YOUTH VOICE 4 RPPs<\/h2>ADVANCING THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF EVIDENCE THROUGH YOUTH VOICE IN RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNERSHIPS\u00a0<\/span><\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/nnerpp.rice.edu\/files\/2023\/12\/Youth-Voice-4-RPPs-2023-icon_2-e1702545926969.png\")
<\/strong><\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tABOUT<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe \"Youth Voice 4 RPPs\" (formerly \"Student Voice 4 RPPs\") Awards program recognizes, honors, and further supports existing RPP efforts that have a strong interest in and\/or currently support youth involvement in RPP work. As long-term partnerships between education research and practice communities, RPPs hold great promise for disrupting typical dynamics between \"R\" and \"P\", in addition to generating new opportunities for a wider variety of voices to co-construct knowledge for decision making. With this awards program, we hope to highlight and learn from how NNERPP member RPPs center youth voice in their work as they pursue democratization of evidence generation and use.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThis awards program is funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. We thank them for their support but acknowledge that the findings and conclusions that may result from the projects in this program are those of the authors alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t2026 Youth Voice 4 RPPs Awardees<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tEDUCATION RESEARCH ALLIANCE FOR NEW ORLEANS<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\nThe Education Research Alliance for New Orleans will use the award to expand the engagement of youth in its citywide youth survey in New Orleans. This summer, youth will not only be included in the design of the survey but also the analysis and dissemination of results. The RPP will invite a group of high school interns to analyze the youth survey data and present their own findings regarding the importance of support for mental health and career preparation in New Orleans. Working closely with ERA New Orleans staff and college interns, these high school interns will come up with research questions, determine the appropriate analyses to answer the questions, perform statistical analyses, and interpret the results. These students will then present their findings to school, city, and community leaders and present recommendations on how to support New Orleans youth better.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tNASHVILLEPEER<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/h4>\n
NashvillePeer will establish a group of 6 - 8 eleventh grade student researchers from our current co-design partnership supporting 6 high schools to improve student success in early postsecondary courses. Students from each school will apply and at least one student from each school will be selected to participate. Grounded in students\u2019 lived experiences and the district motto \u201cEvery Student Known\u201d, this program will include 3 in-person workshops for students to learn community engaged research methods, develop focus group protocols, and participate in an analysis, sensemaking and presentation training. Students will facilitate two focus groups in their schools (with NashvillePeer staff support), collaboratively analyze findings via 3 virtual sessions, and present findings to district leadership through Peer\u2019s established findings session format in time to inform spring course scheduling and registration.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tRACIAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE COLLABORATIVE<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/span>The Racial and Social Justice Collaborative is investigating spaces of thriving for Black boys in and outside of their schools. In this work, the RPP has recently completed focus groups with former Black male students (ages 18-25) in its 3 partner districts and is beginning focus groups with current middle (ages 11-14) and high school Black boys (ages 14-18). These focus groups are centered around photo-elicitation, in which the youth participants photograph spaces in which they experience thriving and then share those photos in discussion with one another.\u00a0 The RPP will use the award to compensate youth in each of the three age groups to co-review research findings alongside the researchers and equity directors, co-design ways to expand opportunities for thriving for Black boys in the 3 districts, and to co-present those ideas to district leadership.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tPREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2025<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tST. LOUIS RESEARCH-PRACTICE COLLABORATIVE (SRPC)<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\nThe St. Louis Research-Practice Collaborative (SRPC) will develop a youth-led framework for engaging high school students in systems-thinking research and change initiatives. Building on the Washington University of St. Louis Brown School of Social Work\u2019s \u201cChanging Systems\u201d model, the SRPC will recruit middle and high school students from partner schools to explore systemic challenges impacting their futures. Students who are selected to participate will receive training in systems thinking, conduct peer interviews and workshops, create system maps, and present actionable insights to decision-makers in schools, government, and community organizations. Funding will be used to compensate students for their time, securing space for convenings with peers, purchasing supplies, providing meals, and offering honorariums for speakers. The focus will be on understanding barriers for students who neither pursue college nor secure gainful post-secondary opportunities.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tYOUTH CARES: YOUTH CIVIC ACTION FOR RESILIENT ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/h4>\n
Youth CARES: Youth Civic Action for Resilient Environmental Solutions will use the funds to support high school student researchers\u2019 sharing of their research findings related to a project they are engaged in that examines the intersection between climate change and social justice issues. Sharing the research findings with the members of the local and global community is critical in empowering youths to further engage in powerful civic action. These funds will allow youths to generate digitized materials, such as websites, podcasts, and video storytelling, and to participate in a local conference. Second, the funds will help provide stipends for mentors (undergraduate students and preservice teachers) to support high school student researchers\u2019 research activities.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>MULTICULTURAL STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT NETWORK (MSAN)<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/span>In partnership with partners from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), MSAN will use the funds to develop the goals, framework, infrastructure, and research agenda for the initial years of MSAN\u2019s Youth Voice RPP. The grant will fund the participation of students in this planning process, including stipends for student participants and materials, activities, and resources (including consultants and facilitators) related to student participation in the MSAN RPP planning efforts. Planning activities include virtual meetings and in-person sessions during the annual MSAN Student Conference, which will also provide an opportunity for student planning team members to engage additional MSAN student leader attendees in surveys, focus groups, and other activities to inform RPP planning efforts.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tPREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2024<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tDETROIT PARTNERSHIP FOR EDUCATION EQUITY & RESEARCH<\/a><\/a> <\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\nDetroit PEER will convene up to 20 Black and Brown youth for a Summer Youth Research Institute (SYRI) to expand youth leadership in Detroit PEER\u2019s RPP. Youth activists from the RPP member organizations will be SYRI workshop co-facilitators. They will co-create and carry out curricula to teach principles of youth leadership and organizing to a new cohort of Detroit PEER youth advisors. The new cohort will engage in Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) to develop campaigns for educational justice based on critical issues of personal importance to them. They will also receive culturally relevant learning about the educational experiences of Black and Brown youth in Detroit, engage in youth empowerment exercises, learn the foundations of critical qualitative and quantitative research, and use storytelling for liberatory educational policy change. By summer\u2019s end, the youth will showcase their YPAR results and develop political actions to call for the educational opportunities they identify as necessary for Detroit youth thriving.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tCENTERING YOUTH VOICE: STANFORD REDWOOD CITY SEQUOIA MENTAL HEALTH COLLABORATIVE<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/h4>\n
The Youth Action Research Fellowship\u2014which the Gardner Center has now facilitated with six research-practice partners and more than 50 student researchers\u2014centers student perspectives and provides new and critical information and analysis. This knowledge advances the ability of schools, districts, and other youth serving organizations to improve their programs and build deeper relationships with youth.<\/p>\n
