Twenty-five youth and adults from four school-based teams came together on June 25th at the Berkshire Innovation Center in Pittsfield, MA for a jam-packed, laughter-filled, full-day retreat focused on the possibilities of youth-adult partnership (YAP). 

The teams started their work together in 2019, when the Berkshire Educational Resources K-12 collaborative (BERK12) began supporting Berkshire County schools in developing their Portrait of a Graduate (PoG) framework. The work of the teams has since grown to include increased student involvement, including school and regional youth voice summits.

BERK12 collaborated with UP for Learning to design an agenda that would support the teams as they continue to deepen their partnership with students. The work of the morning was grounded in the fundamentals of youth-adult partnership. Participants engaged in a number of activities that prompted reflection on where their PoG teams, schools, and wider network fell along the continuum of youth-adult partnership. They identified areas of success where they were already actively supporting YAP, as well as opportunities for them to infuse more partnership moving forward into the new school year. 

In addition to brainstorming, the teams were split up into youth and adult affinity groups where they had a chance to discuss and explore the mental models and mindset shift that is necessary to move towards greater partnership, in a modified version of an activity that UP calls the “teeter-totter phenomenon.” As a whole group, both youth and adults shared their reflections on what youth and adults, respectively, need to know about each other to work in partnership effectively. 

The afternoon was spent in team time creating a clear vision for how PoG youth voice summits can have strong youth voice and youth-adult partnership practices in their planning and execution. Teams engaged in an affinity mapping activity where individuals answered key questions on sticky notes and were invited to sort and organize them. The questions given were:

  • In what ways were we successful in elevating youth voice in the planning and execution of this past year’s youth summits?
  • What are some areas where there were more opportunities for youth voice and/or youth-adult partnership in the planning of this past year’s youth summits?
  • What are you going to do to create specific ways we can advance the role that youth voice and/or youth-adult partnership play in the planning and execution of next year’s youth summits?

The Pittsfield High School team identified creating an environment where students feel comfortable sharing, as well as more intentional preparation and training for the youth facilitating the summit, as key next steps. Taconic High School highlighted potential for improvements in the way that the event is publicized and offered to students, as well as emphasized the need for adults to start shifting their mental models and stepping back to create more space for youth voice. Finally, the combined Drury High School and Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter (BART) teams also saw the need for improved outreach about the summits, as well as establishing a clear plan for collecting, sharing, and analyzing collected data. 

All four schools were aligned in their belief that the summits were successful in providing empowering opportunities for youth voice and genuine, authentic participation. Through the work of the day, the participants demonstrated a shared commitment to fostering a more inclusive environment where youth voice is not only heard but celebrated. As they move into the upcoming school year, the insights and takeaways from the retreat will support their work of further enriching youth-adult partnership.