“Hopeful. Excellent. Excited. Future. Getting started. In awe. Inspired. Jazzed. Motivated. Passionate. Phenomenal.”
These are the words that participants used when reflecting on the first Eastside Pathways Roundtable April 16. Recognizing the value of young people’s firsthand experience, Eastside Pathways has started to include youth in the work. Learning from youth and developing solutions together is critical to Eastside Pathway’s success.
At the first meeting, 23 youth from several different organizations (Bellevue Boys and Girls Club, Bellevue YMCA, BGLAD, Black Student Union, Jubilee Reach, Latino H.E.A.T, and Youth Link) and who attend seven different Bellevue Schools and Bellevue College participated.
The goals of that meeting were:
- Affirm that youth think they should be part of the Eastside Pathways work.
- Learn more about their hopes and expectations for their futures.
- Learn about what they see as obstacles to those hopes and expectations.
- Identify what other youth need to be at the table.
At subsequent meetings youth brainstormed roles they can play, reviewed the results of the 2012 Healthy Youth Survey for Bellevue School District to get a better understanding of issues in our community, learned about the goal work that Eastside Pathways did last summer and how some of those milestones did or did not play a role in their lives. From this beginning, they’ll prioritize where they want to work.
Two areas that youth are interested in are academic success and social-emotional support. There was a discussion about how the transition from 5th grade to 6th is critical for students and how it is a time of change socially and academically. They recognized how easily kids can lose their way during these years.
Partners are encouraged to bring youth to the Youth Roundtable.It is another way for organizations to exchange knowledge and get additional perspectives on what is happening with youth.
At the next meeting (May 21), the youth will be discussing how they define success for this work and the role of youth organizations in this work, what the leadership structure should be to make progress and potential projects for the short and long term.
Thank you to the Bellevue Boys and Girls Club for providing a meeting space and Michelle Williams Clark and the Bellevue YMCA for their support.
Written by Susan Sullivan, Eastside Pathways Board Member.