds of articles and interactive web pages are sorted by issue, geographic region, or target audience. You can even submit reactions to stories on the site, which are then published.
Youth Philanthropy Worldwide
www.ypworldwide.org
Youth Philanthropy Worldwide helps young people contribute to the global community by hosting workshops that mobilize local activism. Projects range from fighting the AIDS pandemic to supporting international women's rights. Find information about Youth Philanthropy and affiliated organizations on their website.
At the Table
www.atthetable.org
At the Table, an initiative of the Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development, works to build a national movement for youth participation in governance and decision making. The website is an online clearinghouse that brings together youth involvement advocates and practitioners by providing opportunities to share information and collaborate. Resources on the site include: a calendar of events and news from the youth participation field; online discussion boards; user-posted handouts and links; and an online workroom for youth voice advocates hosted as part of the Forum for Youth Investment’s Youth Today, Youth Tomorrow site.
Campus Compact
www.compact.org
Campus Compact is a national coalition of nearly 1,100 college and university presidents— representing some 5 million students—dedicated to promoting community service, civic engagement, and service-learning in higher education. The site provides information and resources on civic engagement, service learning, and activism in higher education.
Community Celebration of Place
www.communitycelebration.org
Community Celebration of Place (CCP) strengthens community spirit and pride by bringing together children and elders through music, performance, art, and oral history. The website gives a detailed, how-to guide to CCP’s signature program, Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s Song, in which students interview elders, then create and perform songs honoring their lives at a community-wide celebration. Also online are all 48 verses of the song, “I love the Mississippi River,” written by CCP Director Larry Long and children from river communities as part of the River Celebration program.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
www.crf-usa.org
Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to educating America’s young people about the importance of civic participation in a democratic society. It provides technical assistance and training to teachers, coordinates civic participation projects in schools and communities, organizes student conferences and competitions, and develops publications in the areas of law and government and civic participation. Several CRF programs support action and leadership by high school students in Los Angeles, its home base.
Council on Michigan Foundations: Learning to Give
www.learningtogive.org/
How do we engage children in civic life? How do we harness youthful idealism and combat growing cynicism? How do we teach caring about others, particularly those less fortunate? What is missing from our courses in government, history, economics, sociology, psychology, and philosophy that results in young adults without understanding or passion for the noble ideas of their society? With these questions as starting points, Learning to Give has evolved into a comprehensive K-12 program for transmitting the philanthropic tradition to the next generation.
Do Something
www.dosomething.org
Do Something is a nationwide network of young people taking action to change their own communities and the world around them. Do Something programs sponsor a membership network, the Kindness & Justice Challenge, a Community Connections Campaign, and the Brick Awards. Its website offers program descriptions and wide-ranging opportunities for expressing student voice—from contests, polls, and discussions groups to the posting of young people’s stories, essays, poetry, and artwork.
Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing
www.fcyo.org
Established in 2000, the Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing (FCYO) is a collective of national, regional, and local foundations and youth organizing practitioners dedicated to advancing youth organizing as a strategy for youth development and social change. In addition to program descriptions and information, the website’s downloadable resources include a request-for-proposal, and a newsletter. The list of grantees provides links to grassroots youth organizing groups all over the country.
Learning In Deed
www.learningindeed.org
Launched by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in 1998, Learning In Deed was a $13 million, four-year national initiative to encourage more school systems across the country to adopt service-learning opportunities—the linking of community service experiences to classroom academics—for their students. The Learning In Deed website provides a wide range of useful resources: program descriptions and updates; papers, reports, and research findings; policy agendas and issue briefs; and conference proceedings, tools, and extensive links to other service-learning sites. It also offers practical communications tips to help educators, students, and community partners attract the attention of media and policymakers.
Learn and Serve America
www.learnandserve.org
Learn and Serve America, a program of Corporation for National and Community Service, focuses on all dimensions of service-learning, covering kindergarten through higher education as well as community-based initiatives. The website includes online databases of past and current events, literature, and service-learning programs; listservs; videos, bibliographies, monographs, state reports, and other publications, including two self-assessment instruments for measuring the quality of service-learning programs. Included as well are links to statistical information, awards, funding opportunities, state agencies, and school, university, and international service-learning programs.
