• Youth voices are pivotal in responding to the crisis of disconnected youth. We prioritize partnerships with organizations like Teens Take Charge, as well as the contributions of interns, to co-design solutions. See the recommendations offered by youth in partnership with TTC.

• The pandemic further complicates engagement with OSOW youth. Its effect on compounding stressors often exacerbates anxiety and poor mental health for these youth. For instance, practitioners are noticing a reduction in participation in programming and in school attendance, as a result of interrupted sleep patterns and competing responsibilities (e.g., caregiving and needing to earn income for housing and food). 

• A significant barrier to addressing the crisis is lacking or inaccessible post-secondary training and employment opportunities. Examples range from funding and programming cuts, to piecemeal information, and challenging systems for tracking needs and sharing resources.

• Our Network (in collaboration with our partners from JobsFirstNYC, TTC, and others) has the potential to focus on: (1) case management to get to the bottom of challenges; (2) coordinating resources for collaboration across key partners; (3) youth-friendly and standardized referral processes; and (4) offering centralized access to services.

• Thinking of resilience along a continuum as opposed to simply resolving that some people have it and others don't. Resilience can occur while experiencing trauma & looks different in different people so we want to hold space for all the ways it can show up.

• Resilience if not just an individual process but shows up at the community level as well.

• Young people do many different things (e.g. the student who shows up every day, but then puts their head down in class -- or turns their screen off)
 to cope and for self-preservation that should not be misunderstood as "resistance." 

• We must hold space and let go of “normal!” What was normal before the pandemic contributed to where we are today. This moment is for challenging norms and leaning into equity and human-centered approaches.

• Check out Ramapo’s Guide for Nurturing Resilience

See more perspectives captured in the participant agenda. 

• Members and their organizations acknowledge the risks of not prioritizing adult social and emotional development and are therefore committed to investing in resources that support practitioners’ engagement in reflective practices to learn about their own identities, experiences, and potential biases, and how they might influence interactions with students and families.

• Reaching students and families while remote:

  • For older youth, virtual outreach & engagement has been pretty successful. Some programs are even seeing an uptick in student and family participation now that place-based accessibility isn’t a barrier. 

  • Virtual engagement presents some challenges for elementary school-aged youth and their families as students might need more hands-on support from parents, or need to share a device and space. 

• Members are utilizing creative ways to sustain relationships and a sense of connection with staff (and students) at their organizations. Some examples include virtual game platforms like Kahoot to break from monotonous work tasks.

See more perspectives captured in the participant agenda. 

• Members are open to capturing different kinds of data that may 'meet the moment,' and track the impact of pandemic-related challenges.

• Practitioners are adjusting their programming metrics to avoid further harm to students and families, and overly burdensome surveying. 

• Students facial expressions might indicate engagement as well as speaking up. We’re wondering how alternative forms of engagement might be measured.

• Consider how we can measure belonging and community in a virtual space and how we can involve students and a broader coalition of staff in the creation of those measures.

See more perspectives captured in the participant agenda 

• Whiteness, anti-blackness & racism are pervasive in institutions of higher education. 

• We don’t want to turn youth away from college as an option, but we must also acknowledge that admissions processes and institutions of higher education often perpetuate inequities and can be harmful to the mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of Black and Brown students

• College access/success practitioners need a foundational understanding of racism; from their individual orientations to racism, to how it functions in society and in higher education institutions.

• College access professionals have power to hold colleges and universities accountable to fostering inclusive spaces for racially minoritized students to thrive. For example:

  • Documenting and tracking students’ lived experiences which guide referral systems

  • Providing varied options to help students navigate white dominant spaces with agency; a more holistic approach

• College access professionals must be equipped and prepared to respond to the harmful experiences communicated by their students. 

See more perspectives captured in the participant agenda 

• It's important to apply lessons learned from our successes and challenges since going remote. 

• We have to be creative in our outreach strategies and relationship building to engage ALL students. 

• Modeling will be key to fostering strong connections with youth. 

• Check-in with your practitioners as well. Encourage and emphasize self-care. 

See more perspectives captured in the participant agenda 

• We will continue to explore the connection and impact that environment and climate have on academic outcomes and SEL

• Members are curious about what we can learn by measuring changes in SEL and academic outcomes over multiple years.

• Be intentional about supplementing quantitative analyses with experiences of place, identity and belonging in the lives of our youth and practitioners. 

See more perspectives captured in the participant agenda 

• Listen to students and stakeholders to inform decisions on future activities. 

• Surveys, focus groups, meetings for reflection, and needs assessments are useful tools for collecting insights to inform decisions.

• With variation in program delivery and online platforms, we can learn how to adapt to different engagement styles and be more prepared to adopt hybrid formats that balance online and in-person responsibilities in the future.

• Remote learning is working for some students and reaching new populations. 

See more perspectives captured in the participant agenda.

• Adapt familiar activities for application in virtual mediums to maintain relationships and a sense of normalcy 

• Explore why students might not feel like they have the power or voice to lead during this time

• Acknowledge  students’ diminished capacities and burnout to inform how you invite youth into decision-making processes

• Elevate activities that allow youth to contribute to and shape how they respond to what they’re experiencing

• Keep youth informed by being transparent, sharing news and engaging in exchanges about how programming is being affected by COVID-19

See more perspectives captured in the participant agenda.

• Nonprofit partners should pivot to help meet the most critical needs expressed by students

• Try to gain as much clarity as possible about what students are facing to help them navigate barriers to learning with support to fit their unique realities 

• Distance learning hasn’t worked well for many students and professors

• Use wellness check-ins as a starting point to maintain a sense of connection while we’re quarantined and ultimately help students navigate social, emotional and academic challenges.

• The need for self-advocacy skills in a postsecondary setting is essential now and always

• Student peers can be effective in engaging young adults that are harder to reach

See more perspectives captured in the participant agenda.

• Focus on tracking how you are reaching students and successfully connecting them to resources 

• Explore different questions that organizations wouldn't normally ask of program participants

• Youth storytelling can be a powerful tool for data collection, youth engagement and healing from the trauma caused by the pandemic.

• Consider gathering data qualitatively through 1:1 and group conversations to maintain connections with students 

• Be creative with social media to engage youth

• Only collect what’s necessary

• Be proactive and reach out to funders to have them be a part of adjusting expectations in this new reality

• If you move forward with existing surveys, assume that you will not have the same level of responsiveness

See more perspectives captured in the participant agenda.

• Self-care is a priority

• Try different things to stay connected 

• Restorative justice and trauma-informed practices can be useful to keep your community together virtually

• Tools such as Slack and resource guides have been useful for internal staff to stay connected and navigate our current remote reality

• Supervisor 1-1 check-ins that lend time for conversations about individual wellbeing, and offer suggestions for how to stay flexible as things change constantly, are great ways for managers to support their teams

• At the organization level, town Hall Meetings and staff-wide conferences on topics such as job security, big-picture weekly updates, and regular wellness communications are also effective

See more perspectives captured in the participant agenda.

• Tech (hardware and software) remains a persistent obstacle to creating stable, consistent environments for students

• Students struggle with motivation and energy to engage in extracurricular activities

• Many activities that were used to build community previously are much more difficult virtually

• Find ways to connect students with each other outside of class time

• Let students take the lead

• Build in unstructured segments and be flexible with activities

• Be persistent and innovative with outreach

• You don’t have to start with a completely blank slate now that we’re all working from home

• Continue to ask your students what they need

See more perspectives captured in the participant agenda.