NZ Launches New Mission Statement

Dear Friends,

Young people's experience in 2024 looks significantly different than in 2006 when our last mission statement was created. And it is even more different now than in 1998 when NZ was first founded. Today, youth seek a space where they can authentically show up as themselves. They need creative opportunities to be innovative. They need to know that they have a community that affirms their power. And, they need support and resources to navigate the structures and systems that too often serve as barriers. This work is transformational on many levels - for our youth, for our center, and for our community.

NZ teens, staff and teen board members

With the support of a consulting firm, Emergence Collective, the Neutral Zone convened its teens, staff, and board of directors for a day-long retreat in January of 2023 to reflect on our values, embrace our story, and identify key words to understand who we are today. With this reflection, we sought to identify our why for today.

A task force group convened over several months to reflect on the notes from the retreat to propose a mission statement. And finally, after several rounds of conversations with teens, staff, and our board, the NZ had created a new mission reflective of who we are today.

Jayla Fields, Skyline Senior and member of the Neutral Zone Board of Directors, took a lead role in the writing of the new mission. Jayla reflected on the experience:

NZ board member Jayla Fields

“The process was interesting. We looked at the old mission statement for reference and we took the most important parts. Then we wanted to incorporate the Neutral Zone’s main goals for teens and the main takeaways we wanted people to have when they left the building.

“It’s not just talking about how we can do creative things here, but outside the space. You’re allowed to be yourself and figure out yourself and I think that's important - it really is like a neutral zone. It allows people to be themselves and to figure out their interests and individuality.

“Not only does Neutral Zone help you to uncover your passions, it gives you resources to pursue them. It provides teens with the opportunity to walk away from the space and enter adulthood independently, with new-found knowledge of themselves, discovered at Neutral Zone.”

-Jayla Fields

Our mission is the compass that guides us to know who we are and that we rely on to guide our decisions that impact our culture, our programming, and the experience that youth have in NZ. This mission challenges us to ensure that we continue to partner with our youth to build community through equity and justice.

New Mission Statement 2024

Neutral Zone is a transformative, youth-driven community where youth
embrace their power, ignite their creativity, and launch their future
to build equity, justice, and collective liberation.

Neutral Zone board members and staff with a poster of the new mission statement

NZ board members and staff working together during a leadership activity

Second Mission Statement 2006:

The Neutral Zone is a diverse, youth-driven teen center dedicated to promoting personal growth through artistic expression, community leadership and the exchange of ideas.

Original Mission Statement 1998:

The Neutral Zone is a youth-oriented, youth-advised place which offers a fun, entertaining, safe environment for teenagers to meet with friends and meet new people, learn new things and satisfy their need for a home away from home; a place to call their own during high risk hours.

The Neutral Zone relies on donations from community for the funds to make these programs possible. Click the link below to make a gift today. Your support provides everything from the leadership experience for the teens serving on our board of directors to snacks and a safe space to unwind after school.

Neutral Zone Hosts Restorative Practices Professional Learning Series

Neutral Zone's Youth Driven Spaces introduces an exciting new webinar-based professional learning series focused on Restorative Practices.  Seminars are led by professionals in the field who are transforming education through school- and district-wide restorative practices implementation.  

The learning series will focus on applied strategies and case studies for implementing reforms with Restorative Practices. Check out our spring series.

Neutral Zone Receives Lewis Prize for Music Award of $500K

Thank you, Lewis Prize! We are overjoyed and deeply grateful to share this amazing news. Neutral Zone is a 2024 recipient of The Lewis Prize for Music’s $500K Accelerator Awards! Over $3 million will go to 11 Creative Youth Development organizations across the country. Our deepest thanks to all of the NZ staff, teens, alumni and community members who helped by participating in the application process.

We are excited to have more resources to connect youth with more community artists, host youth-driven creative projects, and build more partnerships for greater accessibility and community connections. These funds provide a sustained commitment to do the work that we know has an impact on youth in our community.

The funding also will go toward expanding Future Corps, which supports youth aged 14-24 by providing creative youth spaces and critical support in employment and education. Further, the funds will serve to build Neutral Zone’s capacity to grow our training, coaching, and consulting work to support and encourage local schools and youth-serving organizations to be more youth-driven.

We are tremendously grateful for the award and for all of the support our community has shown for NZ's mission for the past 25 years. We truly would not be here without all of the donors, staff, volunteers, leaders and advocates who have invested in and stood behind our community's youth.

About the Lewis Prize

The Lewis Prize for Music, a philanthropic music arts organization advancing systems change through Creative Youth Development, has announced its 2024 Awards distributing over $3 million. 11 Creative Youth Development (CYD) organizations nationwide have been selected for awards ranging from $150,000 to $500,000. 15 Semifinalists are receiving grants of $15,000 in recognition of their impact.

Since launching the first Accelerator Awards in 2020, The Lewis Prize has fulfilled its 5-year commitment of $20 million invested in CYD through awards, grants, and research. The foundation is excited to deepen philanthropic activity by forming new partnerships and collaborations that will advance the CYD field. Their recent partnership with Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies has increased distributed funds in the 2024 Awards!

