CommonAction at 2012 Bridge Conference

Next Monday and Tuesday, October 8-9, I will be in Seattle to facilitate at School Out Washington’s 2012 Bridge Conference. This year’s theme is “Empower Youth Voices”, and will be attended by 500 people. I’m excited! This is my first time presenting there, and I look forward to a great time. I am presenting sessions on my own, and with a few great friends and colleagues. 

Let me know if you’ll be there and we can connect! Following are the descriptions for what I’m involved in.

• More than Voice: The Cycle of Engagement – FAIL!?! Why don’t our youth voice programs work? This session will answer that question by examining a research-driven process that lets youth voice advocates WIN every time! Participants will learn how to move youth voice towards passion, purpose, and power. Participants can learn how to engage the disengaged through a more effective approach to working with all young people everywhere all the time. This session focuses on a pattern from Adam Fletcher’s research which he calls the Cycle of Engagement. The Cycle has been used in K-12 schools and youth-serving organizations around the world for programming, planning and evaluation, and as a staff and youth skill-building tool. Discover what its for, how its used, and the impact it can have.

• How to Engage: Learning from local youth engagement practitioners – (with Kyla Lackie) Participants in this session will explore the King County Youth Engagement Practitioners Cadre, and the role of establishing professional learning communities among youth development workers. Launched during the 2011-12 school year, the first cohort of the Cadre was a collaboration between SOAR, Seattle Public Schools’ Service Learning Seattle, and CommonAction Consulting with funding from the National Corporation for Community Service Youth Engagement Zone program. This session will focus on the new King County Youth Engagement Handbook, a compilation of tools, lessons, and cutting edge writing by Cadre members.

I’m also going to be leading a table in Jessica Werner’s session on Tuesday afternoon. My table will be focused on Meaningful Student Involvement.

Learn more about what CommonAction is available to do at your conference or event by looking at our catalog! You can also contact us anytime…