Youth2Lead
Youth2Lead is a civic learning program that teachers lead at their own schools, either after school or as part of regular instruction. Designed for grades 4–8, the program guides students to develop and implement solutions to community problems.
Empowering students to become civic leaders
Our mission is to help young students develop skills for becoming changemakers who improve their communities.
Initiated in the 2025-26 school year, Youth2Lead has engaged over 70 students from four districts in the St. Louis region to take evidence-based action in their communities.
Student skills developed through Youth2Lead
The program curriculum focuses on helping students develop:
- An understanding of civic issues and a sense of responsibility to address them
- Data analysis skills
- Persuasive speaking and writing skills
They have…
- Honed techniques of questioning and active listening when interviewing community members
- Engaged in thoughtful, evidence-informed debates and deliberation to select community problems to address
- Developed carefully worded surveys
- Collected survey data from hundreds of respondents and analyzed the data with statistical techniques
- Transformed data into action by developing and implementing innovative solutions to civic issues
Community issues students are addressing
They are…
- Raising awareness and donations for organizations that serve unhoused families
- Spreading positive messaging to improve the external image of St. Louis
- Creating new student leadership organizations at their school
- Organizing events to connect underserved youth with afterschool and summer programs
- Advocating for reduction of plastic waste in their school cafeterias
In their own words
I love Youth2Lead because it is a chance for ordinary middle school kids to make a big difference. It is a great club where kids can work together to find a problem in the community and help fix it.
I remember solving issues in classes but just writing it down and then forgetting about it. Youth2Lead teaches us what process to start fixing a problem in.
I have learned teamwork skills and realized that even when we don’t all agree on a really big thing there are smaller things that we can all agree upon. Working with different people has also shown me that everyone’s opinion matters and can always serve a purpose in the problem we are trying to solve.
In Youth2Lead I have learned various ways to get community input and that the questions you ask genuinely matter. From surveys, interviews, multiple choice questions, rank questions, open ended questions, and so much more, I now know the importance of these types of questions and when and where to use them.
Youth2Lead is made possible by generous support from the Frick Initiatives at Washington University in St. Louis.
Youth2Lead Curriculum
Students in Youth2Lead complete a sequence of activities to design and implement a solution to a community problem. The curriculum draws inspiration from a variety of evidence-based civic education programs, such as Project Citizen and Generation Citizen.
Curriculum sequence
Participating students in grades 4-8 are guided to:
- Respect, support, motivate, and collaborate with each other to improve their communities
- Learn about problems in their community by interviewing community members and analyzing news sources
- Select a community problem to focus on by reaching a consensus through dialogue and debate
- Understand the problem and potential solutions by designing and conducting a community survey and using statistical techniques to analyze the data
- Design a solution based on the survey results and additional research
- Promote the solution by implementing an innovative service project or advocating for a policy change
- Present the outcomes of their work to a panel of civic leaders
Educator opportunity
Come join our mission to develop a generation of changemakers.
We are looking for highly effective educators in the St. Louis region to bring Youth2Lead to their schools. Youth2Lead educators will help refine the program curriculum and then implement it at their school in the 2026-27 school year. Implementation can occur after school or during regular instruction. Each Youth2Lead educator will receive $3000 for their involvement.
Eligibility and responsibilities
Eligibility
We seek educators in St. Louis City and St. Louis County who have:
- Passion for engaging students in shaping their communities
- Evidence of instructional effectiveness (any subject)
- (Preferred) Experience designing curricula
Responsibilities
- Help refine the Youth2Lead curriculum by standardizing existing program resources and developing new activities that are differentiated by grade (16 hours; summer 2026)
- Initiate the program at their school and recruit at least 8 students in grades 4-8 (fall 2026)
- Oversee program activities, periodically submit data on progress, and participate in monthly check-in meetings (50-60 hours; 2026-27 school year)
How to apply
To apply, please send your resume to Hanley Chiang, Director of K-8 Programs for the Aspirations Network, at hanley.chiang@aspirationsnetwork.org. In addition to attaching your resume, please answer the following questions:
- Why do you want to be involved in Youth2Lead?
- Please provide evidence of your effectiveness in teaching elementary or middle school students.
- Please indicate any other relevant experience, such as experience with afterschool programming, youth civic engagement, or curriculum development.
Youth2Lead is made possible by generous support from the Frick Initiatives at Washington University in St. Louis.
We would love to hear from you!
Please send us questions or comments by using the form below.
Youth2Lead is made possible by generous support from the Frick Initiatives at Washington University in St. Louis.