Strategic Plan 2012-2015

(2012)

(Strategic Plan 2012-2015)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEVELOPMENT OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN3

OVERVIEW3

ACCOMPLISHMENTS3

YOUNG VOICES (YV) HISTORY3

YOUNG VOICES MODEL DIFFERENTIATES IT FROM ITS PEERS3

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES AT A GLANCE3

GOAL A: YOUNG VOICES SITE EXPANSION PLAN3

GOAL B: LEADERSHIP TRAINING ACADEMY IMPROVEMENT PLAN3

GOAL C: ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING PLAN3

YOUNG VOICES EVALUATION PLAN3

YOUNG VOICES BOARD DEVELOPMENT PLAN3

Current Board Structure3

New Re-Designed Board Structure3

YOUNG VOICES BUDGET PROJECTIONS3

YOUNG VOICES STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN3

YOUNG VOICES BOARD WILL MONITOR PROGRESS BY REVIEWING TARGETS3

APPENDIX A: DETAILED SITE EXPANSION PLAN3

DEVELOPMENT OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN

This plan was developed with the full engagement and support of the Young Voices board, staff and youth. Feedback and input were actively sought from several key stakeholders including community experts on national expansion, fundraising, evaluation and board development. Young Voices would like to extend a special word of thanks to the following people for the time and energy their committed to the development of this strategic plan:

Young Voices Strategic Planning Leadership Committee

James Day, Board Co-Chair

Perri Leviss, Board Member

Karen Feldman, Executive Director

Peter Chung, Program Coordinator

Emily Harris, Program Coordinator

Julian Santiago, Youth Board Member

Rosa Ramos, Youth Board Member

Young Voices Board Members

James Day,BoardChair

Rosa Ramos, Junior, Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex, YouthBoardCo-Chair

Ivy Barclay, Junior, Paul Cuffee School, Co-Chair, Fundraising Committee

Joan Khattab, Financial Advisor, Merril Lynch, Co-Chair, Fundraising Committee

Perri Leviss, Management Consultant, Co-Chair,Membershipand Recruitment

Africa Smith, Junior, Paul Cuffee School, Co-Chair,Membershipand Recruitment

Julian Santiago, Sophomore, Dr. Jorge Alveras High School, Secretary

Carrie Bridges Feliz, Health Disparities and Access to Care Team Lead, Department of Health

Anabel Castillo, Junior, Paul Cuffee School

Cendy Chery, Sophomore, Classical High School

Candido Moya, Junior, Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex

Joanna Roberts, Policy and Research Analyst, RIPEC

Community Expertise

Michael Fournier, Senior Vice President, Operations YMCA of Greater Providence

Bill Allen, {title?}

Mary Claire Knight, Management Consultant

OVERVIEW

Over the past 6 years, Young Voices has grown into one of the leading youth advocacy and leadership development organizations in Rhode Island. Our mission is to transform urban youth into powerful advocates who have a voice in every aspect of their lives. We accomplish this by training youth through a twice weekly Leadership Training Academy (LTA) in advanced research, public speaking, and debating skills to prepare them to work with powerful adults to shape district, local, and statewide policies that impact the future of our State. We believe young people are uniquely positioned to inform decision making and deserve to have a seat at the table whenever decisions are made that impact their lives. Currently, Young Voices serves over 130 youth a year in Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls, Rhode Island.

For the past six years, Young Voices has been supporting youth at our main Providence site to push for effective education policies at the statewide level. This work has included successfully pushing for an equitable state funding formula, effective teacher evaluations, and teacher certification that is connected to classroom performance, as well as playing an active role in helping RIs leaders obtain a $75 million Race to the Top grant.

In 2010, Young Voices implemented a new model to support students at "turnaround" schools to ensure that they have real input into the redesign of their schools. This model, which includes weekly, on-site trainings, was started at Central Falls High School and replicated at another high school in Providence. It supports students to work closely with the principal to implement student-centered learning policies to improve the school. Students study the schools reform plan, get the input of the whole student body on it, and work alongside the principal and teachers to implement changes suggested by all the students such as changing the structure of the school day, creating hands-on learning opportunities for struggling students, and improving the actual quality of teaching in the classroom.

