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Here's the deal:
Sometimes you are so deeply into the inspiring work and all that it takes that you lose track of the idea that inquiring minds may want to know about it.... So, here are a few highlights from the past 10 weeks in the life of TE, plus a couple of spotlights on former TE youth who are doing great things in the world.
But, from now on... we will send out smaller bursts of light and info every 4-6 weeks, because we know you want to know more about what youth are achieving for, and with, our community. Plus, we all need a steady dose of hope!
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Youth Organizers at Work
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Youth ROC the Issues
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TE Youth Organizers train 26 new RPD police recruits and
orient 230 principals & administrators to the new RCSD Code of Conduct
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TE is known for stepping directly into the fray--with a clear philosophy and methods centered on building
RELATIONSHIPS, HONESTY and MLK's aspirations toward the "Beloved Community" where we commit to take
CARE of one another while "bending the arch toward
JUSTICE."
This is true in our continued work to improve relations between police and youth of color. And in our efforts to ally school staff, students and families to end the school-to-prison pipeline and make Rochester City Schools places where we all love to be, learn, teach and grow together.
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TE youth played a central role over the last 2 years in the creation of a new
Code of Conduct for their school district, adopted by the Board of Education in June. The youth understood that many RCSD staff have been concerned about the changes. So, they stepped up and brought their enthusiasm, knowledge, hope and facilitation skills directly to RCSD's Leadership Summit for all principals, assistant principals, central district and other administrators in August.
TE youth led sessions to orient administrators to the Guiding Principles of the Code of Conduct. They built relationships, sparked creative thinking and professional sharing, and inspired gratitude and vision for expanded roles STUDENTS can play in transforming school climate.
J
ust 2 weeks later,
18 YOs and TE staff provided and all-day training for the Rochester Police Department's 26 newest officers-to-be
before they began their field-training, where they will meet youth daily in our community.
HOW
they meet and view youth requires thoughtful attention. So, for 6 hours, the recruits and youth organizers shared deep discussions about each other's intentions and challenges, as well as about the very public divisions that have been revealed nationally.
As with the school principals, they were honest, built empathy and looked toward "how can we do this better... together?"
The recruits collectively rated the session a 9.6 out of 10, and all but one strongly agreed that their police academy training would have been missing a vital element without the TE youth-driven training day.
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Fast Forward:
When a former TE youth leader becomes a steadfast community partner....
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Brandon White was 16 years old when his friend Jordan was hired by this group he'd never heard of. It was 2004 and Teen Empowerment had just held its inaugural Youth Conference & SpeakOut with 400+ youth at Harro East. As a TE youth organizer, Brandon's friend was leading youth
strategy sessions with hundreds of their peers to come up with the 5-point Youth Agenda for Change.
Brandon was hooked. Whenever he could, he jumped into TE's effort to rally youth voice. He helped TE make its first youth forum at City Hall a rousing success.
Here he is back then:
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Brandon White, age 17, speaks at
Youth Forum at City Hall, 2008
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In the years that followed, Brandon dove into becoming an English/ Language Arts teacher, getting his Bachelor's at Buff State and Masters at U Buffalo. And, he is a skilled hip hop artist who uses the art form as a tool to inspire and edify his community (he even freestyles vocabulary words into rhymes to teach his students!) Today he is one of RCSD's most student-centered,
community-minded, arts-infusing
maestros.
At the Frederick Douglass Campus (NW College Prep), Brandon created the club Chess, Rhymes & Wisdom, and has been a "Teacher on Assignment" introducing his colleagues and students to restorative practices to make Douglass a school where people care for each other and hold each other accountable.
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Teacher Brandon at Student Focus Group led by TE youth organizers, 2016
Brandon has been a steadfast leader, standing alongside today's TE youth organizers, to change school climate in RCSD. Keep on, Brandon!!
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April 7 & 8, 2016 - WXXI Morning Edition with Beth Adams: 2-Part Feature on TE's Youth-Police Dialogue Project -
Part 1 & Part 2
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Anthony Jordan Health Center honors TE
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There is little more humbling and affirming than being honored by your peers. We had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate over 100 years of the
Anthony Jordan Health Center
providing accessible, high quality health care to some of our lowest income communities.
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Majahzi & Doug accepted award for TE |
Many thanks to Anthony Jordan Health Center for honoring Teen Empowerment with their
Community Partner Award. Collaboration and building strong networks are the lifeblood of youth organizing.
(including Dr. Walter Cooper & Bob Duffy) who have also touched TE.
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TE Staff Transitions
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And... She's OFF!!!
Our treasured colleague and friend, Shanterra Randle, has launched into teaching in Rochester City School District as a secondary inclusion teacher. After 10 years--from the 16-year-old with burdens no one should have to carry and an attitude and the pen to defend her spirit, to the nationally recognized slam poet (check out the "Brave New Voices" series on HBO Now to see her and her 2008 Rochester team in action), to leading peers just a few years her junior... Shan is putting her degree to work in education. We miss her daily presence. We know we will see her often (she's agreed to serve on our Advisory Board!)
Welcome (back), Shawanda!!
Shawanda McGee has been around for years, starting as a YO in 2006. While working in the health care field, she volunteered and jumped in to assist the next generations of YOs with their initiatives and served this past year on TE Rochester's Advisory Board. We're so excited to have her on-board as Program Coordinator!
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Shawanda & Shanterra at TE's 2016 Luncheon
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Where are YO-u Now
A quick spotlight on a Former Youth Organizer (YO)*
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Age
:
24
Your most powerful TE memory.
The moments when TE youth leaders processed very hard & troubling subjects together. Usually we rejoiced and had a lot of laughs together. That was easy. However, when issues came out such as rape, violence, police, and community unrest, all of us collectively processed these things together. Youth of different backgrounds, perspectives and cultures in the midst of our ever-changing teenage stage could sense hurt from one another and would do anything to heal the community around us.
A motto for life that you took from TE.
The ultimate motto I gained from TE was without a doubt the value
of honest, raw and thought-provoking feedback. I learned how to admire the feedback from the world around me and not run from the criticism I thought I was receiving. I learned that sometimes people can see things in you that either you've become blind to or content with.
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Quincy at TE's CitywideVibe in 2008 |
Where are you at in life?
Working for my community and organizing events at TE and tying it all into fundraising has led me on the path where I've found my niche.
After TE, I did a community service project with Susan B. Anthony House where I was taken under the wing of the Director of Development. This led to my getting a full-ride at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, PA, where I graduated in 2014 with a BA in Corporate Communication. I stayed in Philadelphia and was placed as the Director of Public Relations for the state's foster care program. Then, when an opportunity opened with United Cerebral Palsy to do creative special events and fundraising for their Arts Realization Therapy program, I joined the development team at their key partner, the Philadelphia Art Museum, contributing to a fundraising budget of $3.1 million. Currently I am in my second semester at Temple's Beasley School of Law, focusing on Intellectual Property and Contract Law.
What's next for you?
Honestly, I'm not sure. I believe that life has a way of coming full circle. I'm simply in place to be prepared for whatever is next. However, I plan on making a major impact in the development field: I've just signed on as a Fundraising/Major Gifts Manager with PMA in Delaware!
Your hope for Rochester and how we can get there?
My hope for Rochester is that it will grow into a city where I don't have to worry about the safety of my nephews, a place where they will be educated to take on the world in any area they see fit.
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TE needs YOU!
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Spread the Word
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Know someone who would be interest in what our organization does?
Director of Rochester Programs
Development & Collaborations Manager
Program Coordinator
Office Coordinator
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Thanks again for making a difference!
Sincerely,
TE Staff
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