Day 2: YouthShift identifies key issues for KidsNOLA @NOLAYouthDev #GradNation Community Summit Solutions Sessions. pic.twitter.com/577lTlx8ha
— APA Live (@APA__live) November 15, 2014
Over 100 people came together last weekend for GradNation, a two-day summit focused on youth services across New Orleans. The summit brought together a wide range of people: everyone from policy makers and non-profit leaders to parents and students.
GradNation had one main goal: bring different stakeholders together. Mat Schwarzman is Director ofNew Orleans Kids Partnership, one of the groups behind the summit. He says people tend to focus on a specific issue — tutoring, transportation, behavior intervention — and don't always connect with other service providers.
"It's our belief that what's missing right now is that opportunity to get that overarching big picture," Schwarzman says. "And to draw upon the different knowledge bases that people have who are often not in these discussions."
Like students. The summit didn't just connect service providers across topics. It connected students across schools. They identified similarities, expressed shock at differences, and shared stories.
"I'm really happy that I came because I actually have concerns and we're actually getting somewhere," one student said. "Someone is actually listening to me. I'm not just being heard without being considered."
Participants came up with next steps for coordinating and improving youth services.
Support for education reporting on WWNO comes from Baptist Community Ministries and Entergy Corporation.