What began as a prayer movement last year has evolved into a full-blown student leadership initiative this year. At once a prayer (“I Am” is the name God calls himself, hence the prayer) and a call to lead, “I Am My School” recognizes that school performance and outcomes reflect what students, faculty, parents, and other stakeholders bring to them every day.

Solidarity: How You Can Help

1. Organize a prayer walk in your neighborhood. Step-by-step instructions and interactive maps here.

2. Represent the movement; wear the t-shirt.

Why students?

• Eyes to see & ears to hear.
• A story to tell & a voice to tell it.
• Opportunity to make a difference.
• Influence & capacity for change.

New York City boasts the largest school system in the the country. We spend more $$$ on education per student than any school district in the world. Yet for decades half our classmates haven’t graduated, and as many as 60% are still not proficient in reading or math.

The experts keep trying to fix the problems.  They also keep trying to fix us.

They test us. They grade our teachers. They restructure and rearrange and reassign. They spend, spend, and spend some more.

They all claim to “keep students first.”

Yet despite the activity and the money, former Chancellor Joel Klein says of all the attempts to fix schools: “Adults have been collaborating for years, and kids keep getting screwed.”

That’s because rarely do they ask our opinions on what problems affect us most, or how best to solve them.  Rarely do they create space for us to initiate change.  Rarely do they hear us when we talk.

Through “I Am My School,” students mobilize other students to do something about the problems in our schools.  We recognize that our schools partly reflect what we bring to them: the decisions we make everyday about what’s important, our priorities about what’s cool, the effort we invest in our studies, and the energy we create among our peers.

When we hear the cries of those around us, and see opportunities to fix problems and create change, we initiate action.  The kind of action that produces change.

The change we hope to see in the world begins with me, because “I Am My School.”  And it begins with you.  Real change in 1,700 NYC schools begins one student at a time, one school at a time.

Training at Reload NY/NJ
Presented by: Eden Martinez and Jeremy Del Rio (2011)

Description

Goliaths fall when adults like Saul get out of David’s way. Learn from student leaders how and why they’ve been empowered as youth to reach youth and transform their communities. For TEENS serious about creating change, AND ADULT youth workers who are ready to relinquish real authority for exponential impact.

Preview Video

Part 1

Part 2

God Belongs in My City Prayer walk from 20/20 Vision For Schools on Vimeo.

Related

+ “I am my School” and other Student Prayers for New York

Goliaths fall when adults like Saul get out of David’s way.

For the last twelve months, student leaders from greater New York have proven this truism time and again. Now some are organizing a citywide prayer walk of 1,600 public schools the weekend of Halloween and inviting the city’s 7,100 churches to participate.

Imagine that: students leading congregations as together they intercede for 1.1 million public school students — on a weekend long symbolic of darkness and mayhem.

This second I Am My School effort, spearheaded by student leaders from God Belongs in My City and 20/20 Vision for Schools, expands a May 15 pilot that included ten walks in four boroughs covering twenty-five schools.

The students will pray, “I am my school,” because “I am,” the name God calls Himself, has sent them to love and serve and transform their schools. On the Monday following the walk, students will wear I Am My School t-shirts to school in an effort to identify other Christians on campus. They will also encourage their churches to adopt one school within walking distance for ongoing prayer, advocacy, and service.

This kind of catalytic student leadership is exactly what Latino Pastoral Action Center hoped to inspire on September 12, 2009, when they produced “Kickin’ it Old Skool,” the first student leadership conference in collective memory that was actually led by students. Most “student leadership” events involve adults teaching students, or adults teaching other adults how to lead students. Rarely do adults voluntarily play a supporting role to students leading the event.

LPAC empowered twelve student organizers from four boroughs defy the stereotype and design a leadership event that they and other students would lead, armed with a budget to pull it off. Sixty-eight of their peers gathered for the conference at Washington Irving High School in Manhattan, and 175 enjoyed the evening concert as well.

At Kickin’ It, LPAC’s President Rev. Dr. Raymond Rivera called students, “essential to efforts to transform communities.” Then he charged them, “Share your story. Declare your future. Inspire other students. Remember, tomorrow needs you. Prepare for it today.”

Little did he know that less than two months later, three of the Kickin’ It student organizers would rally a dozen or so other students to coordinate God Belongs in My City, the largest student led prayer walk in New York City. Fifteen hundred marchers walked a total of eight miles in Manhattan culminating in a Times Square rally and silent prayer “flash mob” in the main lobby of Grand Central Station.

In May 2010, those same empowered students organized the I Am My School pilot that provides the basis for the upcoming effort.

Another recent manifestation of authentic student leadership occurred at Reload 1.2.3, the groundbreaking multi-state, multi-site youth training event on June 12 that required every adult involved in the program — from musicians and singers to trainers and general session speakers — to integrate a “Plus-1? student protégé into their content delivery. With live music and workshops at all three venues, this strategy created a platform for more than fifty student leaders to provide meaningful leadership at a premiere training event for more than five hundred youth workers. Kickin’ It student leaders presented the “Student Led Student Leadership: Pipe Dream or Possible?” workshop that was simulcast to all three venues.