We are now ready to share this model with more schools throughout Rhode Island, while continuing to build our capacity and strengthen our service delivery. To develop a clear road map for achieving this goal, Young Voices recently completed an intensive nine month strategic planning process. As a result of this process, Young Voices now has three year plan that outlines three primary goals that Young Voices will pursue over the next three years:

1) The Expansion of Youth Leadership Programs across the State: Young Voices will be expanding to three additional turnaround school sites over the next year in Providence and Pawtucket. This will allow the

organization to increase the number of youth that is served through Young Voices Leadership Training Academy to 180, an increase of over 35%.

2) Program Enhancements to Improve Services to Youth: Young Voices will expand opportunities for youth by helping youth prepare and plan for post-secondary opportunities including college and supporting youth to build their work readiness. Young Voices will also increase the number of youth leadership opportunities within the organization and build additional partnerships that will allow youth to work on additional policy issues and network with more adults.

3) Focus Investments in Young Voices Organizational Capacity to Support the Achievement of these Goals: Young Voices will increase the use of data and evaluation results to better deliver services to youth and expand and restructure the board to better leverage the skills of all board members/other volunteers to support the organization, and obtain diversified revenue streams.

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ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Young Voices has grown exponentially. Three years ago, we had one site with 40 students. By the end of the year, we will be reaching more than 180 students at six sites across RI including: our main site in a donated church space in Providence; Central Falls HS; Shea HS in Pawtucket; and 3 Providence high schools.

More than 360 youth have participated in our leadership training. 95% have dramatically increased their leadership skills. 100% graduated high school, and 96% have gone on to college/secondary education. Our first class of students just graduated college.

Youth have made a measureable impact on our public education system, successfully pushing for stronger teacher evaluations and fair graduation requirements, and partnering with RI leaders to get an education funding formula passed and to obtain $75 million through Race to the Top.

Our youth have also worked to improve their own schools: students at Juanita Sanchez HS in Providence and Central Falls HS surveyed the entire student body, asking them what could be done to raise the graduation rate. They presented a detailed report to their principals, and have been meeting monthly with the principals since then. Along with the principal, they worked to implement policies in that have made measurable improvements in the school, such as: new discipline policies; changing the structure of the school day; creating hands-on learning opportunities for students who are behind; and improving the actual quality of teaching in the classroom. These new policies have already made a major impact: in Central Falls, the graduation rate increased from 51% to 70%!

Our work supporting youth to make a real difference while transforming their own lives gained us nation recognition. We have been recognized by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Council for Teacher Quality for our work around teacher evaluation. The Annenberg Institute at Brown University wrote about our work in its Voices in Urban Education periodical.

YOUNG VOICES (YV) HISTORY

2006-2007

2007-2008

2008-2009

2009-2010

2010-2011

2011-2012

2012-2013

YV is founded.

YVs serves 40 students from Providence.

Staffed by 1 FT and 1 PT co-director.

YV youth conduct 1st survey of 1,000 Providence youth, which is presented at a major forum. The survey shows that education is the youths main concern, and YV begins to focus on education reform.

YV organizes 100 people to attend Board of Regents hearings; youth successfully testify for stronger teacher standards.

YV shares its model, training adults in Woonsocket and Central Falls to use the LTA, and establishes the LTA at Central Falls HS

YV increases the number of youth served to 80, an increase of 50%.

YV partners with RI is Ready to get 1st Education Funding Formula in 15 years

YV youth serve on Race to Top Steering Committee, and help RI get $75 million

Central Falls HS is designated as turnaround school; YV creates its model for authentic youth voice in school turnaround.

Youth lead national press conferences about school turnaround.

YV partners with ACLU and others to successfully push back graduation requir