Develop Global Youth Leaders in NYC and DC!

Global Kids, Inc. has rapidly shifted and adapted programs and services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in order to continue to serve our greatest-need students while offering additional support during this time of crisis. GK partnered with the Department of Education Office of Community Schools to operate 70 Regional Enrichment Centers (RECs) caring for children of first responders - nurses, doctors, custodial staff, and other key personnel - on the front lines of the pandemic. Also creating an online portal, Ning, established with school staff, teachers and administrators to ensure program quality remains consistent and runs smoothly, this internal social network is a centralized organizing space for remote learning that includes both synchronous and asynchronous environments for flexibility to maintain programming structure. Working with the Dept. of Ed., GK on-boarded youth onto school systems like Google Classroom simultaneously with Ning. GK is creating COVID-19 lessons to convey accurate information, improve media literacy to evaluate sources, and counter xenophobia, and implementing socio-emotional learning modules to help students. 

GK seeks to address learning loss for out-of-school students, mental health issues in low-income communities, and ameliorate other losses due to COVID-19. Because GK works almost exclusively with students of color whose communities have been disproportionately affected by coronavirus, a large proportion of our students know someone who has become ill and have families struggling to make ends meet during economic collapse. Simultaneously, students are negotiating the uncharted territory of remote learning, threatening to fall further behind in school. Parents might not have access to resources, know where to find information, or are overwhelmed themselves. These factors combine to create a high-stress home environment with negative repercussions for mental health and school success. As low-income students lose access to services offered by schools, GK staff are providing tutoring, counseling and connecting with students and their families to ensure access to remote learning technology, food, mental health care, and other support. High school seniors, many of whom are first-generation college students navigating the process while colleges are closed, will receive additional support to optimize success as they transition to college, including scholarship application assistance. 

Unfortunately, GK made the decision to cancel the Annual Youth Conference this spring, an event organized and led by our youth. GK leaders selected Gender Equity as the conference theme and had done most of the preparation for the event; attending a conference retreat, designing a logo, and creating workshops. The workshop topics were based on the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The youth worked extremely hard on this event, and we are currently exploring other options for youth to present their workshops through digital opportunities.

As we transition into new online offerings, GK is proud to announce that we are hopeful to still reach expected outcomes by the end of the 2019-2020 school year. Despite the challenges, GK is committed to continuing our vital work to support our students, their families and the communities we serve in this crucial moment in students’ education and development. We hope to meet our outcomes by the end of the year despite the challenges posed by school closure and we appreciate the support of our funders during this time.

College and Career:

GK youth have had opportunities to explore options beyond high school, touring college campuses, including the University of Pennsylvania, Williams College, Adelphi and more. Youth have also participated at career panels, hearing from professionals from companies like Google, Youtube, Gemini, Gigantic Studios and Santander. We are proud of several GKs students who have been accepted into colleges such as St. Francis College, the University of Hartford, Ithaca College, and five CUNY schools. Additionally, over 100 GK students have participated in paid internships at Global Kids, Councilmember Deborah Rose’s City Hall office, Central Family Center, and Solar One, to name a few.

#CensusSquad:

Over 75 students have taken on leadership roles within their schools and community by participating in our GK #CensusSquads. These youth are educating and activating their peers, families and community members in and around their schools on the importance of the census. Students have participated in three trainings at GK Headquarters in Manhattan, as well as at school sites in Queens and Brooklyn to learn how to mobilize New Yorkers around census self-response in underserved communities. GK #CensusSquads are powerful ambassadors who have been able to engage hard-to-reach populations, participating in public outreach and social media campaigns to spread the word and break down myths around the census. So far the GK #CensusSquads have collected 206 pledge cards, with additional distribution in their schools and communities. For the last few weeks, the students have hosted Census Sundays virtual panels with different local members of government, to great response.

Human Rights Activist Project (HRAP):

Nearly 100 youth have been engaged in public policy discussions each week at three schools in the Bronx and Queens and at GK Headquarters in Manhattan. In January, five students went to Albany with State Senator Luis R. Sepúlveda from the Bronx to talk with legislators and to advocate for the statewide Climate and Community Protection Act. In February, ten students participated in a Climate Education Task Force Meeting with educators, non-profit leaders, and DOE representatives who are working on expanding climate education in schools. Students are also committed to activism beyond climate issues, such as voter registration.

Links:

• GK Students Participate in Saving SYEP
• GK Youth Panel With Board Chair on Covid-19