The Lewis Prize is using its knowledge and experience to expand advocacy and support of young people in communities across the country.

Learn more about the 2024 Awardees: www.thelewisprize.org

NZ in the News

Click below to read feature articles from Ann Arbor News and Concentrate Media

Ann Arbor News MLive.com article posted January 9, 2024

Concentrate Secondwavemedia.com article posted January 20, 2024

NZ Launches Video for 25th Anniversary Celebration

Enormous thanks to filmmaker Toko Shiiki along with Donald Harrison who created this 12-minute film to commemorate Neutral Zone on our 25th Anniversary. Take a peek for a look into Neutral Zone programs, events, alumni and our leadership over the years.

Click here to make a 25th Anniversary donation!

Alumni - click here to share your alumni story with us

Support 25 years of youth voice

Dear Friends,

The Neutral Zone is celebrating 25 years!

It has been 25 years of creating a vision, finding a home, building our skills, developing structures, and facilitating program opportunities for thousands of youth in our community to thrive.

We know it has been worth it. As we walk through the building, we see youth in a space they call their own. They share their ideas–and realize them. Through projects, initiatives, and community work, we build meaningful experiences to support youth to lead their communities with equity and justice.

On October 7th, we hosted our 25th Anniversary Street Party featuring a stellar lineup of teens and alumni musicians and performers, interactive murals and art projects, live silk-screening, and most importantly alumni returning to NZ. It was a special moment for us to pause, connect, and recognize the valuable contributions of all of us who have worked so hard over the years as volunteers, staff, board, and community.

We asked our alumni why NZ has mattered to them. Here are a few of their comments:

I started working at a Neutral Zone when I was a sophomore in high school up until I was 23 years old. Everyone I worked with gave me so much knowledge for growing up that I’m still using to this day.

Sonya Robbins, NZ ‘02

I felt seen at the Neutral Zone, I could be myself. It was a safe place to get away from the pressures of school or home and provided an outlet for whatever emotions I was feeling.

Adam Cross, NZ ‘05

I just read that question and started tearing up. I'm a better writer, better community member, better leader and collaborator and human for my time there.

Harper Jocques, NZ ‘08

I think of community. The Neutral Zone gave me a space to be myself when I couldn't be who I wanted to be at school or home. I spent much of my time exploring myself, my identity, and my path in life.

Aidan McClogan, NZ ‘13

NZ is where I found my voice as an artist, community member, and citizen; met some of my closest friends, and often felt most alive as a young person.

Issac Scobey-Thal, NZ ‘16

Our letter today is full of gratitude to you. We shine a light on all of you who have believed in us, supported us, and continued offering endless encouragement. We hope you will continue to invest in young people by making a gift again this year.

Thank you for allowing us to continue showing up, supporting, and honoring our young people daily.

Thank you for 25 years of trusting us,

Lori Roddy, MSW
Executive Director

Group photo after an alumni reflection on October 7th

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ALUMNI & FAMILY DONATION MATCH

Don't forget - we have received an alumni challenge match of an amazing $25,000 from donors Ashley and Jon Oberheide.  This means that all donations made by alumni teens and alumni families through the end of the year will be DOUBLED.  Use the link below or the link in the RSVP form to make your alumni gift today!

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TELL US YOUR ALUMNI STORY

Click to let us know what you're up to and share memories of NZ.  We would love to hear from you and have the chance to feature your experience of NZ!

Alumni (& Family) Donations MATCHED through the end of the year!

Did you use to hang out at Neutral Zone when you were a teen? Or did someone in your family? Your donation from now until the end of the year will be matched, doubling the impact you can make for teens! Just use the link below or send us a note along with your favorite method of giving and we’ll make sure to double your donation. Thank you!!

Detroit Creative Na Bonsai Brings Heart and Beats to Neutral Zone and Educate Youth

Na Bonsai at Educate Youth

Neutral Zone's "Beats!" Project brings fresh energy that has teens feeling accomplished. Na Bonsai's strategy of leading with example and enthusiasm has teens lining up to take their turn at the Maschine drum pad, and 404 Sampler. With encouragement, teens have been bringing their own culture to reimagine into new tunes. Samples that range from Motown hits to Willie Colon's iconic Salsa horns can be heard drifting out of the studio on Monday afternoons, and evenings at Educate Youth in Ypsilanti.

Na Bonsai is a multidisciplinary artist based in Detroit, MI. Their main mediums of work are in music (songwriting, production, multi-instrumentalist, and arrangement), as well as visual artistry (printmaking, collage-work). Na’s work centers and depicts their experience as a Queer, Black Womanist. Through art they focus on our connections to each other in a technological age, among other things.

"Na's ability to make music a heartfelt and joyful experience is contagious - it inspires teens to lead with that same element. I believe that's the most important part." Says Danielle Yarmoluk, NZ's Artist in Residence Curator. Students from Neutral Zone and Educate Youth are working towards creating their own songs for Na's culminating project this Spring. The journey to that end has so far been full of smiles, head-nodding, and courage to try new ways of honoring culture and identity.

