Advocacy for Educational Equity
Kid City is serious about opening the door for young people to bring their hopes and dreams, concerns, and solutions to decision-makers! We do this by participating in leadership in the field, coordinating listening sessions, and inviting students to testify to public and institutional entities -- including state legislators, congressional representatives, the UC Regents, and the CSU Trustees, among others stakeholders in education equity. Here are just a few of the ways we engage students in creative, constructive, community actions.
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Local & Institutional AdvocacyKid City students and alumni learn to speak on issues of equity in education, accessibility to the arts, and other topics important to them. They share their experiences in testimonies in legislative visits and institutional hearings on issues concerning first generation, low-income students: college access and affordability, K-16 education, financial aid, access to students' basic needs, just to name a few. Advocacy Training is provided several times each year - empowering students to be strong advocates for themselves and their communities.
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Rapid Response TeamKid City students have become known for their willingness to speak up on behalf of students like themselves, their families, and communities. Partners call on us with opportunities -- asking questions at candidate forums, providing testimony for budget committees, etc. Students who have gone through one of our advocacy trainings, or participated in prior advocacy events, are invited to join our rapid response team. IN this picture from 2021, Kid City college students and grads are on a legislative meeting call with Senator Alex Padilla's Office advocating for #DoublePell to support students' financial stability!
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Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR)Youth Participatory Action Research centers the voices of youth who are part of the community that is being studied. This approach gives power and voice to folks from the community by fully including them in every step of the research process. Participating youth take the lead to choose the research questions, collect data, analyze the data, and share the findings. Youth have studied the mental health of undocumented students, and high school students during the pandemic. In 2023, they have chosen to look at housing scarcity, and what happens to families when rent becomes increasingly unaffordable.
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Education Equity Partners