Minnesota Toolkit for Giving
www.minnesotagiving.org/resources/youth.htm
Included here is a compendium of publications, tools, and organizational links covering four areas: teaching philanthropy in schools, youth volunteering and community service, youth as funders, and youth philanthropy publications.
National Service-Learning Partnership
www.service-learningpartnership.org
Sponsored by the Academy for Educational Development, the National Service-Learning Partnership serves as a hub for more than 1,200 individuals and organizations committed to enhancing the visibility and quality of service-learning in schools and communities across the country. Available on the website are an electronic newsletter, policy briefs, advocacy skill-building workshops, and a calendar of conferences and events. A monthly email service provides legislative news and advocacy information to help service-learning supporters track relevant state and federal legislation.
National Youth Leadership Council
www.nylc.org
Picking up trash by a riverbank is service. Studying water samples under a microscope is learning. When students collect and analyze water samples and the local pollution control agency uses the findings to clean up a river, that is service-learning. For more than two decades, NYLC has led a movement empowering youth to transform themselves from recipients of information and resources into valuable, contributing members of a democracy. Find links to programs, services, and new stories on their website.
Teaching Tolerance
www.tolerance.org
A web project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Tolerance.org supports anti-bias activism in every venue of American life. The site provides daily news clippings, innovative tests to help uncover hidden biases, guidebooks and other resources for parents, teachers, and youth activists, and an e-newsletter distributed twice every month. Mix It Up, a youth program and special section of the site, supports the efforts of student activists willing to identify, question, and cross the social boundaries that create divisions and misunderstandings in schools and communities. It posts stories and news about national Mix It Up at Lunch Day—where students sit somewhere new, with someone new in their school cafeterias—as well as information about dialogue groups and Mix It Up grants for student projects. Also available are tips for taking action, an electronic newsletter, free downloadable posters, E-cards, and online polls.
Teens as Community Builders
www.pps.org/tcb/index.html
To combat negative press coverage of youth, Teens as Community Builders is a website that highlights teens’ improvements to public places. Among the featured projects and programs: young people in Phoenix who helped design a widely used teen center at a new library; San Francisco youth who grow produce in a community garden, then use it to make and sell specialty jams and vinegars; Chicago teens who transformed a vacant lot into an arts community. The site also provides links to resources and organizations, plus tip sheets for adults planning to launch a teen program and for young people hoping to start a project of their own. The nonprofit Project for Public Spaces, dedicated to creating public places that build community, sponsors the website.
Youth on Board
www.youthonboard.org
Youth on Board is a nonprofit working to build more successful relationships between youth and adults. The group prepares young people to become leaders and decision makers in all areas of their lives and works to ensure that policies, practices, and laws reflect young people’s role as full and valued members of their communities. The website offers listings and descriptions of available trainings, guides, and other resources and posts an excellent directory (complete with descriptions, contact information, and links) of other youth activist organizations.
YouthNetwork.org
http://www.youthnetwork.org/Index.aspx
Youthnetwork.org helps people find youth programs and services in their communities. Started in the summer of 2007, it aims to provide information about every community resource for youth in the country. It encourages and accepts entries from youth-serving agencies nationwide, hoping that users will help build the website.
YouthNOISE
www.youthnoise.com
An initiative of Save the Children, YouthNOISE empowers young people to improve their own and others’ lives through philanthropy, service, and policy. The website provides articles and factoids to inform young people about issues ranging from youth violence and teen pregnancy to homelessness and body image. Toolkits and other tips offer practical advice on how to work with Congress or get involved at home, and a database searchable by zip code details local volunteer opportunities. The site identifies grant, scholarship, and giving opportunities (YouthNOISE raised $10,000 for an Afghan girls’ education effort). Contests, quizzes, polls, and discussion boards, plus space for essays, poetry, and reflections, offer multiple forms for youth expression.