The team anticipates using funds to serve the Stanford Redwood City Sequoia Mental Health Collaborative by documenting the curriculum and tools to prepare to host a future cohort of SUHSD students, as well as for fellowships that support other research-practice partnerships. The Stanford Redwood City Sequoia Mental Health Collaborative team also wants to ensure that youth action research is well understood as a path to advance equity in education, and so they plan to develop publicly available tools and information that can be used by other RPPs interested in expanding youth voice in their research.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTHE VERMONT COMMUNITY SCHOOLS RPP (VT CS RPP)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/span>An essential component of both the VT RAYS project and Community Schools implementation is the centering of shared governance, collaborative leadership, and youth\/family agency. This award will provide critical support for ongoing efforts to recruit and support student involvement in ongoing VT RAYS Youth Advisory Boards at five Community School sites across rural Vermont. Further, this funding will facilitate the expansion of existing clinical and public health information and supports including the refinement of the Adolescent and Youth Friendly Clinic Environment Assessment Tool to support youth-led walk-throughs during which youth share ideas and recommendations for making healthcare environments more welcoming and safer for young people. In conjunction with integrated student supports and family engagement activity, two critical components of community schools, this funding will support youth-developed informational flyers, context-specific public health campaign materials, and community-building activities led by VT RAYS Youth Advisory Boards.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tPREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2023<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tCIRCLE<\/a> + ILLINOIS CIVICS HUB<\/a> <\/strong><\/h2>\n(Twitter: @IL_CivicsHub)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/span><\/h4>\nCIRCLE + Illinois Civics Hub will use the award to provide funds for young people in three school districts to lead a participatory budgeting process to plan and disburse grants to improve civic opportunities that benefit all students in a school or a district. In the initial phase, youth teams will receive training to conduct focus groups and learn about building decision-making tools (such as rubrics and deliberation strategies) as they make their spending plan. In the second phase, the same young people will apply the skills to refine the \u201cdemocracy schools\u201d success metrics with the RPP, by providing feedback and by engaging more and younger students in their districts to gather and make recommendations.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tDC EDUCATION RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n(Twitter: @urbaninstitute)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\n
The DC Education Research Collaborative intends to use award funds to further develop an ongoing project with the Columbia Heights Education Campus, a globally-themed bilingual public school for grades 6 through 12 where students and educators are now guided by the co-created principle of design thinking. The research project is being advised and guided by the Collaborative\u2019s Research Director, but conducted entirely by students. The project focuses on two priority issues: reducing tardiness and eliminating restroom vandalism. The students are investigating whether proposed solutions have the intended effects and the degree to which students are being included and centered during school-wide decision-making.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tCAROLINA YOUTH COALITION RESEARCH PRACTICE PARTNERSHIP<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n(Twitter: @CarolinaYouthCo)<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/span>The Carolina Youth Coalition will use award funds to initiate and conduct the \u201cI Belong\u201d photovoice project. Ten students will participate in the planning and execution of the project, which will provide them with an opportunity to share how they engage in their community and express their sense of belongingness. Students will have full agency in deciding what is important, concerning, or interesting for them to share. They will capture their individual perspectives and use images to inform others and advocate for engagement \/ belongingness, especially at a time when youth mental health is declining. Students will receive stipends to support their involvement and will share their work with their peers and community.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tPREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2021<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tDIGITAL PROMISE<\/a><\/span> (KENTUCKY)<\/strong><\/h2>\nTough as Nails, Nimble Fingers: Developing a K-8 Coding Pathway for KY Appalachia<\/em><\/h5>\n<\/span><\/p>\nDigital Promise plans to use the funds to work with educators on co-designing interview protocols that will help teachers and administrators conduct empathy interviews with their students. This will empower both educators to listen and students to share, as the partnership advances understanding of and relationships with computing and tech. Ultimately, the interviews will provide context for the design of student learning experiences that will benefit students.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tEQUITY IMPLEMENTED PARTNERSHIP<\/a><\/span> (IOWA)<\/strong><\/h2>\nWaterloo School District + Center for Educational Transformation,<\/span>\u00a0University of Northern Iowa<\/em><\/h5>\nThe Equity Implemented Partnership is co-designing a culturally responsive professional development initiative that addresses systemic and institutionalized racism embedded in school practices and policies. The funds from this award will be used to establish partnership infrastructure to ensure that racial minority, underserved youth benefit from and are supported to participate in the RPP. In particular, EIP will develop an \"Emerging RPP Scholar\" program to center student voice.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tJOHN W. GARDNER CENTER<\/a><\/span> (CALIFORNIA)<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span>Oakland Unified School District, Community Schools, Gardner Center, Stanford University<\/em><\/h5>\nThe Gardner Center will use funds to support and expand a new Youth Action Research internship designed to center student perspective and expertise in research. The internship will engage high school seniors as critical stakeholders and active participants in research on the implementation of Oakland Unified's Full-Service Community Schools Initiative to support OUSD's interests in better understanding what it means to be a learner-centered community school.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tGEORGIA POLICY LABS<\/b><\/a><\/span> (GEORGIA)<\/strong><\/h2>\nAchieve Atlanta + Georgia State University<\/em><\/h5>\n<\/h5>\n
GPL will use funds to strategically plan for the long-term involvement of college students as partnership teammates by actively including them in the planning stages. In particular, GPL will compensate Achieve Atlanta scholars attending Georgia State University for participating in semi-structured interviews to better understand the opportunities and barriers students may experience when engaging with the RPP and collaborating to conduct participatory action research.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
ADVANCING THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF EVIDENCE THROUGH YOUTH VOICE IN RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNERSHIPS\u00a0<\/span><\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/strong><\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tABOUT<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe \"Youth Voice 4 RPPs\" (formerly \"Student Voice 4 RPPs\") Awards program recognizes, honors, and further supports existing RPP efforts that have a strong interest in and\/or currently support youth involvement in RPP work. As long-term partnerships between education research and practice communities, RPPs hold great promise for disrupting typical dynamics between \"R\" and \"P\", in addition to generating new opportunities for a wider variety of voices to co-construct knowledge for decision making. With this awards program, we hope to highlight and learn from how NNERPP member RPPs center youth voice in their work as they pursue democratization of evidence generation and use.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThis awards program is funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. We thank them for their support but acknowledge that the findings and conclusions that may result from the projects in this program are those of the authors alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t2026 Youth Voice 4 RPPs Awardees<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tEDUCATION RESEARCH ALLIANCE FOR NEW ORLEANS<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\nThe Education Research Alliance for New Orleans will use the award to expand the engagement of youth in its citywide youth survey in New Orleans. This summer, youth will not only be included in the design of the survey but also the analysis and dissemination of results. The RPP will invite a group of high school interns to analyze the youth survey data and present their own findings regarding the importance of support for mental health and career preparation in New Orleans. Working closely with ERA New Orleans staff and college interns, these high school interns will come up with research questions, determine the appropriate analyses to answer the questions, perform statistical analyses, and interpret the results. These students will then present their findings to school, city, and community leaders and present recommendations on how to support New Orleans youth better.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tNASHVILLEPEER<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/h4>\n