Na Bonsai

Neutral Zone's Men of Color Barber Shop Centers the Culture of Black Hair

R. Reed provides haircuts for D. Bigham, and young men of color at Neutral Zone

Thanks to Generator Z, a project of the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, we have been given the opportunity to host a series of special events for our Young Men of Color at the Neutral Zone: The Barber Shop.

Our guest barber is Romney Reed, an Ann Arbor native and former student at Huron High. He is an audio engineer in addition to his barbering expertise and small business “The Taper Truck” (a mobile barber service). Romney’s experience as a young man of color in Ann Arbor gives him a special insight into what the young men of this generation experience. He promotes discussion among the Gen X/Millennial Black Ann Arbor alumni, always sharing information, and positive insight to his large cohort of Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti followers on social media. The ability to inspire meaningful conversations among Black men makes Romney a dynamic collaborator with our Men of Color group.

Our Educational Coordinator Daniel Bigham curates these events and stresses the importance of retreat from “the white gaze”, or the feeling of being watched from a lens of otherness. The default perspective of white culture, whether subtle or obvious, creates a deep-rooted urge for some people of color to be constantly aware of, and adjust to being watched and judged.

Black hair has been a means of discrimination in educational settings and workplaces. Federal laws like “The CROWN Act” have been passed recently to protect people of color, and challenge the oppressive concepts of refined or professional appearance. Bigham seeks to connect teens of color to each other and reinforce cultural pride in the non-conformity of Black hair.

Aesthetics have long been a vehicle for creativity, and expression of identity for Black people. The varied texture, curl, and kink of Black hair, and the distinct effort and process of maintaining it, is a source of pride. Black hair care is an opportunity to establish individual style, make a statement, participate in current trends, and reimagine retro trends. From the blown-out afros of the 70’s to the high-top fades of the 90’s; from tapered lineups to intricate part designs, Black Barber Shops have been the catalyst for many hair revolutions and innovative hairstyles. The ritualistic process of grooming is equally as important as having a place to retreat and speak candidly about life, love, and the Black experience. We hope to provide both, so that our teens of color leave the chair feeling improved, renewed, and confident.

Thus far, our Barber Shop events have been full of laughs, food, conversation, and even jam sessions. We look forward to the next one!

-Danielle Yarmoluk

Register for the 2023 Youth Driven Spaces Conference

This year marks the sixth annual Youth Driven Space (YDS) Conference, which aims to connect youth-driven organizations from across Southeast Michigan and to provide a space for growth and learning. The YDS conference is a day full of community building, presentations, workshops, and project proposals.

The 2023 YDS Conference will take place on April 15, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m, at Eastern Michigan University’s McKenny Hall. Our theme this year is Transitioning into Adulthood. The conference will include workshops that prepare teens for the future, especially topics that aren’t taught in high school such as professional skills and how to be financially independent. Additionally, we will be giving out $5,000 to fund youth driven projects.

We would love for your organization to participate! Register by March 31st.

Seeking youth-led workshop proposals!

Topics may include: Important skills for success that are not taught in school, How to be financially independent, Planning for the future, Professional skills, Navigating healthcare, financial aid, transportation, and other tricky systems. Apply by March 3rd

Seeking youth-driven project ideas in need of funding!

We will be giving out a total of $5,000 to a few selected groups who apply to pitch a youth driven project. Project pitches do not need to be connected to the conference theme. Submit a youth driven project idea by March 3rd

New Artists-in-Residence Launch in February

We’re excited to announce the launch of two new projects through our Artist-in-Residency initiative. Starting the first week of February, these projects will meet weekly on Mondays and Wednesdays at 4:30 PM at Neutral Zone, and Beat Making will also meet Mondays at 6:30 at Educate Youth in Ypsi. Like all of our programs, these are free and open to any high-school-age teen.

Beat Making with Na Bonsai

Mondays
4:30 - 6 PM at Neutral Zone
6:30 - 8 PM at Educate Youth, Ypsi

Detroit-based sound worker Na Bonsai is a multi-dimensional force, and they move from the mantra of "creativity as spirituality" and "imagination as a radical practice". We’ll discuss how beats can be accessible to ANYONE. When we start from looking backwards, and listen to rhythms with guidance, we can transform the experience of sound into the creation of fresh new sounds. Oof, y'all not ready -- but get ready!  Two locations options are available for this program, Mondays from 4:30 to 6 we’ll meet at Neutral Zone in downtown Ann Arbor, and from 6:30 - 8 we are meeting at Educate Youth in Ypsilanti.

Art Studio with Merel Noorlander

Wednesdays 4:30 - 6 pm at Neutral Zone

Detroit-based artist Merel Noorlander is a multi-disciplinary artist who will focus on projections, animation design, screen-printing, and imaginative storytelling with reflective materials, and the world around us. Every Wednesday at 4:30pm starting Feb 8th. No experience necessary, materials provided!

