Young People Lead

Our Approach to Youth-Led Learning

Research shows youth of color disproportionately attend schools that focus on developing basic reading and math skills and do not prepare them with the 21st century problem-solving skills to succeed in our innovation economy, where the biggest predictor of success is their decision-making ability. Through Young People Lead (YPL), MindCatcher works with school communities to reimagine the student experience by shifting the power of deciding how and what youth learn to youth. YPL’s whole school approach to youth-led learning grounds all facets of the school community – youth, educators, families – in mindsets and practices that support robust youth decision-making.

Currently, YPL partners with middle schools in MindCatcher’s network to transition their school community mindset, practices and systems to youth-led learning over 3 years.

Program Overview

Pre-Launch
Phase 1
Phase 2
Post-YPL

Site Leader Engagement: Fall 2022

During a three-day institute, YPL site leaders use our Mindset Framework to delve into a focus area impacting their ability to create youth-led learning environments. These leaders will:

Craft a focus question about persistent dilemma preventing cultivation of youth-led learning
Collect evidence articulating beliefs about youth and current practice
Synthesize evidence to develop strategies answering focus question
Assemble a customized Mindset playbook with implementation strategies

Staff Engagement Commences: January-April 2023

YPL leaders form a youth-led learning focused cohort. They participate in monthly group coaching to support the implementation of their strategies, visit one another's sites in addition to other learning environments and share insights.

MindCatcher supports sites by:

Adapting our professional development model to meet school needs
Providing guided site-assessment using our Youth Engagement Spectrum (YES) framework
Coaching teams to articulate a set of principles centering their school community’s commitment to youth-led learning.

Sites may participate in Youth Learning Lab, cross-site collaborations designed to more deeply understand adult mindsets and practices necessary to support youth-led learning.

Culture, Family Partnerships, Curriculum & Instruction Integration: August 2023-May 2026

Each year, teams utilize the YES framework to establish classroom and school-wide goals for supporting youth-led learning. Supports include:

Youth-led learning grade-level standards and rubrics
Performance assessments
Family engagement strategies
Grade and department level coaching on strategies to ensure youth subject matter interests are prioritized and youth develop advocacy skills, manage and monitor their learning.

Ongoing Sustainability

Educators attend convenings and workshops or engage in cross-site collaborations to support deeper youth-led learning implementation.

Interested?
Speak with a MindCatcher team member to learn more!