NashvillePeer will establish a group of 6 - 8 eleventh grade student researchers from our current co-design partnership supporting 6 high schools to improve student success in early postsecondary courses. Students from each school will apply and at least one student from each school will be selected to participate. Grounded in students\u2019 lived experiences and the district motto \u201cEvery Student Known\u201d, this program will include 3 in-person workshops for students to learn community engaged research methods, develop focus group protocols, and participate in an analysis, sensemaking and presentation training. Students will facilitate two focus groups in their schools (with NashvillePeer staff support), collaboratively analyze findings via 3 virtual sessions, and present findings to district leadership through Peer\u2019s established findings session format in time to inform spring course scheduling and registration.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tRACIAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE COLLABORATIVE<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/span>The Racial and Social Justice Collaborative is investigating spaces of thriving for Black boys in and outside of their schools. In this work, the RPP has recently completed focus groups with former Black male students (ages 18-25) in its 3 partner districts and is beginning focus groups with current middle (ages 11-14) and high school Black boys (ages 14-18). These focus groups are centered around photo-elicitation, in which the youth participants photograph spaces in which they experience thriving and then share those photos in discussion with one another.\u00a0 The RPP will use the award to compensate youth in each of the three age groups to co-review research findings alongside the researchers and equity directors, co-design ways to expand opportunities for thriving for Black boys in the 3 districts, and to co-present those ideas to district leadership.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tPREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2025<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tST. LOUIS RESEARCH-PRACTICE COLLABORATIVE (SRPC)<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\nThe St. Louis Research-Practice Collaborative (SRPC) will develop a youth-led framework for engaging high school students in systems-thinking research and change initiatives. Building on the Washington University of St. Louis Brown School of Social Work\u2019s \u201cChanging Systems\u201d model, the SRPC will recruit middle and high school students from partner schools to explore systemic challenges impacting their futures. Students who are selected to participate will receive training in systems thinking, conduct peer interviews and workshops, create system maps, and present actionable insights to decision-makers in schools, government, and community organizations. Funding will be used to compensate students for their time, securing space for convenings with peers, purchasing supplies, providing meals, and offering honorariums for speakers. The focus will be on understanding barriers for students who neither pursue college nor secure gainful post-secondary opportunities.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tYOUTH CARES: YOUTH CIVIC ACTION FOR RESILIENT ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/h4>\n
Youth CARES: Youth Civic Action for Resilient Environmental Solutions will use the funds to support high school student researchers\u2019 sharing of their research findings related to a project they are engaged in that examines the intersection between climate change and social justice issues. Sharing the research findings with the members of the local and global community is critical in empowering youths to further engage in powerful civic action. These funds will allow youths to generate digitized materials, such as websites, podcasts, and video storytelling, and to participate in a local conference. Second, the funds will help provide stipends for mentors (undergraduate students and preservice teachers) to support high school student researchers\u2019 research activities.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>MULTICULTURAL STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT NETWORK (MSAN)<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/span>In partnership with partners from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), MSAN will use the funds to develop the goals, framework, infrastructure, and research agenda for the initial years of MSAN\u2019s Youth Voice RPP. The grant will fund the participation of students in this planning process, including stipends for student participants and materials, activities, and resources (including consultants and facilitators) related to student participation in the MSAN RPP planning efforts. Planning activities include virtual meetings and in-person sessions during the annual MSAN Student Conference, which will also provide an opportunity for student planning team members to engage additional MSAN student leader attendees in surveys, focus groups, and other activities to inform RPP planning efforts.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tPREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2024<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tDETROIT PARTNERSHIP FOR EDUCATION EQUITY & RESEARCH<\/a><\/a> <\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\nDetroit PEER will convene up to 20 Black and Brown youth for a Summer Youth Research Institute (SYRI) to expand youth leadership in Detroit PEER\u2019s RPP. Youth activists from the RPP member organizations will be SYRI workshop co-facilitators. They will co-create and carry out curricula to teach principles of youth leadership and organizing to a new cohort of Detroit PEER youth advisors. The new cohort will engage in Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) to develop campaigns for educational justice based on critical issues of personal importance to them. They will also receive culturally relevant learning about the educational experiences of Black and Brown youth in Detroit, engage in youth empowerment exercises, learn the foundations of critical qualitative and quantitative research, and use storytelling for liberatory educational policy change. By summer\u2019s end, the youth will showcase their YPAR results and develop political actions to call for the educational opportunities they identify as necessary for Detroit youth thriving.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tCENTERING YOUTH VOICE: STANFORD REDWOOD CITY SEQUOIA MENTAL HEALTH COLLABORATIVE<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/h4>\n
The Youth Action Research Fellowship\u2014which the Gardner Center has now facilitated with six research-practice partners and more than 50 student researchers\u2014centers student perspectives and provides new and critical information and analysis. This knowledge advances the ability of schools, districts, and other youth serving organizations to improve their programs and build deeper relationships with youth.<\/p>\n
The team anticipates using funds to serve the Stanford Redwood City Sequoia Mental Health Collaborative by documenting the curriculum and tools to prepare to host a future cohort of SUHSD students, as well as for fellowships that support other research-practice partnerships. The Stanford Redwood City Sequoia Mental Health Collaborative team also wants to ensure that youth action research is well understood as a path to advance equity in education, and so they plan to develop publicly available tools and information that can be used by other RPPs interested in expanding youth voice in their research.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTHE VERMONT COMMUNITY SCHOOLS RPP (VT CS RPP)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/span>An essential component of both the VT RAYS project and Community Schools implementation is the centering of shared governance, collaborative leadership, and youth\/family agency. This award will provide critical support for ongoing efforts to recruit and support student involvement in ongoing VT RAYS Youth Advisory Boards at five Community School sites across rural Vermont. Further, this funding will facilitate the expansion of existing clinical and public health information and supports including the refinement of the Adolescent and Youth Friendly Clinic Environment Assessment Tool to support youth-led walk-throughs during which youth share ideas and recommendations for making healthcare environments more welcoming and safer for young people. In conjunction with integrated student supports and family engagement activity, two critical components of community schools, this funding will support youth-developed informational flyers, context-specific public health campaign materials, and community-building activities led by VT RAYS Youth Advisory Boards.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tPREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2023<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tCIRCLE<\/a> + ILLINOIS CIVICS HUB<\/a> <\/strong><\/h2>\n(Twitter: @IL_CivicsHub)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/span><\/h4>\nCIRCLE + Illinois Civics Hub will use the award to provide funds for young people in three school districts to lead a participatory budgeting process to plan and disburse grants to improve civic opportunities that benefit all students in a school or a district. In the initial phase, youth teams will receive training to conduct focus groups and learn about building decision-making tools (such as rubrics and deliberation strategies) as they make their spending plan. In the second phase, the same young people will apply the skills to refine the \u201cdemocracy schools\u201d success metrics with the RPP, by providing feedback and by engaging more and younger students in their districts to gather and make recommendations.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tDC EDUCATION RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n(Twitter: @urbaninstitute)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\n
The DC Education Research Collaborative intends to use award funds to further develop an ongoing project with the Columbia Heights Education Campus, a globally-themed bilingual public school for grades 6 through 12 where students and educators are now guided by the co-created principle of design thinking. The research project is being advised and guided by the Collaborative\u2019s Research Director, but conducted entirely by students. The project focuses on two priority issues: reducing tardiness and eliminating restroom vandalism. The students are investigating whether proposed solutions have the intended effects and the degree to which students are being included and centered during school-wide decision-making.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tCAROLINA YOUTH COALITION RESEARCH PRACTICE PARTNERSHIP<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n(Twitter: @CarolinaYouthCo)<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/span>The Carolina Youth Coalition will use award funds to initiate and conduct the \u201cI Belong\u201d photovoice project. Ten students will participate in the planning and execution of the project, which will provide them with an opportunity to share how they engage in their community and express their sense of belongingness. Students will have full agency in deciding what is important, concerning, or interesting for them to share. They will capture their individual perspectives and use images to inform others and advocate for engagement \/ belongingness, especially at a time when youth mental health is declining. Students will receive stipends to support their involvement and will share their work with their peers and community.