Black History Month Events

Join us for events celebrating black history and culture all month long at Neutral Zone! See the event listings in our calendar for details on each event:

Friday, Feb 3rd - Blank Panther Movie Night

Weds, Feb 8th - Black Author Event

Tuesday, Feb 21st - Black History Month Celebration Open Mic and Art Shocase

Thurs, Feb 23rd - Barbershop

Safe, Supported and Empowered - article published in Kappan, the journal of PDK International

by Annie M. White and John Kenneth Weiss
November 28, 2022

Published in Kappan, the journal of PDK Intenational
Full article: https://kappanonline.org/safe-supported-and-empowered-white-weiss/

Restorative practices and student voice play crucial roles in fostering a safe climate for students to thrive in school.

Getty Images

The Esteemed Grizzlies is an advisory group of high school students from a predominantly Black and low-wealth district in metro Detroit. The advisory group was created in December 2020 with the Neutral Zone. This Michigan nonprofit provides a venue for social, cultural, educational, recreational, and creative opportunities for high school teens. The organization’s Youth Driven Spaces seeks to center student voice in school climate and culture issues.

The students in the Esteemed Grizzlies represent the high school’s various cliques and social identities and are admired by peers. The students serve as change agents. They participate in monthly workshops and work on projects to improve school climate. Three faculty members support the group, serving as advisers. (We have changed the group’s name to protect its identity.)

A bullying incident and a physical fight between two members in March 2022 damaged the group’s reputation. Faculty advisers asked Neutral Zone facilitators to lead a restorative conversation to repair the harm and discuss how to build back the group’s reputation. Restorative practice (RP) is a powerful and research-based approach to keep students safe, supported, and engaged in schools (Lodi et al., 2021; Zehr, 2015). RP aims to build communities through explicit agreements, authentic participation, and strong relationships. It includes proactive strategies to build community and relationships and reactive tools to bring issues and conflicts forward in nonpunitive ways.

The Esteemed Grizzles show how RP can help schools build and maintain a positive climate and deal with issues of wrongdoing, even when they include physical violence. When schools create the conditions for problem solving, accountability, and empathetic understanding, students not only participate but also are eager to take ownership and shared leadership in making it happen.

The Esteemed Grizzlies’ restorative circle included 16 students, two faculty advisers, and two facilitators. The circle explored what happened and how people were affected. Facilitators guided students through six rounds of questions:

How are you feeling about what happened? What impact has it had on you?

Who do you think was impacted by what happened and in what way?

What are you most worried about moving forward?

What do you need to help yourself heal?

What are you willing to do or contribute to help others heal and to help restore the Esteemed Grizzlies?

What expectations do you have for yourself and for others to be an Esteemed Grizzly?

The circle lasted more than 2½ hours. The students listened and spoke with an uncharacteristic vulnerability for youth. Students spoke about how it had harmed them to have their reputations damaged because of the fight among group members. The faculty advisers, whom the students care deeply about, spoke about the time and energy they put into the group and how the fights deflated them. The students involved in the fight apologized and committed not to engage in conduct like that again. The restorative circle ended with everyone feeling heard and valued and agreeing that the issue had been resolved to their satisfaction.

Student voice and restorative practice

School climate is created from the experiences of students, teachers, and administrators with the norms, goals, values, relationships, education practices, and structures in place at the school (Thapa et al., 2013). Building community and fostering a positive school climate are complex, multidimensional processes. Student voice and engagement are missing links in building a positive school climate where youth feel safe, supported, and empowered. Students make up most of a school’s population and can easily influence the climate. Students have the most to gain when school climates are safe and supportive and the most to lose when they are not.

Student voice activities can range from those at the most basic level, in which youth share their opinions on problems and potential solutions in schools, to the more complex, in which young people collaborate with adults to address those problems or even take the lead to make changes (Cook-Sather, 2002; Fielding, 2001; Levin, 2000; Mitra, 2007). Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) is a useful, concrete, and widely tested process to mobilize student voice to improve school culture, policy, and practice (Anyon et al., 2018; Cammarota & Fine, 2010). YPAR engages students in research about an issue (e.g., school climate) and then uses the knowledge gained from that research to drive change as students develop projects or make recommendations.

Several descriptive and correlational studies show a link between the use of RP and perceptions of positive school climate. RP may improve school climate, in part, because it empowers students and encourages student voice (e.g., Brown, 2017; Gregory et al., 2016) and because of the relationships students build with one another and with their teachers (Fronius et al., 2016; González, 2012). It also may be associated with decreases in bullying, racial disparities in discipline, student conflict, and suspension rates (e.g., Baker, 2009; González, 2012; Suvall, 2009). Though experimental research is limited, one study found a causal link between RP and teachers’ improved perceptions of school climate (Augustine et al., 2018).

Coaching students and teachers in RP

We began working with the Esteemed Grizzlies in December 2020 to develop a training, coaching, and professional development series that helped student-faculty teams a) examine, prioritize, and address school climate issues, and b) learn about and incorporate restorative practice strategies to improve school climate.

For two academic years, Neutral Zone staff met with students and teachers from the Esteemed Grizzlies’ school and another high school in a total of 13 online and in-person sessions. An average of 13 students and two or three teachers attended each session.