Youth Service America
www.ysa.org
Youth Service America (YSA) is an alliance of 300+ organizations committed to increasing the quantity and quality of service opportunities for young people. Its exhaustive online resource center features ServeNet, a database of service and volunteer opportunities, searchable by zip code, that also includes statistics and trends in youth service, online publications, award opportunities, even quotable quotes. The National Service Briefing provides weekly updates of the latest information on legislation, funding, awards, job openings, best practices, etc. Project Plan-It!, an interactive series of questions and templates, helps users develop their own service project plan, funding proposal, press release, and reflection sheets. YSA also posts Tip Sheets on topics ranging from fundraising and recruiting volunteers to building strong youth-adult partnerships.
Youth Venture
www.youthventure.org
A nonprofit based in Arlington, Virginia, Youth Venture is working to build a mass movement of young people with the vision and energy to make positive change to benefit their communities. Youth Venture also builds partnerships with other local, regional, and national youth-serving organizations to support young people in creating and launching their own enterprises. The website features articles and newsletters, descriptions of successful ventures, and links to other youth empowerment organizations, resources, and contacts for technical assistance. A “members only” section offers chat rooms, listservs, and opportunities for Venturers to share ideas, questions, and common concerns.
Academy for Educational Development (AED)
www.aed.org
AED is an independent nonprofit organization committed to solving critical social problems—regarding health, education, youth development, and the environment—in the U.S. and abroad. AED’s youth work focuses on after-school programs, youth development and empowerment, and youth worker training. For each of these four areas, the AED website contains program and project descriptions, publications, training and volunteer opportunities, and links to resources.
American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF)
www.aypf.org
The American Youth Policy Forum is a nonpartisan professional development organization providing learning opportunities for policymakers—legislative staff, government officials, researchers, and advocates—working on youth issues at the local, state, and national levels. In addition to producing easy-to-read publications, AYPF hosts for policymakers 35-40 lunchtime forums on Capitol Hill and 8-10 “field trips” per year in three main areas: Improving Education and Academic Performance, Preparation for Careers, and Youth and Community Development. The AYPF website features publications and research, Forum Briefs, and Trip Reports. It also provides helpful links to government agencies, nonprofits, and AYPF funders.
Children Now
www.childrennow.org
california-based Children Now utilizes research and mass communications to make the well-being of children a top priority across the country. Its program areas focus on: Health, Education and Child Care, Media, and Investing in Children. The website makes available an extensive collection of information and resources, including publications, poll results, policy papers, press material, action updates on federal and state legislation, an online newsletter, and over 300 links to other websites devoted to children's issues.
Connect for Kids (CFK)
www.connectforkids.org
Connect for Kids, an award-winning multimedia project of the Benton Foundation, helps adults make their communities better places for families and children by bringing together meaningful information, success stories, and ideas for action. An alternative news source on the Internet, the Connect for Kids website provides solutions-oriented coverage of critical issues for children and families. The website annotates and links to over 1,000 other sites and to 1,500 service and advocacy organizations. Fifty-one U.S. state pages (including the District of Columbia) link visitors to resources at the state and local level. The CFK also keeps a blog on the site on child- and teen-related issues. The site also posts a weekly newsletter and a monthly bulletin highlighting original articles, profiles, and interviews from Connect for Kids.
Families and Work Institute
www.familiesandwork.org
Families and Work Institute (FWI) is a non-profit research center that fosters supportive connections among workplaces, families, and communities. The FWI website provides information on research projects and conferences, order forms for publications, and sign-ups for speaking presentations. Online Community Mobilizing forums give detailed advice on initiating community action projects, including tips on assessing needs, financing, governance, public engagement, and evaluation.
Forum for Youth Investment
www.forumforyouthinvestment.org
The Forum for Youth Investment (the Forum) is dedicated to increasing the quality and quantity of youth investment and youth involvement by promoting a “big picture” approach to planning, research, advocacy, and policy development among the organizations that invest in children, youth, and families. To do this, the Forum is committed to building connections, increasing capacity, and tackling persistent challenges across the allied youth fields. The website contains detailed organizational and program descriptions, as well as a resource section of papers, articles, editorials, speeches, presentations, and other tools created by Forum staff and consultants.
