Guide to Youth-Adult Partnerships for Democratic Schools

This guide was created through a partnership with Mikva Challenge and New York City public schools as a way to support the cultivation of democratic classrooms and schools throughout the integration of youth voice in classrooms and schools. It offers educators, school leaders, and young people a clear understanding of the district's approach to youth-adult partnerships. This guide can be applies to youth at all grade levels. It includes the developmental considerations that ensure students are engaged appropriately and meaningfully, and provided with concrete structures, strategies, and examples that help bring this work to life. 

Our goal is to build a system in which all students see themselves as valued contributors to their school community, and where adults are equipped to cultivate the skills, mindsets, and relationships necessary to honor and elevate student voice in every grade, every classroom, and every school across every city and state.