Youth leadership in Out-of-School Time (OST) settings is a broad term that includes a range of opportunities for youth to take leadership roles. At one level, programs can engage young people in community service or service learning projects that enhance the quality of life in their own communities, which may involve advocacy efforts. At another level, youth can be active in the program by serving as tutors and mentors for younger children. And at yet a different level, youth can serve on boards of directors, as well as advise on and become partners in curriculum and program development, in addition to program evaluation.
One example of the tool resources we offer as free downloads is this excellent rubric (click to download) to help you evaluate your program’s youth leadership implementation:
This topic is divided into the five sections:
Each section provides free materials and resources to download on a range of OST youth leadership topics and program approaches.
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