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tPREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2021<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tDIGITAL PROMISE<\/a><\/span> (KENTUCKY)<\/strong><\/h2>\nTough as Nails, Nimble Fingers: Developing a K-8 Coding Pathway for KY Appalachia<\/em><\/h5>\n<\/span><\/p>\nDigital Promise plans to use the funds to work with educators on co-designing interview protocols that will help teachers and administrators conduct empathy interviews with their students. This will empower both educators to listen and students to share, as the partnership advances understanding of and relationships with computing and tech. Ultimately, the interviews will provide context for the design of student learning experiences that will benefit students.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tEQUITY IMPLEMENTED PARTNERSHIP<\/a><\/span> (IOWA)<\/strong><\/h2>\nWaterloo School District + Center for Educational Transformation,<\/span>\u00a0University of Northern Iowa<\/em><\/h5>\nThe Equity Implemented Partnership is co-designing a culturally responsive professional development initiative that addresses systemic and institutionalized racism embedded in school practices and policies. The funds from this award will be used to establish partnership infrastructure to ensure that racial minority, underserved youth benefit from and are supported to participate in the RPP. In particular, EIP will develop an \"Emerging RPP Scholar\" program to center student voice.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tJOHN W. GARDNER CENTER<\/a><\/span> (CALIFORNIA)<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span>Oakland Unified School District, Community Schools, Gardner Center, Stanford University<\/em><\/h5>\nThe Gardner Center will use funds to support and expand a new Youth Action Research internship designed to center student perspective and expertise in research. The internship will engage high school seniors as critical stakeholders and active participants in research on the implementation of Oakland Unified's Full-Service Community Schools Initiative to support OUSD's interests in better understanding what it means to be a learner-centered community school.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tGEORGIA POLICY LABS<\/b><\/a><\/span> (GEORGIA)<\/strong><\/h2>\nAchieve Atlanta + Georgia State University<\/em><\/h5>\n<\/h5>\n
GPL will use funds to strategically plan for the long-term involvement of college students as partnership teammates by actively including them in the planning stages. In particular, GPL will compensate Achieve Atlanta scholars attending Georgia State University for participating in semi-structured interviews to better understand the opportunities and barriers students may experience when engaging with the RPP and collaborating to conduct participatory action research.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
<\/strong><\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tABOUT<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe \"Youth Voice 4 RPPs\" (formerly \"Student Voice 4 RPPs\") Awards program recognizes, honors, and further supports existing RPP efforts that have a strong interest in and\/or currently support youth involvement in RPP work. As long-term partnerships between education research and practice communities, RPPs hold great promise for disrupting typical dynamics between \"R\" and \"P\", in addition to generating new opportunities for a wider variety of voices to co-construct knowledge for decision making. With this awards program, we hope to highlight and learn from how NNERPP member RPPs center youth voice in their work as they pursue democratization of evidence generation and use.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThis awards program is funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. We thank them for their support but acknowledge that the findings and conclusions that may result from the projects in this program are those of the authors alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t2026 Youth Voice 4 RPPs Awardees<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tEDUCATION RESEARCH ALLIANCE FOR NEW ORLEANS<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\nThe Education Research Alliance for New Orleans will use the award to expand the engagement of youth in its citywide youth survey in New Orleans. This summer, youth will not only be included in the design of the survey but also the analysis and dissemination of results. The RPP will invite a group of high school interns to analyze the youth survey data and present their own findings regarding the importance of support for mental health and career preparation in New Orleans. Working closely with ERA New Orleans staff and college interns, these high school interns will come up with research questions, determine the appropriate analyses to answer the questions, perform statistical analyses, and interpret the results. These students will then present their findings to school, city, and community leaders and present recommendations on how to support New Orleans youth better.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tNASHVILLEPEER<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/h4>\n
NashvillePeer will establish a group of 6 - 8 eleventh grade student researchers from our current co-design partnership supporting 6 high schools to improve student success in early postsecondary courses. Students from each school will apply and at least one student from each school will be selected to participate. Grounded in students\u2019 lived experiences and the district motto \u201cEvery Student Known\u201d, this program will include 3 in-person workshops for students to learn community engaged research methods, develop focus group protocols, and participate in an analysis, sensemaking and presentation training. Students will facilitate two focus groups in their schools (with NashvillePeer staff support), collaboratively analyze findings via 3 virtual sessions, and present findings to district leadership through Peer\u2019s established findings session format in time to inform spring course scheduling and registration.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tRACIAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE COLLABORATIVE<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/span>The Racial and Social Justice Collaborative is investigating spaces of thriving for Black boys in and outside of their schools. In this work, the RPP has recently completed focus groups with former Black male students (ages 18-25) in its 3 partner districts and is beginning focus groups with current middle (ages 11-14) and high school Black boys (ages 14-18). These focus groups are centered around photo-elicitation, in which the youth participants photograph spaces in which they experience thriving and then share those photos in discussion with one another.\u00a0 The RPP will use the award to compensate youth in each of the three age groups to co-review research findings alongside the researchers and equity directors, co-design ways to expand opportunities for thriving for Black boys in the 3 districts, and to co-present those ideas to district leadership.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tPREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2025<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tST. LOUIS RESEARCH-PRACTICE COLLABORATIVE (SRPC)<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\nThe St. Louis Research-Practice Collaborative (SRPC) will develop a youth-led framework for engaging high school students in systems-thinking research and change initiatives. Building on the Washington University of St. Louis Brown School of Social Work\u2019s \u201cChanging Systems\u201d model, the SRPC will recruit middle and high school students from partner schools to explore systemic challenges impacting their futures. Students who are selected to participate will receive training in systems thinking, conduct peer interviews and workshops, create system maps, and present actionable insights to decision-makers in schools, government, and community organizations. Funding will be used to compensate students for their time, securing space for convenings with peers, purchasing supplies, providing meals, and offering honorariums for speakers. The focus will be on understanding barriers for students who neither pursue college nor secure gainful post-secondary opportunities.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tYOUTH CARES: YOUTH CIVIC ACTION FOR RESILIENT ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/h4>\n
Youth CARES: Youth Civic Action for Resilient Environmental Solutions will use the funds to support high school student researchers\u2019 sharing of their research findings related to a project they are engaged in that examines the intersection between climate change and social justice issues. Sharing the research findings with the members of the local and global community is critical in empowering youths to further engage in powerful civic action. These funds will allow youths to generate digitized materials, such as websites, podcasts, and video storytelling, and to participate in a local conference. Second, the funds will help provide stipends for mentors (undergraduate students and preservice teachers) to support high school student researchers\u2019 research activities.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>MULTICULTURAL STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT NETWORK (MSAN)<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/span>In partnership with partners from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), MSAN will use the funds to develop the goals, framework, infrastructure, and research agenda for the initial years of MSAN\u2019s Youth Voice RPP. The grant will fund the participation of students in this planning process, including stipends for student participants and materials, activities, and resources (including consultants and facilitators) related to student participation in the MSAN RPP planning efforts. Planning activities include virtual meetings and in-person sessions during the annual MSAN Student Conference, which will also provide an opportunity for student planning team members to engage additional MSAN student leader attendees in surveys, focus groups, and other activities to inform RPP planning efforts.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tPREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2024<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tDETROIT PARTNERSHIP FOR EDUCATION EQUITY & RESEARCH<\/a><\/a> <\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\nDetroit PEER will convene up to 20 Black and Brown youth for a Summer Youth Research Institute (SYRI) to expand youth leadership in Detroit PEER\u2019s RPP. Youth activists from the RPP member organizations will be SYRI workshop co-facilitators. They will co-create and carry out curricula to teach principles of youth leadership and organizing to a new cohort of Detroit PEER youth advisors. The new cohort will engage in Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) to develop campaigns for educational justice based on critical issues of personal importance to them. They will also receive culturally relevant learning about the educational experiences of Black and Brown youth in Detroit, engage in youth empowerment exercises, learn the foundations of critical qualitative and quantitative research, and use storytelling for liberatory educational policy change. By summer\u2019s end, the youth will showcase their YPAR results and develop political actions to call for the educational opportunities they identify as necessary for Detroit youth thriving.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tCENTERING YOUTH VOICE: STANFORD REDWOOD CITY SEQUOIA MENTAL HEALTH COLLABORATIVE<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/h4>\n