4-H USA
www.4husa.org
4-H is the youth education branch of the Cooperative Extension Service, a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (Each state and county has access to a County Extension office for both youth and adult programs.) Stressing experiential projects, service, and volunteerism, 4-H helps young people reach their fullest potential by developing life skills, learning by doing, and using the knowledge of the land-grant university system. The 4-H website offers opportunities for youth to express themselves through listservs, chat rooms, and the posting of personal writings. It also provides news and information about events, awards, and contests. The site hosts extensive links to other youth development organizations and to over 150 curriculum samples and project ideas for experiential learning in various areas (such as Citizenship and Civic Education, Environmental Education and Earth Science, Personal Development and Leadership).
The Future of Children
www.futureofchildren.org
A journal of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and the Brookings Institute, The Future of Children promotes effective policies and programs for children by providing policymakers, service providers, and the media with the best available research. The website posts current and past issues of the journal, accompanied by executive summaries and author bios. Other online resources provide fast facts of important child well-being statistics, an index of all journal figures and tables, and a free email newsletter. Interactive tools include “My Journal Library,” which allows visitors to create their own collection of specific journal articles, and a conversations section where users can submit questions to and participate in online discussions with journal authors and editors.
The Innovation Center
www.theinnovationcenter.org/
The Innovation Center works with organizations to foster innovation in several aspects of youth and community development: youth governance, involvement, and civic activism; evaluation, research, and learning exchange; organizational development; and technology for community building. In each focus area, the website identifies available products (handbooks, toolkits, brochures, videos), posts downloadable documents, and provides links to similar organizations. Also available is much of its hallmark Building Community model, an adaptable approach to community building in which youth and adults work as partners to examine community assets, identify a common vision, and take action to create sustainable change.
Jobs for the Future (JFF)
www.jff.org
Seeking to prepare all young people for the future, JFF concentrates on three main program areas: creating successful transitions from high school to higher education and career-track employment; increasing opportunities for low-income individuals to move into family-supporting careers; and meeting the growing economic demand for a knowledgeable and skilled workforce. The JFF website hosts detailed program descriptions of major initiatives including “Building Economic Opportunity for Adults” and “Improving Youth Transitions.” The JFF Knowledge Center provides access to all JFF publications and products, as well as to information about JFF projects.
National Youth Development Information Center (NYDIC)
www.nydic.org
NYDIC is a project of the National Collaboration for Youth, 33 of the country’s leading national youth development organizations that work together to advocate for improved conditions and opportunities for the positive development of youth. As well as links to the Collaboration members, the NYDIC website contains information about virtually every facet of youth development: definitions of youth development terms and descriptions of projects, programs, and coalitions; research findings and information about how to evaluate youth development programs; briefings on federal and state youth policy issues; youth-related statistics and data collections; directories of youth organizations; funding, job, internship, and training opportunities; and various other publications.
Search Institute
www.search-institute.org
Search Institute is dedicated to advancing the well-being of children and adolescents through research, communications, networking, and training. At the heart of the Institute’s work is “40 Developmental Assets,” a research-based framework of the positive experiences, relationships, opportunities, and personal qualities necessary for young people to develop into healthy, caring, and responsible individuals. The Institute’s website offers discussion groups, polls, surveys, tools, and training opportunities, as well as a link to the National Promises recent study, “Every Child, Every Promise: Turning Failure into Action.” Also available for download are the Institute’s Mentoring Tools. The site also posts a full catalogue of guides, videos, pamphlets, and other resources and products available for online sale.
Youth Today
www.youthtoday.org/youthtoday/
Published ten times per year by the nonprofit American Youth Work Center, Youth Today is an independent, national newspaper for child and youth service professionals covering such issues as youth development, juvenile justice, violence and gang prevention, adolescent health, teen pregnancy, sex, and parenting. The website posts the full text of the current issue, plus an archive of previous articles. It also provides a news digest of media stories on children and youth, links to available grant opportunities, and a calendar of conferences, workshops, and other events.