Student voice and restorative practices guided the design of the initiative. The use of the YPAR model enabled students to develop concrete projects that gave them a meaningful way to shape school climate. And restorative practices (circles, affective statements, community building, and restorative conversations) were built into all the student advisory meetings and spread schoolwide through staff training.

During the first year, Neutral Zone introduced students to the concept of school climate. Students defined the climate of their school and then generated ideas to improve it. The student and teacher teams at each school selected two ideas to focus on. In the second year, students planned, organized, and implemented school climate projects using YPAR. Students surveyed their peers and received more than 300 responses to inform project planning. They finalized details and created plans to implement their projects. This included meetings with administrators, teachers, and other students. Students began implementing projects and created plans to continue working on projects next school year. One of these projects was the schoolwide implementation of restorative practices.

Students were introduced to restorative practice through both formal training and immersion in RP practices. Neutral Zone facilitators and adult advisers integrated restorative language and practices such as running proactive community-building and dialogue circles. For the Esteemed Grizzlies, Neutral Zone held a session explicitly about circles, and then the student members prepared a community-building circle they could lead. Teachers, including 18 staff at the Esteemed Grizzlies’ school, participated in Neutral Zone’s two-day training in RP and circles at the end of the project’s first year. The two-day introduction provided the theoretical basis for RP, strategies and practices to effectively implement RP, and an overview of the history of RP as it relates to Indigenous and Native peoples. The goal was to train a critical mass of staff in each building to use the practices and strategies to build an RP-centered school. Also, Neutral Zone trained three staff members from each school in its train-the-trainer course to train new staff and build internal capacity to sustain RP work.

Learning to make change

To assess the success of the program, we collected session observations, facilitator logs, and program artifacts (e.g., student notes from sessions). We also conducted surveys and student and teacher focus groups each year. After two years, students expressed more confidence in their ability to work for positive change in their schools. A retrospective pre- and post-test showed a statistically significant increase in the students’ belief that they had choice, voice, and agency at school after the project. We saw the greatest increases in students agreeing that they had more voice in resolving conflict; opportunities to lead learning activities, such as discussions and work groups; and opportunities to give teachers feedback.

Students also described learning skills to advocate for their needs and to speak up for change. For example, one student shared, “I feel more empowered to lift student voices and be a leader/change agent within the school by showing others it is possible for students to be drivers of change.” Groups of students applied their learning by speaking at school board meetings and meeting with school administrators to talk about where they wanted to see change.

Finally, we saw increases in students’ confidence to change their school climate. For example, one student shared:

The biggest thing is [now] I feel I can do something in my school. . . . Neutral Zone helped me figure out how to do things, feel more confident, and hopefully, if there’s a problem I see, I can help change it.

Students used their newfound advocacy and leadership skills to implement their school climate projects. One group created a podcast for their peers to support and spread a school climate that prioritizes safety, respect, and inclusion. Another group of students created a resource document to provide other students at school with information on available services, such as counseling, social work, and after-school opportunities. Through these projects, the Esteemed Grizzlies could put their skills into action and work toward change within their schools.

Three lessons for implementing RP

Many best practices around RP and student voice undergird the success, to date, that this work has in fostering a safe and thriving climate for students in their school. We learned some key lessons for strengthening school climate through student voice and restorative practice.

Be patient

First, introducing new approaches takes time and intention (Streshly & Bernd, 1992). The Esteemed Grizzlies’ ability to address harm through restorative circles was built on 15 months of collaborative work in relationship- and community-building. Students could discuss their stories and feelings after building trust and connection with one another. In fact, 96% of participating students agreed or strongly agreed that they built strong relationships with other students and teachers because of this initiative.

As we tell people in our restorative practices training, “you can’t repair a relationship unless one exists in the first place.” RP should be used proactively 80-90% of the time as a strategy for building community, strengthening relationships, group norming, and teaching and learning. Reactive harm repair should only be 10-20% of the restorative work.

Garner support

Second, when implementing a new approach such as restorative practices, it is important to include a critical mass of building staff and provide support to implement and spread the practice. Research demonstrates that support from just 25% of a team can be the tipping point where a new practice begins to move from minority to majority support if there is opportunity for practicing with fidelity (Centola et al., 2018).

Going into the second year of this project, approximately 50% of instructional and support services (counselors and social workers) staff received two days of training in restorative practices. The rollout has been slower than planned because of COVID and other factors, and teachers just began to try out restorative practices during the project year. However, during the 2022-23 academic year, most staff will receive at least two days of RP training, and four trainers will be in place in the building. We expect to reach the tipping point this academic year.

Address real challenges

Third, when creating a structured way to elevate student voice, such as a school climate advisory or RP circles, it is imperative to address the increasing challenges that schools face. This includes its foundational element — to keep students safe. Adults often don’t see students as mature enough to be partners in change initiatives. Such a mindset may prevent school leaders from including students’ perspectives about school challenges and how best to design effective change strategies.

In this project, we found that bringing student voices into established structures helped to push forward their perspectives on school climate to one another and to the adults around them. The Esteemed Grizzlies attended several school board meetings last year and helped to abolish uniforms. They were then engaged by the superintendent to advise on other issues, including how to promote equity and inclusion and improve student-teacher relationships.