The Youth Action Research Fellowship\u2014which the Gardner Center has now facilitated with six research-practice partners and more than 50 student researchers\u2014centers student perspectives and provides new and critical information and analysis. This knowledge advances the ability of schools, districts, and other youth serving organizations to improve their programs and build deeper relationships with youth.<\/p>\n
The team anticipates using funds to serve the Stanford Redwood City Sequoia Mental Health Collaborative by documenting the curriculum and tools to prepare to host a future cohort of SUHSD students, as well as for fellowships that support other research-practice partnerships. The Stanford Redwood City Sequoia Mental Health Collaborative team also wants to ensure that youth action research is well understood as a path to advance equity in education, and so they plan to develop publicly available tools and information that can be used by other RPPs interested in expanding youth voice in their research.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTHE VERMONT COMMUNITY SCHOOLS RPP (VT CS RPP)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/span>An essential component of both the VT RAYS project and Community Schools implementation is the centering of shared governance, collaborative leadership, and youth\/family agency. This award will provide critical support for ongoing efforts to recruit and support student involvement in ongoing VT RAYS Youth Advisory Boards at five Community School sites across rural Vermont. Further, this funding will facilitate the expansion of existing clinical and public health information and supports including the refinement of the Adolescent and Youth Friendly Clinic Environment Assessment Tool to support youth-led walk-throughs during which youth share ideas and recommendations for making healthcare environments more welcoming and safer for young people. In conjunction with integrated student supports and family engagement activity, two critical components of community schools, this funding will support youth-developed informational flyers, context-specific public health campaign materials, and community-building activities led by VT RAYS Youth Advisory Boards.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tPREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2023<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tCIRCLE<\/a> + ILLINOIS CIVICS HUB<\/a> <\/strong><\/h2>\n(Twitter: @IL_CivicsHub)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/span><\/h4>\nCIRCLE + Illinois Civics Hub will use the award to provide funds for young people in three school districts to lead a participatory budgeting process to plan and disburse grants to improve civic opportunities that benefit all students in a school or a district. In the initial phase, youth teams will receive training to conduct focus groups and learn about building decision-making tools (such as rubrics and deliberation strategies) as they make their spending plan. In the second phase, the same young people will apply the skills to refine the \u201cdemocracy schools\u201d success metrics with the RPP, by providing feedback and by engaging more and younger students in their districts to gather and make recommendations.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tDC EDUCATION RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n(Twitter: @urbaninstitute)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\n
The DC Education Research Collaborative intends to use award funds to further develop an ongoing project with the Columbia Heights Education Campus, a globally-themed bilingual public school for grades 6 through 12 where students and educators are now guided by the co-created principle of design thinking. The research project is being advised and guided by the Collaborative\u2019s Research Director, but conducted entirely by students. The project focuses on two priority issues: reducing tardiness and eliminating restroom vandalism. The students are investigating whether proposed solutions have the intended effects and the degree to which students are being included and centered during school-wide decision-making.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tCAROLINA YOUTH COALITION RESEARCH PRACTICE PARTNERSHIP<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n(Twitter: @CarolinaYouthCo)<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/span>The Carolina Youth Coalition will use award funds to initiate and conduct the \u201cI Belong\u201d photovoice project. Ten students will participate in the planning and execution of the project, which will provide them with an opportunity to share how they engage in their community and express their sense of belongingness. Students will have full agency in deciding what is important, concerning, or interesting for them to share. They will capture their individual perspectives and use images to inform others and advocate for engagement \/ belongingness, especially at a time when youth mental health is declining. Students will receive stipends to support their involvement and will share their work with their peers and community.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tPREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2021<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tDIGITAL PROMISE<\/a><\/span> (KENTUCKY)<\/strong><\/h2>\nTough as Nails, Nimble Fingers: Developing a K-8 Coding Pathway for KY Appalachia<\/em><\/h5>\n<\/span><\/p>\nDigital Promise plans to use the funds to work with educators on co-designing interview protocols that will help teachers and administrators conduct empathy interviews with their students. This will empower both educators to listen and students to share, as the partnership advances understanding of and relationships with computing and tech. Ultimately, the interviews will provide context for the design of student learning experiences that will benefit students.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tEQUITY IMPLEMENTED PARTNERSHIP<\/a><\/span> (IOWA)<\/strong><\/h2>\nWaterloo School District + Center for Educational Transformation,<\/span>\u00a0University of Northern Iowa<\/em><\/h5>\nThe Equity Implemented Partnership is co-designing a culturally responsive professional development initiative that addresses systemic and institutionalized racism embedded in school practices and policies. The funds from this award will be used to establish partnership infrastructure to ensure that racial minority, underserved youth benefit from and are supported to participate in the RPP. In particular, EIP will develop an \"Emerging RPP Scholar\" program to center student voice.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tJOHN W. GARDNER CENTER<\/a><\/span> (CALIFORNIA)<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span>Oakland Unified School District, Community Schools, Gardner Center, Stanford University<\/em><\/h5>\nThe Gardner Center will use funds to support and expand a new Youth Action Research internship designed to center student perspective and expertise in research. The internship will engage high school seniors as critical stakeholders and active participants in research on the implementation of Oakland Unified's Full-Service Community Schools Initiative to support OUSD's interests in better understanding what it means to be a learner-centered community school.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tGEORGIA POLICY LABS<\/b><\/a><\/span> (GEORGIA)<\/strong><\/h2>\nAchieve Atlanta + Georgia State University<\/em><\/h5>\n<\/h5>\n
GPL will use funds to strategically plan for the long-term involvement of college students as partnership teammates by actively including them in the planning stages. In particular, GPL will compensate Achieve Atlanta scholars attending Georgia State University for participating in semi-structured interviews to better understand the opportunities and barriers students may experience when engaging with the RPP and collaborating to conduct participatory action research.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
ABOUT<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe \"Youth Voice 4 RPPs\" (formerly \"Student Voice 4 RPPs\") Awards program recognizes, honors, and further supports existing RPP efforts that have a strong interest in and\/or currently support youth involvement in RPP work. As long-term partnerships between education research and practice communities, RPPs hold great promise for disrupting typical dynamics between \"R\" and \"P\", in addition to generating new opportunities for a wider variety of voices to co-construct knowledge for decision making. With this awards program, we hope to highlight and learn from how NNERPP member RPPs center youth voice in their work as they pursue democratization of evidence generation and use.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThis awards program is funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. We thank them for their support but acknowledge that the findings and conclusions that may result from the projects in this program are those of the authors alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t2026 Youth Voice 4 RPPs Awardees<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tEDUCATION RESEARCH ALLIANCE FOR NEW ORLEANS<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\nThe Education Research Alliance for New Orleans will use the award to expand the engagement of youth in its citywide youth survey in New Orleans. This summer, youth will not only be included in the design of the survey but also the analysis and dissemination of results. The RPP will invite a group of high school interns to analyze the youth survey data and present their own findings regarding the importance of support for mental health and career preparation in New Orleans. Working closely with ERA New Orleans staff and college interns, these high school interns will come up with research questions, determine the appropriate analyses to answer the questions, perform statistical analyses, and interpret the results. These students will then present their findings to school, city, and community leaders and present recommendations on how to support New Orleans youth better.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tNASHVILLEPEER<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/h4>\n