Dr. Larry Acosta, president of Urban Youth Workers Institute, challenged adult leaders at Reload 1.2.3, “You need to empower youth to lead with real ministry opportunities,” not just “passing the offering plates every fifth Sunday.”

To the Plus-1’s and other student leaders, Larry exhorted: “We need you … to rise up and lead the church into the future. You’re alive at this time in history at such a time as this. We need you to help us complete the Great Commission in the cities, in the … neighborhoods, in the projects, in the parks, in the places where too many from my generation are afraid to go.”

The Biblical character David was an untested teenager, a shepherd boy with no military training, when he simultaneously proved to be the only man among soldiers courageous enough to confront the giant Goliath. For forty days, Goliath’s taunts paralyzed Israel’s army with fear. Then David overheard the mockery, witnessed the cowardice of the adults around him, and was moved to action. The rest, as they say, is history.

Join veteran leaders like Dr. Rivera and Dr. Acosta in creating space for young people to continue making history. For more information on I Am My School, sign up online at 2020schools.net/i-am-my-school.

- Jeremy Del Rio was 13 when his youth pastor invited him to preach, 19 when his senior pastor asked him to start a youth group, and today directs 20/20 Vision for Schools, a movement to transform public education within one generation of students. www.JeremyDelRio.com

Related

• Watch the Reload 1.2.3 General Sessions for free online.
• Watch the Reload 1.2.3 Workshops for free online.

1. Stop viewing students as consumers of education, buying a product from teachers
2. Instead empower them as owners of their lives, investing in their education as a means to a life worth living
3. As owners, nurture a culture of leadership among the student body of public schools
4. Develop a 10% pipeline of student leaders within any given school because when 10% of a community changes its values, the rest of the population generally follows

Because of this foundational commitment to student leadership development, it was 20/20′s privilege to sponsor Reload 1.2.3 on June 12, the first ever multi-site multi-state student ministry conference. (1 conference. 2 States. 3 sites.)  Specifically, 20/20 Vision contributed three core components to Reload 1.2.3′s one-of-a-kind program.  

First, 20/20 inspired and shaped Reload’s Plus-1 program strategy, requiring every adult involved in the program at all three venues, from musicians and singers to trainers and general session speakers, to integrate a “Plus-1″ protege into their content delivery.  With live music and workshops at all three venues, this strategy created a platform for more than 50 Plus-1 student leaders to provide meaningful leadership at a premiere training event for more than 500 youth workers.  More importantly, Plus-1s demonstrated what empowered student leaders look like, rather than adults simply talking about student leadership as a value, and created a common reference point for more than 500 leaders who can influence a shift towards more authentic student leadership in organizations throughout greater New York.

Second, 20/20 shaped the “Student-Led Student Ministry: Pipe Dream or Possible?” workshop which featured four accomplished student leaders as experts on what student-led change looks like and how to achieve it. The workshop description follows, along with a slideshow that captured visually the impacts of their student leadership.

It’s trendy for youth ministers to say, “Youth ministry is not about ministering to youth, but about empowering youth to minister,” but what does youth-led youth ministry actually look like? Experience youth ministry by young people as NYC students discuss recent student-led ministry models including God Belongs in My City, Kickin’ It Old Skool, Generation Xcel, and World Vision’s Youth Empowerment Project.

(Student Led Student Ministry: Possible from Jeremy Del Rio on Vimeo.)

Finally, Reload 1.2.3 provided a platform for the 20/20 Vision Workshop to be taught live at three venues simultaneously, thanks to our instructors Edwin Pacheco (associate pastor Gateway City Church and director Youth Rock), Walter Sotelo (director New York Gospel Outreach), and Rohin Beach (youth pastor St. Luke’s Baptist Church of Paterson). Here’s that workshop description:

Adults promise children that if they stay in school they will be equipped to succeed in life, but we have failed to make good on that promise for generations — with high school graduation rates in some cities hovering at or below 30%. Come explore how urban youth ministries are transforming public education within a single generation of students by activating congregations, adopting schools, and becoming answers to prayer.

Download video of the Vision Workshop, along with its PowerPoint and lecture notes, here.

Thanks Urban Youth Workers Institute for being an incredible partner and affirming that empowered student leaders are key to reaching their generation.

In partnership with the Christian Association of Youth Mentoring, 20/20 Vision for Schools offers a two day mentoring training June 25-26. Learn best practices for recruiting, screening, matching, and supervising safe and effective mentoring programs. Scholarships up to 80% are available. Go here for more info or to register.

The Biblical character David was an untested teenager, a shepherd boy with no military training, when he simultaneously proved to be the only man among soldiers courageous enough to confront the giant Goliath.

For 40 days, Goliath’s taunts paralyzed Israel’s army with fear. Then David overheard the mockery, witnessed the cowardice of the adults around him, and was moved to action. The rest, as they say, is history.