Partnering with students to improve school climate

This student engagement initiative offers several important takeaways for schools that want to make students partners in improving their climate. If we expect students to make meaningful contributions to the school change process, they need professional development. The education field is steeped in professional development for teachers, but students also need training and coaching to help them organize, plan, and act to bring about change in their school.

A high-functioning advisory group requires a focus on intentional group development and community-building supported by training and coaching. Part of the training should include institutional structures like an action team to organize the work they are learning to do. Students need time and support to meet regularly and to implement their projects and initiatives.

This student engagement program was based on the theoretical underpinnings of youth-adult partnerships (Zeldin, Christens & Power 2012). Successful student advisory groups work in partnership with adult advisers who help to support group development and the implementation of authentic work. Participating adults must be committed to letting students have a strong voice in their work, supporting their ideas, and helping students build on their experiences to continue taking on greater challenges in an unfamiliar system.

Finally, the most important element in successful student voice efforts is permission. Successful student voice work requires permission for students to form a group, to participate in training, and to have meeting time to conduct their work. Most of all, students need permission to act on their ideas to improve their schools. Permission is a simple thing for adults in schools to provide students, and it might be one of the most transformative ways to provide students genuine empowerment to make their schools feel like safe and supportive spaces that welcome their ideas.

Note: The work profiled in this article was supported by the RNR Foundation.

References

Anyon, Y., Bender, K., Kennedy, H., & Dechants, J. (2018). A systematic review of youth participatory action research (YPAR) in the United States: Methodologies, youth outcomes, and future directions. Health Education & Behavior, 45 (6), 865–878.

Augustine, C.H., Engberg, J., Grimm, G.E., Lee, E., Wang, E.L., Christianson, K. & Joseph, A.A. (2018). Can restorative practices improve school climate and curb suspensions? An evaluation of the impact of restorative practices in a mid-sized urban school district. RAND Corporation.

Baker, M. (2009). DPS restorative justice project: Year three. Denver Public Schools.

Brown, M.A. (2017). Being heard: How a listening culture supports the implementation of schoolwide restorative practices. Restorative Justice, 5 (1), 53–69.

Cammarota, J. & Fine, M. (2010). Youth participatory action research: A pedagogy for transformational resistance. In J. Cammarota & M. Fine (Eds.), Revolutionizing education (pp. 9–20). Routledge.

Centola, D., Becker, J., Brackbill, D., & Baronchelli, A. (2018). Experimental evidence for tipping points in social convention. Science, 360 (6393), 1116–1119.

Cook-Sather, A. (2002). Authorizing students’ perspectives: Toward trust, dialogue, and change in education. Educational Researcher, 31 (4), 3–14.

Fielding, M. (2001). Students as radical agents of change. Journal of Educational Change, 2 (2), 123–141.

Fronius, T., Persson, H., Guckenburg, S., Hurley, N., & Petrosino, A. (2016). Restorative justice in U.S. schools: A research review. WestEd.

Gregory, A., Clawson, K., Davis, A., & Gerewitz, J. (2016). The promise of restorative practices to transform teacher-student relationships and achieve equity in school discipline. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 26 (4), 325–353.

González, T. (2012). Keeping kids in schools: Restorative justice, punitive discipline, and the school to prison pipeline. Journal of Law and Education, 41 (2), 281–335.

Levin, B. (2000). Putting students at the centre in education reform. International Journal of Educational Change, 1 (2), 155–172.

Lodi, E., Perrella, L., Lepri, G.L., Scarpa, M.L., & Patrizi, P. (2021). Use of restorative justice and restorative practices at school: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19 (1), 96.

Mitra, D. (2007). Student voice in school reform: From listening to leadership. In D. Thiessen & A. Cook-Sather (Eds.), International handbook of student experience in elementary and secondary school (pp. 727–744). Springer.

Streshly, W. & Bernd, M. (1992). School reform: Real improvement takes time. Journal of School Leadership, 2 (3), 320-329.

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This article appears in the December 2022/January 2023 issue of Kappan, Vol. 104, No. 4, pp. 18-22.

Donate to support teens!

Double your gift! Giving Tuesday is today, Nov 29th. Please join us online - facebook is matching all new *recurring* monthly donations up to $100 made now through December 31st or until the match fund runs out.

But Giving Tuesday is just the launch of the giving season. Make a gift through facebook.com/NeutralZoneA2 or on our website at neutral-zone.org/donate. Gifts of any type or amount will make a difference in the lives of local teens!

YDS Study Published in the Journal of Youth Development

Congratulations to John Weiss for his work being featured in the Journal of Youth Development! John is NZ’s Director of Strategic Initiatives and leader of the Youth Driven Spaces (YDS) coaching and consulting program. The Journal is a national publication on youth development research and practice and in the most recent issue, they published the article “Maximizing Youth Leadership in Out-of-School Time Programs: Six Best Practices from Youth Driven Spaces”.

Click hear to read the article

The research paper, by John and his four co-authors, highlights the effectiveness of youth-driven practice and youth-adult partnerships in developing leadership skills in out-of-school programs. The research includes five youth-serving agencies that have participated in Neutral Zone’s Youth Driven Spaces initiative.