NashvillePeer will establish a group of 6 - 8 eleventh grade student researchers from our current co-design partnership supporting 6 high schools to improve student success in early postsecondary courses. Students from each school will apply and at least one student from each school will be selected to participate. Grounded in students\u2019 lived experiences and the district motto \u201cEvery Student Known\u201d, this program will include 3 in-person workshops for students to learn community engaged research methods, develop focus group protocols, and participate in an analysis, sensemaking and presentation training. Students will facilitate two focus groups in their schools (with NashvillePeer staff support), collaboratively analyze findings via 3 virtual sessions, and present findings to district leadership through Peer\u2019s established findings session format in time to inform spring course scheduling and registration.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tRACIAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE COLLABORATIVE<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/span>The Racial and Social Justice Collaborative is investigating spaces of thriving for Black boys in and outside of their schools. In this work, the RPP has recently completed focus groups with former Black male students (ages 18-25) in its 3 partner districts and is beginning focus groups with current middle (ages 11-14) and high school Black boys (ages 14-18). These focus groups are centered around photo-elicitation, in which the youth participants photograph spaces in which they experience thriving and then share those photos in discussion with one another.\u00a0 The RPP will use the award to compensate youth in each of the three age groups to co-review research findings alongside the researchers and equity directors, co-design ways to expand opportunities for thriving for Black boys in the 3 districts, and to co-present those ideas to district leadership.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tPREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2025<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tST. LOUIS RESEARCH-PRACTICE COLLABORATIVE (SRPC)<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\nThe St. Louis Research-Practice Collaborative (SRPC) will develop a youth-led framework for engaging high school students in systems-thinking research and change initiatives. Building on the Washington University of St. Louis Brown School of Social Work\u2019s \u201cChanging Systems\u201d model, the SRPC will recruit middle and high school students from partner schools to explore systemic challenges impacting their futures. Students who are selected to participate will receive training in systems thinking, conduct peer interviews and workshops, create system maps, and present actionable insights to decision-makers in schools, government, and community organizations. Funding will be used to compensate students for their time, securing space for convenings with peers, purchasing supplies, providing meals, and offering honorariums for speakers. The focus will be on understanding barriers for students who neither pursue college nor secure gainful post-secondary opportunities.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tYOUTH CARES: YOUTH CIVIC ACTION FOR RESILIENT ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/h4>\n
Youth CARES: Youth Civic Action for Resilient Environmental Solutions will use the funds to support high school student researchers\u2019 sharing of their research findings related to a project they are engaged in that examines the intersection between climate change and social justice issues. Sharing the research findings with the members of the local and global community is critical in empowering youths to further engage in powerful civic action. These funds will allow youths to generate digitized materials, such as websites, podcasts, and video storytelling, and to participate in a local conference. Second, the funds will help provide stipends for mentors (undergraduate students and preservice teachers) to support high school student researchers\u2019 research activities.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>MULTICULTURAL STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT NETWORK (MSAN)<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/span>In partnership with partners from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), MSAN will use the funds to develop the goals, framework, infrastructure, and research agenda for the initial years of MSAN\u2019s Youth Voice RPP. The grant will fund the participation of students in this planning process, including stipends for student participants and materials, activities, and resources (including consultants and facilitators) related to student participation in the MSAN RPP planning efforts. Planning activities include virtual meetings and in-person sessions during the annual MSAN Student Conference, which will also provide an opportunity for student planning team members to engage additional MSAN student leader attendees in surveys, focus groups, and other activities to inform RPP planning efforts.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tPREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2024<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tDETROIT PARTNERSHIP FOR EDUCATION EQUITY & RESEARCH<\/a><\/a> <\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\nDetroit PEER will convene up to 20 Black and Brown youth for a Summer Youth Research Institute (SYRI) to expand youth leadership in Detroit PEER\u2019s RPP. Youth activists from the RPP member organizations will be SYRI workshop co-facilitators. They will co-create and carry out curricula to teach principles of youth leadership and organizing to a new cohort of Detroit PEER youth advisors. The new cohort will engage in Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) to develop campaigns for educational justice based on critical issues of personal importance to them. They will also receive culturally relevant learning about the educational experiences of Black and Brown youth in Detroit, engage in youth empowerment exercises, learn the foundations of critical qualitative and quantitative research, and use storytelling for liberatory educational policy change. By summer\u2019s end, the youth will showcase their YPAR results and develop political actions to call for the educational opportunities they identify as necessary for Detroit youth thriving.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tCENTERING YOUTH VOICE: STANFORD REDWOOD CITY SEQUOIA MENTAL HEALTH COLLABORATIVE<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/h4>\n
The Youth Action Research Fellowship\u2014which the Gardner Center has now facilitated with six research-practice partners and more than 50 student researchers\u2014centers student perspectives and provides new and critical information and analysis. This knowledge advances the ability of schools, districts, and other youth serving organizations to improve their programs and build deeper relationships with youth.<\/p>\n
The team anticipates using funds to serve the Stanford Redwood City Sequoia Mental Health Collaborative by documenting the curriculum and tools to prepare to host a future cohort of SUHSD students, as well as for fellowships that support other research-practice partnerships. The Stanford Redwood City Sequoia Mental Health Collaborative team also wants to ensure that youth action research is well understood as a path to advance equity in education, and so they plan to develop publicly available tools and information that can be used by other RPPs interested in expanding youth voice in their research.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTHE VERMONT COMMUNITY SCHOOLS RPP (VT CS RPP)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/span>An essential component of both the VT RAYS project and Community Schools implementation is the centering of shared governance, collaborative leadership, and youth\/family agency. This award will provide critical support for ongoing efforts to recruit and support student involvement in ongoing VT RAYS Youth Advisory Boards at five Community School sites across rural Vermont. Further, this funding will facilitate the expansion of existing clinical and public health information and supports including the refinement of the Adolescent and Youth Friendly Clinic Environment Assessment Tool to support youth-led walk-throughs during which youth share ideas and recommendations for making healthcare environments more welcoming and safer for young people. In conjunction with integrated student supports and family engagement activity, two critical components of community schools, this funding will support youth-developed informational flyers, context-specific public health campaign materials, and community-building activities led by VT RAYS Youth Advisory Boards.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tPREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2023<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tCIRCLE<\/a> + ILLINOIS CIVICS HUB<\/a> <\/strong><\/h2>\n(Twitter: @IL_CivicsHub)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/span><\/h4>\nCIRCLE + Illinois Civics Hub will use the award to provide funds for young people in three school districts to lead a participatory budgeting process to plan and disburse grants to improve civic opportunities that benefit all students in a school or a district. In the initial phase, youth teams will receive training to conduct focus groups and learn about building decision-making tools (such as rubrics and deliberation strategies) as they make their spending plan. In the second phase, the same young people will apply the skills to refine the \u201cdemocracy schools\u201d success metrics with the RPP, by providing feedback and by engaging more and younger students in their districts to gather and make recommendations.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tDC EDUCATION RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n(Twitter: @urbaninstitute)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\n
