First Research Camp

The first research camp consisted of community building and issue framing activities. The group was welcomed by Leah Leto, Assistant Vice President Corporate, Foundation & Leadership Gifts, who described the relevance of this project to the College’s Social Justice Mission. The student teams presented their group’s talents and skills to an audience that include the College’s Public Policy Programs students, a program for returning adults to earn their Associate and Bachelor Degrees.  The Newark group presented a video they created as part of their organization’s work. The Jersey City group presented a logo they created for the NJ UYRI to help establish a visual identity for the research. The Paterson group discussed a recent campaign they were involved in against an unfair policy in their city. To frame and contextualize the issues, Stan Karp of the Education Law Center, presented the history of the landmark finance equity decision, Abbott vs. Burke, statistics about the educational opportunity/achievement gaps in schools, and the proposed changes in high school graduation requirements. After some engaging intergenerational exchanges between the youth researchers and adult Public Policy students, the young people worked in groups to analyze school and district level data on various student and teacher outcomes. During lunch, they viewed the youth produced video Unequal Education: Failing our Children. Former Assemblyman Craig Stanley also offered some remarks on his visit to the youth research camp.  The youth got a chance to process what they just viewed and listened to online during a BlackBoard workshop. The rest of the afternoon was spent in small cross-city groups further digesting the data, hypothesizing what may happen in their own schools if these courses and exams were required, and constructing a list of questions and possible ways or methods of answering these questions.  At the end of the camp, the small groups reported back their questions and potential methods.  After many flip-chart papers, presentations and in-depth discussions, SPC volleyball team members facilitated a game volleyball for the youth (and some adults). There is an article on the camp in the Our Children Our Schools newsletter.