Neutral Zone is regularly packed with teens because we offer fun programs in arts, music, writing, education, and community leadership — but teens here gain much more than just being at a cool place to hang out. Youth-driven practice and youth-adult partnerships are the cornerstones of our work with teens across programs and projects. Since 2010, YDS has taken Neutral Zone’s model and provided training, coaching, and support to now dozens of youth-serving programs and continues to grow—not only helping NZ continue to develop as a center of excellence but to advance the field of youth development across the region.

Register Now for NZ Summer Programs

Join us! This summer, Neutral Zone offers six weeks of FREE safe, socially-distant summer programs June 20th - July 29th in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.

All programs are free! Please complete the registration form linked below to participate. Programs are for high-school-aged teens (entering grades 9-12 in fall 2022). Masking and distancing policies will be updated based on Covid conditions at the time. Questions? Contact Suzie Staley, suzie@neutral-zone.org or 734-214-9995.

Registration is absolutely free (though donations are more than welcome!) Programs are open to all high-school-aged teens, regardless of where you live.

Apply to join the Washtenaw County Youth Commission

UPDATE: Applications have closed for this year. Look for updates here as we announce the new Youth Commission members. Thank you to everyone who applied!

Apply now to join the 2022-23 Washtenaw County Youth Commission. The deadline to apply online is April 19th. All who are age 13-18 years old and live in Washtenaw County are eligible .

The WCYC does one thing - work to make life better for teens in Washtenaw County. Come and be a part of your local government! Commission members:

• Discuss and analyze youth issues in the community

• Educate other youth about important issues

• Recommend changes to the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners

NZ Launches Artist in Residency Programs

The Neutral Zone Artist in Residency program is kicking off its first semester this winter with Program Coordinator Danielle Yarmoluk, and two artists: Joel “Fluent” Greene; and Ingrid Racine. Through the application and interview process these two candidates exhibited the skillset and passion to lead workshops and bring in new teens. 

Joel is a performance poet from Detroit. A Spirit of Detroit Award winner, Joel was the long running host of Detroit’s iconic Cafe' Mahogany poetry nights, and has shared the stage with acts as diverse as The Roots, Pharrell Williams, The Last Poets, Big Sean, Saul Williams, and The Detroit Red Wings. As former director of Music Hall Center’s Words and Rhythms of the D outreach program, he has held workshops and performances in over 50 schools in the Metro Detroit area. Author of four collections of poetry: WAXING/waning, Poems of Bungalow & Concrete, Somewhere in the Middle/ Love Poems, & Felt. A Collection of Personal Favorites, Joel is currently a creative writing instructor at Mariner’s Inn, a shelter and treatment center located in Detroit, as well as an event curator at the Detroit Music Hall.

For his Residency, Joel will be working at Pathways Academy running a workshop on Thursdays during Elective Period from 2-3pm, as well as a workshop at Neutral Zone on Thursdays from 4:30-6pm. Workshopping will include exploration of poetic forms (collaborative poems, found poems, haikus, sonnets, etc), and ways to approach performance. Over the course of three months, Joel will work with teens to produce a poetry event in May at the Neutral Zone. 

”I threw myself inside myself, to find myself…” -JFG

Ingrid Racine is a jazz instrumentalist (trumpet) from Ann Arbor, MI. She is a former NZ employee and alumni. Ingrid will be doing a residency on music collaboration called “Co-lab”, as well as working with the music department at Community High School. She will be joined with fellow musicians Evan Haywood and Clarence Collins. One main objective of Ingrid’s is to use music as a vehicle to build community across differences. With teens that possess diverse musical interests and varied skill levels, it will be a great opportunity to have conversations about creating a culture of inclusivity, respect, kindness, having patience with one another and feeling supported in taking risks / trying new things.

The Co-lab will meet  every Tuesday from 4:30-6pm. There will be an exploration of ideas for progressing; from jamming/writing a simple groove in one minor key; to creating a chord progression and song forms. Some sessions will focus more on playing with rhythm and different styles/genres; and the main objective is to evolve to full compositions by the end (or at least, structured jams. A final performance event will take place in May, showcasing what the “lab” has come up with. 

There will be an effort to incorporate different art forms (poetry, visual arts). Footage, and video is an avenue that will be explored as well. This will involve recording jams for teens to follow along after sessions, and create a visual compilation.

Ingrid Racine

“…a lot of it will be about creating a shared vocabulary, and some of that will need to come in the form of basic music theory concepts.” - Ingrid Racine

NZ Teens Central to Strategic Planning

At Neutral Zone, our goal is to be at our best every day for our teens and for generations to come. We couldn't have predicted the challenges our youth experienced over the past two years, but we've been a source of steady support, engagement and connection.

It is thanks to many community members who have championed NZ over the last 23 years, we are here for our teens in 2022. We continually re-evaluate how best to meet the needs of teens and create strategic plans for where we want to go.

We have to focus on what was halted or lost during the pandemic and find a way to give back and work toward the future.