The DC Education Research Collaborative intends to use award funds to further develop an ongoing project with the Columbia Heights Education Campus, a globally-themed bilingual public school for grades 6 through 12 where students and educators are now guided by the co-created principle of design thinking. The research project is being advised and guided by the Collaborative\u2019s Research Director, but conducted entirely by students. The project focuses on two priority issues: reducing tardiness and eliminating restroom vandalism. The students are investigating whether proposed solutions have the intended effects and the degree to which students are being included and centered during school-wide decision-making.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tCAROLINA YOUTH COALITION RESEARCH PRACTICE PARTNERSHIP<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n(Twitter: @CarolinaYouthCo)<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/span>The Carolina Youth Coalition will use award funds to initiate and conduct the \u201cI Belong\u201d photovoice project. Ten students will participate in the planning and execution of the project, which will provide them with an opportunity to share how they engage in their community and express their sense of belongingness. Students will have full agency in deciding what is important, concerning, or interesting for them to share. They will capture their individual perspectives and use images to inform others and advocate for engagement \/ belongingness, especially at a time when youth mental health is declining. Students will receive stipends to support their involvement and will share their work with their peers and community.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tPREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2021<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tDIGITAL PROMISE<\/a><\/span> (KENTUCKY)<\/strong><\/h2>\nTough as Nails, Nimble Fingers: Developing a K-8 Coding Pathway for KY Appalachia<\/em><\/h5>\n<\/span><\/p>\nDigital Promise plans to use the funds to work with educators on co-designing interview protocols that will help teachers and administrators conduct empathy interviews with their students. This will empower both educators to listen and students to share, as the partnership advances understanding of and relationships with computing and tech. Ultimately, the interviews will provide context for the design of student learning experiences that will benefit students.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tEQUITY IMPLEMENTED PARTNERSHIP<\/a><\/span> (IOWA)<\/strong><\/h2>\nWaterloo School District + Center for Educational Transformation,<\/span>\u00a0University of Northern Iowa<\/em><\/h5>\nThe Equity Implemented Partnership is co-designing a culturally responsive professional development initiative that addresses systemic and institutionalized racism embedded in school practices and policies. The funds from this award will be used to establish partnership infrastructure to ensure that racial minority, underserved youth benefit from and are supported to participate in the RPP. In particular, EIP will develop an \"Emerging RPP Scholar\" program to center student voice.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tJOHN W. GARDNER CENTER<\/a><\/span> (CALIFORNIA)<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span>Oakland Unified School District, Community Schools, Gardner Center, Stanford University<\/em><\/h5>\nThe Gardner Center will use funds to support and expand a new Youth Action Research internship designed to center student perspective and expertise in research. The internship will engage high school seniors as critical stakeholders and active participants in research on the implementation of Oakland Unified's Full-Service Community Schools Initiative to support OUSD's interests in better understanding what it means to be a learner-centered community school.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tGEORGIA POLICY LABS<\/b><\/a><\/span> (GEORGIA)<\/strong><\/h2>\nAchieve Atlanta + Georgia State University<\/em><\/h5>\n<\/h5>\n
GPL will use funds to strategically plan for the long-term involvement of college students as partnership teammates by actively including them in the planning stages. In particular, GPL will compensate Achieve Atlanta scholars attending Georgia State University for participating in semi-structured interviews to better understand the opportunities and barriers students may experience when engaging with the RPP and collaborating to conduct participatory action research.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
This awards program is funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. We thank them for their support but acknowledge that the findings and conclusions that may result from the projects in this program are those of the authors alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> The Education Research Alliance for New Orleans will use the award to expand the engagement of youth in its citywide youth survey in New Orleans. This summer, youth will not only be included in the design of the survey but also the analysis and dissemination of results. The RPP will invite a group of high school interns to analyze the youth survey data and present their own findings regarding the importance of support for mental health and career preparation in New Orleans. Working closely with ERA New Orleans staff and college interns, these high school interns will come up with research questions, determine the appropriate analyses to answer the questions, perform statistical analyses, and interpret the results. These students will then present their findings to school, city, and community leaders and present recommendations on how to support New Orleans youth better.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> NashvillePeer will establish a group of 6 - 8 eleventh grade student researchers from our current co-design partnership supporting 6 high schools to improve student success in early postsecondary courses. Students from each school will apply and at least one student from each school will be selected to participate. Grounded in students\u2019 lived experiences and the district motto \u201cEvery Student Known\u201d, this program will include 3 in-person workshops for students to learn community engaged research methods, develop focus group protocols, and participate in an analysis, sensemaking and presentation training. Students will facilitate two focus groups in their schools (with NashvillePeer staff support), collaboratively analyze findings via 3 virtual sessions, and present findings to district leadership through Peer\u2019s established findings session format in time to inform spring course scheduling and registration.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> <\/span>The Racial and Social Justice Collaborative is investigating spaces of thriving for Black boys in and outside of their schools. In this work, the RPP has recently completed focus groups with former Black male students (ages 18-25) in its 3 partner districts and is beginning focus groups with current middle (ages 11-14) and high school Black boys (ages 14-18). These focus groups are centered around photo-elicitation, in which the youth participants photograph spaces in which they experience thriving and then share those photos in discussion with one another.\u00a0 The RPP will use the award to compensate youth in each of the three age groups to co-review research findings alongside the researchers and equity directors, co-design ways to expand opportunities for thriving for Black boys in the 3 districts, and to co-present those ideas to district leadership.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> The St. Louis Research-Practice Collaborative (SRPC) will develop a youth-led framework for engaging high school students in systems-thinking research and change initiatives. Building on the Washington University of St. Louis Brown School of Social Work\u2019s \u201cChanging Systems\u201d model, the SRPC will recruit middle and high school students from partner schools to explore systemic challenges impacting their futures. Students who are selected to participate will receive training in systems thinking, conduct peer interviews and workshops, create system maps, and present actionable insights to decision-makers in schools, government, and community organizations. Funding will be used to compensate students for their time, securing space for convenings with peers, purchasing supplies, providing meals, and offering honorariums for speakers. The focus will be on understanding barriers for students who neither pursue college nor secure gainful post-secondary opportunities.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> Youth CARES: Youth Civic Action for Resilient Environmental Solutions will use the funds to support high school student researchers\u2019 sharing of their research findings related to a project they are engaged in that examines the intersection between climate change and social justice issues. Sharing the research findings with the members of the local and global community is critical in empowering youths to further engage in powerful civic action. These funds will allow youths to generate digitized materials, such as websites, podcasts, and video storytelling, and to participate in a local conference. Second, the funds will help provide stipends for mentors (undergraduate students and preservice teachers) to support high school student researchers\u2019 research activities.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> <\/span>In partnership with partners from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), MSAN will use the funds to develop the goals, framework, infrastructure, and research agenda for the initial years of MSAN\u2019s Youth Voice RPP. The grant will fund the participation of students in this planning process, including stipends for student participants and materials, activities, and resources (including consultants and facilitators) related to student participation in the MSAN RPP planning efforts. Planning activities include virtual meetings and in-person sessions during the annual MSAN Student Conference, which will also provide an opportunity for student planning team members to engage additional MSAN student leader attendees in surveys, focus groups, and other activities to inform RPP planning efforts.