Beyond School Bells Youth Leadership Council Lifts Youth Voice in Nebraska

Created to raise youth voice specifically in the afterschool and summer education space in Nebraska, the Beyond School Bells (BSB) Youth Leadership Council (YLC) lifts youth leadership to positively impact community change.

Beyond School Bells (BSB), an initiative of Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, recently wrapped up the first cohort of the Youth Leadership Council (YLC). Council members from across Nebraska, spent the semester brainstorming and proposing ways to either improve upon an existing program or fill an unmet need in their community’s afterschool and summer programs. These ideas became their projects.

All council members were high school students who currently work in their local afterschool programs and were nominated for the council by their program coordinators or directors.

Project topics range from the addition of a life skills afterschool club to increased professional development opportunities for staff. Council members receive training and support throughout this experience so that their final projects include budgets, timelines, and anticipated barriers to implementation.

In addition to the project development, council members gained professional development opportunities and exposure to various careers in education. They learned how to build relationships with students through engaging activities, practiced creating business plans and setting goals for expanded learning opportunities (ELO) programming, and networked with other high school staff and afterschool professionals throughout the state of Nebraska who have similar interests and career goals.

Meet the 2023 Spring Youth Leadership Council Members

Taylor Battershaw, Valentine
Valentine Elementary School Afterschool Program
Taylor knew her students had plenty of innovative ideas bubbling in their heads and they were ready to be shared. Her YLC project included creating a safe space that students could share these ideas so that they could be incorporated into future club offerings.

Zanizeah (Nini) Chavez, Mitchell
Mitchell Afterschool Program
Nini wanted to capitalize on her students’ interest in animals and incorporate animal care into the afterschool program offered in Mitchell. She incorporated lessons on farm animals and animal safety into her project plan.

Ava Dembowski, Omaha
Prairie Lane Early Childhood Center
In her final project presentation, Ava shared that she thought it was important that teachers act as observers instead of facilitators to allow kids to feel like they have choice in their activities. Her project involved incorporating more hands-on clubs and opportunities for purposeful play into their programs.

Kennedie Gibson, Alliance
Alliance Recreation Center
Kennedie found that students are more engaged in the program when they can contribute to decision-making processes. She plans to get feedback from each grade of students about what activities they want to see at Alliance Recreation Center.

Haylee Jacobs, Mitchell
Mitchell Afterschool Program
Haylee hopes to get her students more involved in lesson planning. She plans to brainstorm activity ideas with her students and have them vote for their favorite each week of the semester.

Seth Jacobs, Mitchell
Mitchell Afterschool Program
Seth looks forward to teaching his students about sportsmanship through a new game he invented that encourages physicaly activity and requires participants to treat their teammates and opponents with respect.

Lily Krahulik, Mitchell
Mitchell Afterschool Program
Enhancing educational programming was the purpose of Lily’s project. She led the creation of a new semester-long life skills club with the motto, Let’s prepare our students for their futures!

Brena Melton, North Platte
Kids Klub
As a high school para at Kid’s Klub, Brena plans to invite high school students into the club to teach hands-on STEM lessons. She said during her final project presentation, “It is important to have fun with kids, because if kids think you think something is cool, they will think ‘oh yeah, that is really cool, I could do that.'” 

Rylan Miller, Broken Bow
Super Kids Club, Inc.
As a high school staff at Super Kids Club, Inc., Rylan focused his project on improving staff training to improve the relationships between staff and students. He said during his final presentation: “A key aspect of leadership is the ability to identify the specific needs of the children. By understanding the unique challenges and abilities of each child, we can ensure that we are able to make a meaningful and positive impact [in their lives].” 

Cadence Phaby and Madi Rowley, Cozad
Afterzone
Cadence and Madi partnered up for their final project focused on behavior. Together, they developed a plan to implement a reward system where students who follow club rules throughout the week are rewarded with a Fun Friday where students get to play games in the gym.

Beyond School Bells looks forward to supporting the implementation of students’ Youth Leadership Council projects over the coming months and elevating the voice of high school staff in their local afterschool programs.

“Leading the inaugural BSB Youth Leadership Council this semester has been such an inspiring and impactful opportunity. It is clear to see that each high school student cared deeply about the success of their program and the students in it. They did not think ‘will this be an easy change to make?’, but instead considered ‘how can I make real, meaningful change in my program?’”

– Lauren Clark, Beyond School Bells
Community Investment and Project Coordinator

New Cohort in Fall 2023

A new cohort of the BSB YLC will start again in the fall. Any high school students who are currently employed by an afterschool or summer program are eligible to apply. For more information about joining the next cohort, please contact Lauren Clark at lclark@nebraskachildren.org.

About Beyond School Bells (BSB)

Beyond School Bells is a statewide public-private partnership that supports sustainable, high-quality, school-community collaborations that provide youth with what they need to be successful in school and in life. These collaborations provide kids access to areas of learning they may never experience, including hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) activities. Through the process, participants exhibit increased school attendance, positive behavior and improved academic performance. Visit the Beyond School Bells website.