Arts Engine
www.artsengine.net/
Arts Engine, Inc. supports, produces, and distributes independent media of consequence and promotes the use of independent media by advocates, educators and the general public. Its Youth Media Distribution Initiative (YMDi) is a comprehensive series of online and offline programs that boost the distribution and impact of youth-made films. Its annual Media That Matters Film Festival includes award-winning films by youth from around the country.
Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC)
www.bavc.org/nextgen/
Since 1976, BAVC has been connecting underserved populations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area with new opportunities in media technology. Since the late nineties, BAVC has nourished a new generation of young media makers through YouthLink, a comprehensive after school program in web design and video production. Its “Next Generation Programs” website includes music to download, original videos to watch, and lots of student work. There is also digital arts and video curriculum for teachers.
Boston Teens in Print
http://www.bostontip.com/
Started in 2003, Teens in Print is a quarterly youth-produced newspaper that reaches students and teachers across Boston. Through it, Boston teens create an outlet to inform, communicate, and provide positive change through written expression. Youth from Boston’s Artists for Humanities provide vibrant art and photography.
Blunt Radio
www.bluntradio.org/
Since 1994, Blunt Youth Radio Project has created a space for young people in the Portland area to explore their community and develop their voice through the first hand experience of media creation. All participants in the program receive free training in hosting, reporting, engineering, and digital audio production. The hour-long show features two teen hosts who interview guests on topical issues. The team's reporters produce public-radio-style features to expand on the week's theme. Topics range from the serious: the genocide in Darfur - to the light-hearted: teen dating.
Center for Media Justice
www.youthmediacouncil.org/
Formerly the Youth Media Council, the Center for Media Justice is a youth organizing, leadership development, media literacy, and watchdog project. With representatives from eleven of the Bay Area’s most vibrant youth organizations, the Center for Media Justice aims to strengthen Northern California’s growing youth movement by providing the resources, strategies, and skills needed for strong and effective media spokespeople and advocates for social justice.
Educational Video Center
www.evc.org
Educational Video Center is a nonprofit media arts center in New York City that teaches documentary video production and media analysis to youth, educators, and community organizers. EVC uses video and multi-media to develop the literacy, research, public speaking, and work preparation skills of at-risk youth. The website features downloadable classroom curriculum and viewer guides, online purchase of videos and production handbooks, and clips from EVC’s “Top Ten” student documentaries chosen from 75 entries.
In the Mix
www.pbs.org/inthemix/
In the Mix is a weekly PBS television series produced by teens for teens that gives young people a voice on topics that matter most to them—from money management, media literacy, and politics to body image, dating violence, and school reform. The website posts an online program catalogue for ordering videotapes, with selected titles available with Spanish subtitles
Just Think
www.justthink.org
Just Think teaches young people to understand the words and images in media, and to think for themselves. Their website features examples of youth-produced informational media about topics ranging from hip-hop music to consumer rights. You can also find information on the many programs Just Think sponsors across the country that help kids think critically about the deluge of information the media presents to them everyday.
Justice Learning
www.justicelearning.org
Inspired by programs from NPR's "Justice Talking" series and commentary articles from The New York Times, students involved with Justice Learning discuss issues and current events relevant to their lives. The Justice Learning website provides essays and audio clips authored by top journalists, with issues ranging from UN peacekeeping and civil liberties in war to voting right, to help fuel informed discussion among high school students.
LA Youth
www.layouth.com
LA Youth newspaper is a countywide, teen-written publication with a readership of 300,000 youth and adults. Published six times a year, it has been in operation 1988. Its summer internship program gives area teens with an interest in journalism a chance to research, interview, and write alongside an adult LA Youth editor. The newspaper’s young reporters have appeared on local television and radio as well as NPR’s Morning Edition. The LA Youth website includes a database of countywide teen services, links, ideas for lesson plans for teachers, and tips for parents of adolescents.
