Students report for youth council

1. Youth Council Year‐End Remarks to City Council June 22, 2015
Rickey Levon Burch and Jason Kerman
Hello, thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak tonight. We are Rickey‐Levon Burch,
from Butler High School and Jason Kerman from North Mecklenburg High School. We are
incoming co‐presidents of the Charlotte‐Mecklenburg Youth Council. Our third co‐president,
Hassaanah Kersey of West Mecklenburg High School, could not be here. Standing with us is
Deirdre Austin, who served as president last year. She just graduated from Independence and
will head to Georgetown in the fall.
Tonight we are here to briefly report on the youth council’s work this year.
The youth council educates us as emerging leaders through real‐world experiences. We learn
how our governments and community work, the key issues, and how citizens and leaders
collaborate to solve problems.
Equally important, the youth council connects community leaders with a ready youth resource
for informed, thoughtful feedback that can be used to strengthen policy and decision‐making –
especially on issues impacting children and youth.
The Charlotte‐Mecklenburg Youth Council is a program of Charlotte nonprofit
GenerationNation in partnership with the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and CMS.
The youth council is diverse and representative. Our members attend schools and live in
neighborhoods across Charlotte‐Mecklenburg. We come from all kinds of backgrounds and
perspectives.
Here’s a list of participating high schools this year
The youth council invested nearly 3,000 hours this year interacting with leaders, exploring
community issues, and learning about government, careers, history, and the community’s
growth and plans.
We advise city, county, and CMS leaders on issues, policies, and decisions impacting children
and youth; organize student‐led activities including Youth Summit and Youth Candidate Forum;
participate in service‐learning, and civic events, attend government meetings, follow news,
conduct surveys, and research data.
The youth council narrows learning opportunity gaps through authentic and transformative
civics and leadership experiences, with 100% of students:
Interacting with and discussing issues with community leaders
Learning about and applying knowledge to solve community issues
Learning about and interacting with local government
Meeting and collaborating with youth from other schools and backgrounds

2. We build knowledge and interests about government, civic issues, public policy, news/current
events, voting, and volunteering.
And skills and behaviors such as leadership, decision‐making, collaboration, analysis,
communications, public speaking, and confidence.
This year, we…
Toured the city to learn about history, city planning, and growth.
Planned our own city and came up with ideas for the future.
Learned about critical issues facing our community, including economic opportunity,
race relations, and school assignment.
Experienced the legislative process and met student leaders from cities and towns
across the state at the NC Youth Legislative Assembly.
We…
Interviewed candidates and wrote a student candidate guide for Election 2014 (we’re
planning to do the same thing for the local election in 2015),
Discussed different pathways for college, careers, and leadership.
Represented Charlotte‐Mecklenburg youth on committees, community panels, civic
events, and conferences.
Learned about community strategies and plans for growth and the future.
Members of the youth council participated in the NC Youth Legislative Assembly in Raleigh. It
was a great way to experience the legislative process, learn about different viewpoints and
issues, and get to know student leaders from communities across the state.
And we hosted a youth summit, inviting the Board of Education, Charlotte City Council, and
Mecklenburg County Commission, to meet with high school students to discuss how we can all
work together to make our schools and community strong now and for the future.
Through the youth council, we benefit from learning opportunities that connect us with real‐life
experiences that help us to prepare for college, career, and civic life. In addition to meeting
with officials, we explore careers, build leadership and professional skills, interview leaders, and
much more…
Thank you to the leaders who have worked with youth this year.

3. Through GenerationNation and community partners, the youth council is building a leadership
pipeline. This year, students in 9th and 10th grade spent a semester learning about the
community, civic issues, and leadership.
They’ll join the youth council next year.
After graduation, we’ll join the alumni network. Over their winter break, alumni came back
home and met with the youth council. They talked with us about college, getting internships
and jobs, getting involved in service and leadership, and other topics. The alumni continue to be
involved in other ways. It is great to know that we’ll have continued opportunities to build our
networks and give back to the community as we grow as leaders and young adults.
We’re a new generation of Charlotte‐Mecklenburg leaders. Compared with peers, we are are
much more likely to demonstrate civic leadership, civic engagement, and civic and news
literacy.
As we conclude, we want to highlight key issues that we believe are important and impact
Charlotte‐Mecklenburg youth:
economic opportunity,
educational opportunities and student assignment,
race relations, and
student voice.
We spent time discussing, reading news and doing research, and attending civic events. We will
continue to work on these issues, and others, next year.
Next year will be a great one. We invite all high school students to get involved.
And, we invite all officials to consider the Charlotte‐Mecklenburg Youth Council to be a valuable
resource for feedback and ideas. We are the next generation of community leaders – we want
to make our city great and plan the future!
Thank you so much for supporting youth leadership in our community! We have enjoyed
working with you and appreciate your support. Thank you!