Brighton Park Neighborhood Council | Chicago, Illinois

  > Youth Council
  > VOYCE
  > FAD 58

Untitled Document

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, APRIL 12
Citizenship Workshop
9am-11am
Our Lady of Fatima Church
2751 W. 38th Place

Monday
April 28
Education and Safety Forum
6pm-8pm
Our Lady of Fatima Church
2751 W. 38th Place

ONGOING EVENTS

2nd Wednesday of
every month
FAD 58 Meeting
6:00pm
BPNC Office
4477 S. Archer Avenue

> Housing Committee
> Education

VOYCE (Voices of Youth in Chicago Education) Español

Brighton Park Neighborhood Council played a vital role in the creation of VOYCE, Voices of Youth in Chicago Education, a city-wide collaborative of seven community organizations committed to elevating the student perspective in public high school reform efforts. VOYCE is student-led, reflecting the core belief that as recipients of education, students have unique insight into the challenge of improving schools and boosting graduation rates and college enrollment. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested $1.5 million in VOYCE.

BPNC’s VOYCE leaders attend Kelly High School, where they are conducting participatory evaluation research involving ethnographic mapping, classroom observations, surveys, and interviews with their teachers, administrators, and peers to examine what’s behind the district’s high dropout and low college enrollment rates. Upon compiling all of the students’ findings based on their research in 12 high schools city-wide, VOYCE leaders will work collaboratively with local universities to establish a series of recommendations to better inform district-wide high school reform efforts in Chicago.

Through our active participation in VOYCE, BPNC youth are further developing as individuals and community leaders as we engage in discussions examining identity, power, media, public speaking, organizing for social change, and the history of Chicago school reform all in the context of social justice.