Listen Up!
www.listenup.org/
Listen Up! is a youth media network that connects young video producers and their allies to resources, support, and projects in order to develop an authentic youth voice in the mass media. It is a project of Learning Matters, Inc., a documentary production company that explores issues on youth and learning for public television. Listen Up! awards grants for projects and workshops that assist youth in creating broadcast quality productions; manages a website that enables educators and producers to exchange resources and showcase their work; organizes events and national screening opportunities; and provides networking opportunities to assist with distribution of youth media,
Pacific News Service
www.pacificnews.org
Pacific News Service is a web-based multimedia firm promoting the voices of California’s youth and ethnic populations. In addition to essays, artwork, poetry, and photography, PNS’ online publications include its flagship youth publication YO! (Youth Outlook) and The Beat Within, a magazine of writing and artwork by young people in Northern California detention facilities. (PNS also hosts conversations and workshops for incarcerated youth). PNS produces YO! Radio, a weekly five-minute radio segment and a weekly television talk program in collaboration with New California Media, a coalition of 75 ethnic news organizations and outlets.
Radio Arte
www.wrte.org/
Radio Arte, a youth initiative of the National Museum of Mexican Art, is an educational radio station that has served the Pilsen/ Little Village neighborhood of Chicago since 1998. It provides a forum for young people to be creative and responsible to the largest Mexican community in the Midwest as the only bilingual (Spanish/English), youth-operated, urban, community station in the country.
Radio Rookies
www.wnyc.org/radiorookies/
Radio Rookies® is a New York Public Radio® initiative that provides teenagers with the tools and training to create radio stories about themselves, their communities and their world. Since 1999, Radio Rookies has conducted workshops across New York City, in predominantly under-resourced neighborhoods, training young people to use words and sounds to tell true stories. Upon completion, the Rookies' documentaries air on WNYC.
Street-Level Youth Media
www.street-level.org/
Street-Level Youth Media educates Chicago’s inner-city youth in media arts and emerging technologies for use in self-expression, communication, and social change. Street-Level programs build self-esteem and critical thinking skills for urban youth typically neglected by policy makers and mass media. Using video production, computer art, and the Internet, young people address community issues, access advanced technology, and gain inclusion in our information-based society.
Video Machete
http://www.videomachete.org/
Video Machete is a Chicago-based collective of community activists, educators, media artists, and youth, dedicated to increasing democracy and equity in American society through media education, production, and distribution. Since 1994, Video Machete has conducted more than 100 workshops for over 1,000 participants in multimedia production resulting in hundreds of digital media works on issues such as criminal justice, education reform, gentrification, and immigration. Its Youth Media Online program integrates youth media into broader movements for social change and educational reform.
Wiretap
http://www.wiretapmag.org/
A project of AlterNet.org—the independent news and syndication service—and the Independent Media Institute, WireTap is an independent information source by and for socially conscious youth. It aims to challenge stereotypes, inspire creativity, foster dialogue, and give young people a voice in the media while providing a space for a new generation of writers, artists, and activists to network, organize, and mobilize. The online magazine provides a weekly index of investigative news articles, personal essays, and commentaries by and about young people (and welcomes submissions from site visitors).
Youth Media Reporter
http://www.youthmediareporter.org/
The Youth Media Reporter (YMR) began as a project of the Open Society Institute. In January 2007 YMR made a second debut—new and expanded—under the wing of the Academy for Educational Development in New York City. Although its primary audience is adults who work in youth media, YMR’s thoughtful, edgy, and informative articles should engage anyone interested in today’s youth culture and its relationship to technology and media. The new YMR will include opportunities for educators and young people to submit their own articles, along with student work in video, television, radio, web, art, and print.
Youth Radio
www.youthradio.org
A Bay Area-based nonprofit, Youth Radio offers training in broadcasting and journalism for young people aged 14 to 17. Special programs serve incarcerated youth, take media education to the streets (via a mobile unit), and offer assistance and guidance for college-bound teens. The National Network, a series of partnerships with local stations and youth agencies, expands the program to half a dozen cities nationwide. The website features youth-produced radio programs (RealPlayer needed), a webzine written by and for teens (YouthInControl.org), and message boards and discussion groups.
