SPPS Student Advisory Team

Last year the Saint Paul Public School board started discussing how to engage students in a more meaningful way.  There had been some student engagement in the past but usually it focused around specific special projects.  There was a need for youth voice and student engagement at the system level.  As many youth workers know, creating honest and quality youth voice can be difficult but also very important.

The Saint Paul Public School board created the Student Advisory Team which consists of 10th – 12th graders who will help the school board engage the student body more meaningfully.  In its first year the Student Advisory Team will be creating and defining the council: creating its mission, vision, purpose and even its name.

Check out the team’s Facebook for videos and information and look for applications for the Student Advisory Team in the spring!

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Neighborhood Network Team Meetings

North End and Friends
Thu. December 10th
9:30 am - 11 am
St. Paul Music Academy

East Side Network Cafe
Mon. December 14th
10 am - 11:30 am 
Opportunity Neighborhood Ames Lake

Leap Forward Collaborative for Youth
Tues. December 15th
10 am - 12 pm
Good Neighbor Center

Neighborhood Learning Community
Thu. December 17th
12 pm - 1pm 
Wellstone Center

Learn more about Neighborhood Network Teams, and let us know if you'd like to be on the listserv for one or more of these groups.

WeDay

This year, 589 Saint Paul Public Schools students attended "We Day" to celebrate youth making a difference in local and global communities through service projects. Check out the video from SPPS about WeDay!

2016 Sprockets Conference Save the Date

Friday February 26th, 2016

9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Como Park Zoo & Conservatory 

Expanded Learning Middle School Initiative

Sprockets joined a group of 20 organizations who are focused on building a foundation for successful transition to high school. Over the next five years, this Expanded Learning Middle School Initiative is committing to collectively invest over half a billion dollars in private and public resources to impact the lives of over a million students by delivering high-quality expanded learning opportunities through multiple, evidence-based models and practices.  We look forward to working with these new partners!

Professional Development Opportunities

Social Emotional Learning

University of Minnesota presented to a full house on Social Emotional Learning at the Wellstone Center.   The facilitators, Margo Herman, Brandi Olson, and Kate Walker, presented a new way of emphasizing social emotional learning in youth work.  Check out the resources the University of Minnesota has around social emotional learning!

Right Track Organization Application

Right Track is the City of Saint Paul’s career development initiative for youth, offering jobs and internships to build a diverse workforce for the future. Youth Jobs 01 (YJ01) provides City-subsidized work experiences in parks, libraries, and other community organizations. These jobs are subsidized with funds secured through the State of Minnesota and the Community Development Block Grant program.

If your organization is interested in providing City-subsidized work experiences for YJ01 Right Track workers for Summer 2016, please go to the Right Track website. The deadline is January 15, 2016.

Sprockets Program Finder Updates

Be sure people know who you are and what you do! 

Add your winter and spring programs into the Program Finder.