- Seven Hooker, NZ Teen Board Member

Since September, we've been working with a consulting firm, the Emergence Collective, on a year-long process to create our new five-year strategic plan. Teens, as always, at the center of this work. Our collective process gathers teens, staff, and board, to explore our values, create a vision, and identify key objectives to best serve our community.

On February 12th, we hosted the second full-community session to discuss our vision. The next step is to build our objectives - actionable goals to work toward in the future. We will workshop these in taskforce groups in the next two months--and return to the full community in April for discussion. We expect to approve it at the May board meeting, so stay tuned for the full plan in June 2022.

NZ Teens Paint their Stories and Live their Truth

Where did we grow up? What are our beliefs and values? How does our gender, race and ethnicity matter? At Neutral Zone, teens are engaging in dialogue and creating art expressing different identities that matter to them.

The conversation is rooted in restorative practice, sitting in a circle, with time for reflecting, listening and sharing. Teens then write, draw, and paint symbols or images that express their identities on our walls, building one large collaborative mural. They write bold statements like “destroy your idea of gender” or create pictures depicting their specific experience as a teen of multi-racial descent.

TIKUN OLAM

I chose to paint a Hebrew phrase that represents who I am as well as my values as a person. The writing says “tikun olam,” which translates to “repair the world.” It's a saying I heard a lot growing up and I think its meaning for me personally has evolved as I've grown older. Repairing the world could mean standing up against inequality, preventing climate change, supporting those in need, and so much more. - Noa Wilensky, NZ teen

This past year, with the support of the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation’s youth council, we’ve hosted a series of conversations with teens deepening our shared understanding of identity and diversity and examining what is needed to create a more inclusive environment–a community where identities are shared, valued, and honored.

In November 2021, a passionate group of teens formed a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Activism Council. The council’s purpose is to reflect on the current NZ climate, learn from each other, and generate ideas, workshops and activities – all to build a more inclusive culture. The DEI&A Council is also creating a workbook with workshops and events materials that can be used in the training of youth facilitators for discussions and peer education opportunities related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Teens will continue to add to the mural as an evolving, visual story of equity and inclusion at the Neutral Zone. Their artistic expression is critical in illustrating that, as a community, we are constantly discovering and processing the identities we hold and working to reveal and hold space for pieces of our story and live in our truth.

Teens Get Back to Thriving

Dear Friends,

You likely already know that after over a year of isolation, remote learning, canceled plans, and zoom everything, connection is what teens desperately need right now.

DONATE NOW

We can still make meaningful art and connect outdoors — and it feels great.

As caring community adults, and as a center with an unwavering focus on teens’ needs, it’s our job to create spaces for connections to happen, every way and everywhere we safely can. Here’s how we’re doing it, thanks to your steady support:

Everything outdoors that can be outdoors

Cars used to park there. Now kids do. Welcome to Drop-In!

Teens gather for Drop-In on the blacktop surface formerly known as Neutral Zone’s parking lot. We serve snacks outside, as teens hang out on folding chairs, with the back doors thrown wide open for critical indoor needs. As always, teens who come find supportive staff and other teens who share interests and talents, hardships and dreams. And often, (of course!) pizza. We found out that we can still make art, host concerts and have meaningful conversations. And it feels great.

When we have to be indoors, safety reigns

Everyone signs in with a temperature check, everyone wears a mask, and everyone keeps a healthy distance from each other when inside, using our large, well-ventilated indoor space. These measures keep the indoor space available for teens to meet up in person and enjoy being together after so much time apart.

In-person workshops — finally! — are powerful and satisfying.

So, what’s it like at Neutral Zone these days? Front line staff who interact with these young people every day see the impact.

Teens open up to NZ Program Manager Michael Hale: “Kids are telling me about how they relate and interact with the world. Most of the conversations are in relation to how they cope with the pressures of life whether that means using art, music, or theater as a way to channel their frustrations.”

Jenny Anne Koppera facilitates the NZ–based weekly partnership with Spinning Dot Theatre. She leads a group of teens already growing close as they talk about issues and craft performances about what matters to them now.

Jenny relates that the teens “have been in a place of surviving. By doing this work together, they move to a place of thriving again. They set aside this time to play together, to be vulnerable and be soft and gentle with one another. They are so brave, they share their own stories together and find ways to express and share those experiences.”

It’s powerful, satisfying and essential to meet up with your community in-person. At last, thanks to our donors, they can.

Nadim Azzam, NZ Music Production Coordinator, built a teen music community virtually at first, with regular staff check-ins,then hybrid, conducting teen workshops and now — finally! — in person. It’s powerful and satisfying.

“We’re building a creative community where we support each other in the music they are creating and also with the sometimes really major losses and crises that teens are facing. No matter what else is going on, teens know we are here to support them regardless.” - Nadim Azzam

As a Neutral Zone donor, you help create these essential opportunities. When teens show up, you make sure we’re here for them. You help keep our doors open to build connections, create artistic opportunities, and give space to share frustrations.

Please consider donating again today to sustain a community that young people know they can count on.

Thank you,

Lori Roddy

Executive Director

DONATE NOW