Youth Communication
www.youthcomm.org
Youth Communication trains teenagers in journalism and publishes two award-winning magazines written by and for young people. The website posts current and back issues of NYC (New Youth Connections), a general interest magazine by and for youth in New York City, and Foster Care Youth United, written by and for young people in foster care, homeless shelters, and other youth facilities. It also features many samples of student writing from teenagers participating in special Youth Communication training programs that complement their magazines—such as Girls’ Writing Group and Voices of Youth (for foster kids). Also posted are curriculum guides and training opportunities for teachers, social workers, and other professionals who work with youth.
YPress
http://www.ypress.org/
YPress is an Indianapolis-based nonprofit news bureau that gives youth a voice in the world through journalism. Stories are researched, reported and written by reporters (ages 10-13) and editors (ages 14-18) for audiences of all ages. YPress produces a weekly Sunday column that appears in The Indianapolis Star (370,000 circulation), as well as radio commentaries for the local public radio station. YPress reporters covered the presidential conventions in 2004 and will do so again in 2008, as well as producing special features each year from around the world.
Arsalyn Program of Ludwick Family Foundation
www.arsalyn.org
A non-partisan, non-issue based organization that encourages young Americans to become informed and active participants in the electoral process.
Black Youth Vote!
http://www.ncbcp.org/byv.html
An initiative of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation that focuses on the 18-35 year old black youth voting age population, educating and training them to identify issues and influence public policy through participation.
CIRCLE
www.civicyouth.org
Conducts, collects, and funds research on the civic and political participation of young Americans. A source for the latest statistics and trends on youth civic engagement topics.
Declare Yourself
www.declareyourself.com
A national nonpartisan campaign to energize young voters; includes a live spoken word and music tour of college campuses, a nationwide voter education initiative for high school students, and public service announcements.
Hip Hop Caucus
http://www.hiphopcaucus.org/
Hip Hop Caucus was founded with the aim of getting out the vote in the 2004 presidential election. Since then, it has evolved into an organization aimed at empowering the Hip Hop generation to participate in the policymaking process.
KidsVotingUSA
www.kidsvotingusa.org
Works with schools and communities to provide youth an authentic voting experience. Participating students visit official polling sites on Election Day and cast a ballot similar in content to the official ballot. Involves 4.3 million students in 20,000 voter precincts.
The League of Young Voters
http://theleague.com/
The League of Young Voters aims to empower young people in the political process, and to build a progressive governing majority.
Millennial Politics
www.millennialpolitics.com
Millennial Politics.com is dedicated to educating and motivating people about youth activism and the politics of the Millennial Generation (Americans 25 and younger). The site provides links to other youth activist groups and resources, hosts active discussion boards for young people, and distributes a weekly newsletter. “Team Millennial” is a group of 200 young people working together to write a book about the activism of the generation and the issues discussed at the site.
Rock the Vote
www.rockthevote.org
Engages youth in the political process by incorporating the entertainment community and youth culture into its activities. Coordinates voter registration drives, get-out-the-vote events, and voter education efforts.
Your Three Cents
http://yourthreecents.com/blog/
Your Three Cents targets America's youth to stand up and speak out on what is going on across the nation and in their lives. This site gives everyone the opportunity to ask and answer questions pertaining to the political world state of affairs. Not affiliated with any party, religion or gender, this site is a way for kids, Generation Y, as well as young adults to say what they really think.
Youth Activism Project
www.youthactivism.com
Formerly Activism 2000, the Youth Activism project encourages young people to pursue their ideas for community change. The website posts dozens of success stories showing youth creating teen centers, reforming school policies, changing laws, and otherwise taking action to better their communities. A toll-free hotline (1-800 KID-POWER) offers free advice. The online national clearinghouse also makes available action handbooks, videos, a free monthly e-newsletter, and extensive links to other resources for teens and their adult allies.