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> Detroit PEER will convene up to 20 Black and Brown youth for a Summer Youth Research Institute (SYRI) to expand youth leadership in Detroit PEER\u2019s RPP. Youth activists from the RPP member organizations will be SYRI workshop co-facilitators. They will co-create and carry out curricula to teach principles of youth leadership and organizing to a new cohort of Detroit PEER youth advisors. The new cohort will engage in Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) to develop campaigns for educational justice based on critical issues of personal importance to them. They will also receive culturally relevant learning about the educational experiences of Black and Brown youth in Detroit, engage in youth empowerment exercises, learn the foundations of critical qualitative and quantitative research, and use storytelling for liberatory educational policy change. By summer\u2019s end, the youth will showcase their YPAR results and develop political actions to call for the educational opportunities they identify as necessary for Detroit youth thriving.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> The Youth Action Research Fellowship\u2014which the Gardner Center has now facilitated with six research-practice partners and more than 50 student researchers\u2014centers student perspectives and provides new and critical information and analysis. This knowledge advances the ability of schools, districts, and other youth serving organizations to improve their programs and build deeper relationships with youth.<\/p>\n The team anticipates using funds to serve the Stanford Redwood City Sequoia Mental Health Collaborative by documenting the curriculum and tools to prepare to host a future cohort of SUHSD students, as well as for fellowships that support other research-practice partnerships. The Stanford Redwood City Sequoia Mental Health Collaborative team also wants to ensure that youth action research is well understood as a path to advance equity in education, and so they plan to develop publicly available tools and information that can be used by other RPPs interested in expanding youth voice in their research.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> <\/span>An essential component of both the VT RAYS project and Community Schools implementation is the centering of shared governance, collaborative leadership, and youth\/family agency. This award will provide critical support for ongoing efforts to recruit and support student involvement in ongoing VT RAYS Youth Advisory Boards at five Community School sites across rural Vermont. Further, this funding will facilitate the expansion of existing clinical and public health information and supports including the refinement of the Adolescent and Youth Friendly Clinic Environment Assessment Tool to support youth-led walk-throughs during which youth share ideas and recommendations for making healthcare environments more welcoming and safer for young people. In conjunction with integrated student supports and family engagement activity, two critical components of community schools, this funding will support youth-developed informational flyers, context-specific public health campaign materials, and community-building activities led by VT RAYS Youth Advisory Boards.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> CIRCLE + Illinois Civics Hub will use the award to provide funds for young people in three school districts to lead a participatory budgeting process to plan and disburse grants to improve civic opportunities that benefit all students in a school or a district. In the initial phase, youth teams will receive training to conduct focus groups and learn about building decision-making tools (such as rubrics and deliberation strategies) as they make their spending plan. In the second phase, the same young people will apply the skills to refine the \u201cdemocracy schools\u201d success metrics with the RPP, by providing feedback and by engaging more and younger students in their districts to gather and make recommendations.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> The DC Education Research Collaborative intends to use award funds to further develop an ongoing project with the Columbia Heights Education Campus, a globally-themed bilingual public school for grades 6 through 12 where students and educators are now guided by the co-created principle of design thinking. The research project is being advised and guided by the Collaborative\u2019s Research Director, but conducted entirely by students. The project focuses on two priority issues: reducing tardiness and eliminating restroom vandalism. The students are investigating whether proposed solutions have the intended effects and the degree to which students are being included and centered during school-wide decision-making.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> <\/span>The Carolina Youth Coalition will use award funds to initiate and conduct the \u201cI Belong\u201d photovoice project. Ten students will participate in the planning and execution of the project, which will provide them with an opportunity to share how they engage in their community and express their sense of belongingness. Students will have full agency in deciding what is important, concerning, or interesting for them to share. They will capture their individual perspectives and use images to inform others and advocate for engagement \/ belongingness, especially at a time when youth mental health is declining. Students will receive stipends to support their involvement and will share their work with their peers and community.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> <\/span><\/p>\n Digital Promise plans to use the funds to work with educators on co-designing interview protocols that will help teachers and administrators conduct empathy interviews with their students. This will empower both educators to listen and students to share, as the partnership advances understanding of and relationships with computing and tech. Ultimately, the interviews will provide context for the design of student learning experiences that will benefit students.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> The Equity Implemented Partnership is co-designing a culturally responsive professional development initiative that addresses systemic and institutionalized racism embedded in school practices and policies. The funds from this award will be used to establish partnership infrastructure to ensure that racial minority, underserved youth benefit from and are supported to participate in the RPP. In particular, EIP will develop an \"Emerging RPP Scholar\" program to center student voice.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> The Gardner Center will use funds to support and expand a new Youth Action Research internship designed to center student perspective and expertise in research. The internship will engage high school seniors as critical stakeholders and active participants in research on the implementation of Oakland Unified's Full-Service Community Schools Initiative to support OUSD's interests in better understanding what it means to be a learner-centered community school.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> GPL will use funds to strategically plan for the long-term involvement of college students as partnership teammates by actively including them in the planning stages. In particular, GPL will compensate Achieve Atlanta scholars attending Georgia State University for participating in semi-structured interviews to better understand the opportunities and barriers students may experience when engaging with the RPP and collaborating to conduct participatory action research.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>2026 Youth Voice 4 RPPs Awardees<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>
EDUCATION RESEARCH ALLIANCE FOR NEW ORLEANS<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n
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NASHVILLEPEER<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n
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RACIAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE COLLABORATIVE<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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PREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2025<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>
ST. LOUIS RESEARCH-PRACTICE COLLABORATIVE (SRPC)<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n
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YOUTH CARES: YOUTH CIVIC ACTION FOR RESILIENT ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/span>MULTICULTURAL STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT NETWORK (MSAN)<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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PREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2024<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>
DETROIT PARTNERSHIP FOR EDUCATION EQUITY & RESEARCH<\/a><\/a> <\/strong><\/h2>\n
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CENTERING YOUTH VOICE: STANFORD REDWOOD CITY SEQUOIA MENTAL HEALTH COLLABORATIVE<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n
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THE VERMONT COMMUNITY SCHOOLS RPP (VT CS RPP)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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PREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2023<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>
CIRCLE<\/a> + ILLINOIS CIVICS HUB<\/a> <\/strong><\/h2>\n
(Twitter: @IL_CivicsHub)<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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DC EDUCATION RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n
(Twitter: @urbaninstitute)<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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CAROLINA YOUTH COALITION RESEARCH PRACTICE PARTNERSHIP<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
(Twitter: @CarolinaYouthCo)<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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PREVIOUS AWARDEES | 2021<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>
DIGITAL PROMISE<\/a><\/span> (KENTUCKY)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Tough as Nails, Nimble Fingers: Developing a K-8 Coding Pathway for KY Appalachia<\/em><\/h5>\n
EQUITY IMPLEMENTED PARTNERSHIP<\/a><\/span> (IOWA)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Waterloo School District + Center for Educational Transformation,<\/span>\u00a0University of Northern Iowa<\/em><\/h5>\n
JOHN W. GARDNER CENTER<\/a><\/span> (CALIFORNIA)<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/span>Oakland Unified School District, Community Schools, Gardner Center, Stanford University<\/em><\/h5>\n
GEORGIA POLICY LABS<\/b><\/a><\/span> (GEORGIA)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Achieve Atlanta + Georgia State University<\/em><\/h5>\n
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