On Saturday, 12 student leaders rejected the contradiction that “student leadership” events could only be led by adults, and hosted 68 student leaders for the first student led student leadership conference in my memory of 21 years of youth ministry and youth development here in New York.

I was blown away by their poise, dedication, and — yes — leadership, despite inexperience and a lack of proven models for what such an event could look like. I was also impressed by the dozen adults who voluntarily stepped back to follow their lead, and provided the support necessary to allow them to shine, especially the visionaries at Latino Pastoral Action Center whose generosity and innovation made the day possible.

I’ll be posting more about Kickin’ It Old Skool throughout the week. Stay tuned. Meantime, check out some Twitter highlights from the event (including Twitpics and more) here.

Via @jlopez219

// “Death was mine to face but You took my place in Love…” -Beyond Barriers http://twitpic.com/hiz7t

// Now on Stage at “Kickin it old Skool” in NYC… Beyond Barriers! http://twitpic.com/hivhq

// “Mercy & Grace” from Sunset Park Bklyn are leadin us in some tight worship! http://twitpic.com/hispn

// Just acted a fool on stage tryna do some old skool break dancin… I ain’t never break danced in my life! Haha ☺

// Chillin at da “Kickin’ It Old Skool” Concert (16st n Irving St. NYC) If u in the city come thru! http://twitpic.com/hieji

// Sound ✔ for the “Kickin’ It Old Skool” Concert 2nite at 7pm (16th n Irving St. NYC) If u in the city come thru! http://twitpic.com/hhoq4

// On my way 2 the “Kick’n It Ol’ School” Youth Conference in NYC… @beyondbarriers in Concert 2nite at 7pm

via @jeremydelrio

// No, its not obnoxious for me 2brag abt my lil bro. Jon kicked it old skool for real w his msg. Bro makes u laff as his words pierce deeply.

// Props to LPAC, UKYM, XCEL, No Limits, Gr8r Heights, CitiVision for trusting uth 2lead. Well placed trust. Http://2020schools.net/kickin-it

// http://twitpic.com/hitef – Nu skool leadership at Kickin’ It Old Skool. Leadership requires courage &these studnts hve it

// Nu skool leadership at Kickin’ It Old Skool. These kids shine like stars (Phil 2). http://twitpic.com/hi5ab

// Sound ✔ for the “Kickin’ It Old Skool” Concert 2nite at 7pm at on 16st n Irving NYC. Come thru! http://twitpic.com/hhoq4. Via @jlopez219

// Final prep for the 1st student led studnt leadrship conf in my 21 yrs of uth work. History is hard work. http://2020schools.net/kick…

// Goliaths fall when adults like Saul get out of Davids way. 9/12: NYCs only student led studnt leadrship conf 2020schools.net/kickin-it

via @GabrielM23

// Here@the Kickin It Old Skool Concert which is the ending of a great day of empowering this generation to make a difference in their world!

Via @dsanabria

// hey all you amazing ppl out there come out to washington irving h.s. on 14st for a free concert at 7 PM!!! (via @CrossoverYM)

// @ the Kickin’ it old Skool student led conference! http://yfrog.com/0o2btvj

// It Kicks off at 10 am Be there!! http://2020schools.net/kick… Registration is free!! Tell Everyone you know!! See you there!

// 9/12/01 a 26 y/o lawyer was changed THERE http://tinyurl.com/jrd911. 9/12/09 students will be changed HERE http://2020schools.net/kick…

// 1day til NYCs only studnt led studnt leadrship conf. Goliaths fall wen adults like Saul get out of David’s way. 2020schools.net/kickin-it

// Check out the only student led student leadership conference in New York City. http://su.pr/1EtCnf (via Youth Specialties @YS_Scoop)

Via @pleaseexchange

// golly, whataday. still got some hw, s’all good though. Great things are 2 come with Kickin’ It Old School! thanks @jeremydelrio

// LogosRHEMA is lethal. Still at Kickin it Old School.

// @ a panel on youth leadership. Kickin it old school, watchout (in George lopez voice)

// Kickin it ol school= awesome. Loving this small group. <3

// Is @ kickin it old school! Making moves for student leadership!

// Big day tomorrow. Kickin’ It Old School @ Washington Irving High School! If you’re a student that wants to see REAL CHANGE, come through!

But too often we adult leaders stand in the way of youth actually leading. Usually it’s unintentional. Busy lives, lack of planning, mistrust — lots of reasons conspire against releasing real authority to students.

On September 12, that changes … at least for one day.

Join Latino Pastoral Action Center, the Coalition of Urban Youth Workers, Urban Kingdom Youth Ministries, CitiVision Inc, Generation Xcel, Greater Heights, and 20/20 Vision for Schools for Kickin’ It Old Skool, the first student led, student leadership conference (and concert!) in recent memory.

Bring your student leaders, and be challenged along with us to make real student leadership a regular part of youth development and student ministry.

It’s the only way to change the world.

Register online.

Related

+ Embrace the Mess: Why Youth Must Lead Now