Keino L. Fitzpatrick Sr. & Aaron E. Johnson

1. Keino L. Fitzpatrick Sr. & Aaron E. Johnson

2. Our Mission: Youth C.A.S.T. Leadership Network is a youth driven full service development model that will establish and provide a range of supports and services that will focus on creating a high-quality extended social & educational environment relating to supporting positive social emotional learning experiences for youth in grades 6th through 12th

3. Our Goals To engage with community groups, school administration, businesses, and local government for overall youth achievement and success. To focus on the change of both internal and external relationships through the action of leading a group of youth as community and schools begin to give youth a model or system they can sustain after implementation. To encourage youth, community, and schools together to recognize the importance of leadership while advancing their effectiveness to develop a leadership model recognized through youth lead activities and actions of service learning, advocacy, and civic engagement opportunities.

4. Our Process On May 24, 2012, approximately 40 community leaders and concerned citizens came together as part of the City of McKeesport’s Mayors’ Select Committee on Crime and Violence. This committee was selected to be a part of what was dubbed “Planning the transformation of our City” as working together for a better McKeesport. Those in attendance represented the local government, school district, faith-based groups, law enforcement, youth organizations, businesses, social service agencies, universities, libraries, community organizations, and parents.

5. Our Key Partners

6. What is Leadership? • Leadership connotes releasing of energy, building, freeing, growing (Peters and Austin, 1985) • Ability to influence the actions of others (Halloran and Benton, 1987) • The ability to motivate • Everyone has leadership potential (Bennis and Nanus, 1985)

7. Why study youth leadership? • Youth are in need of leadership positions • Home • Community • School • To asses whether adolescent have the right “tools” for success • Student-Parent surveys & Focus Groups • Exploratory Learning Experiences Supports Youth Developmental process

8. Youth Leadership Research • Three Stages • Awareness • Interaction • Mastery • Five Dimensions • Leadership Information • Leadership Attitude • Communication Skills • Decision-making Skills • Self-management Skills

9. Awareness • Focus on initial awareness of one’s leadership potential and abilities • Youth in this stage: • Do not think of themselves as a leader • Do not feel capable of being a leader

10. Awareness

11. Interaction • Growth in leadership skills occurs and confidence solidifies through interaction • Youth in this stage: • Have a limited definition of leadership • Believe that the leader is “in charge” • Need adult support and guidance

12. Mastery

13. Stop, Look, Lead – SL2 Youth-Driven Development

14. Our F.L. Ambassadors’ Objectives To increase their adaptive leadership skills which will enable them to become meaningful community assets. To envision leadership by establishing the dynamics of adaptive leadership as they experience leadership within their community. To provide opportunities and support to utilize their knowledge and skills of adaptive leadership to their peers outside of Youth C.A.S.T. To provide real-life situations where youth can demonstrate through active participation their engagement of the adaptive leadership model. To increase their sense of community and shared responsibility within Youth C.A.S.T.

15. The Five Dimensions of Youth Leadership Development

16. Leadership Information • What adolescents know about leadership and leaders • Accurate information is critical in this process • Adults help teens discriminate information and navigate barriers • What adolescents know about leadership is limited

17. Leadership Information Black Male Experience- “McKeesport Voices” Victorious Leadership 2.0 Workshop

18. Leadership Attitude • Adolescents’ dispositions, thoughts and feelings towards identifying themselves as leaders • Attitudes are learned and applied • Attitudes are constantly altered and enhanced

19. Leadership Attitude Exploratory Leadership Experience- Youth Ville, Detroit

20. Communication Skills • The exchange of thoughts, messages and information • Process of sharing ideas and reflection • Includes both verbal and nonverbal communication

21. Communication Skills General life lessons and outlook from boys and men

22. Decision-Making Skills • Choosing between competing courses of advocacy and action • Creates a discrepancy between transactional and transformational leaders • Decision-making is a process that becomes part of problem solving skills

23. Decision- Making Skills Youth-Driven Name, Logo, & Brand Voting for Project Implementation

24. Self-Management Skills • How adolescents react to and deal with the stress in their lives • Ability to regulate stress • Staying flexible and directing behavior in a positive manner • Pertains to issues of autonomy and locus of control

25. Self-Management Skills Ambassadors visitation to Detroit City Year Ambassador visitation to Indiana University of Pa

26. Youth C.A.S.T. Model Home Community School

27. Home To provide a “conscious process” framework for working with families. By providing workshops and opportunities, to engage families in relevant discussions and projects within the community and school.

28. Family Engagement at the August Wilson Center- Pittsburgh, PA

29. Community We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community…our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sake and our own. Cesar Chavez

30. Community Thanksgiving day dinner Community Service for homeless McKeesport Holiday Parade Engagement

31. School “A student never forgets an encouraging private word, when it is given with sincere respect and admiration.” William Lyon Phelps

32. School Youth-Driven Exploratory Leadership Tour University of Pittsburgh

33. Evaluation Process Assessment Findings Application Experiences Support Roles

34. Youth C.A.S.T.National Center for Innovation and Excellence • Rapid Assessment Procedures (RAP), which include a combination of focus groups informed by brief-time limited interviews informed by field-based observation • Relationship between their stages of development, their leadership development, and type of leadership experiences

35. Assessment Findings • According to our findings, the next step in the program overwhelmingly seems to be building in rich activities that can engage the youth on multiple levels. These will, in turn, be the catalyst youth identified as critical to the expansion of the program.

36. Application-- Moving youth through the stages • The importance of (experiences) • The role of adults (support) • Roles in youth, community and school (partnerships) Youth-Driven Exploratory Leadership Tour to IUP with Community Activist Michael Skolnick

37. Experiences for Youth- Exploratory Leadership Opportunities • Knowledge • Skills • Practice Youth C.A.S.T. Trip to Don Bosco Hall, Detroit

38. Support-- The Role of Adults • Mentoring/Guidance • Resources • Role models Resources (books, CDs, Story-Box units, website) that (1) document and celebrate experiences and (2) serve as resources for the community at large.

39. Roles in Community and School Partnerships • Allow youth the means to develop leadership skills through practice • Make it authentic & meaningful! Community and School Celebration

40. Youth C.A.S.T. Panel Session