The CFWV Youth Summit will take place in conjunction with the Student Success Summit in Morgantown, WV July 24-26, 2018. Approximately 50 rising tenth and eleventh grade students will be invited to attend. These students will work together to create a stronger college-going culture throughout the state of West Virginia.
Up to six schools will be selected to send a team of eight students, rising 10th and/or 11th grade (four boys and four girls), to participate in the Youth Summit. Schools must submit an application packet and a proposal to bring a team, and each team must be accompanied by an adult advisor. It is up to the counties or schools to determine which students compose their team. The eight student representatives and the adult advisor should be determined prior to submitting the school's application to participate.
The selection committee will evaluate schools' proposals and determine which teams will be invited to participate in the Summit. For those teams who are selected, CFWV will cover the costs of hotel rooms and food during the Summit for the students. CFWV will cover the cost of ONE advisor hotel room per school. Additional meals outside of the Summit Schedule will be the responsibility of the county, school, or individual. Counties or schools are responsible for handling travel costs and logistics for their teams.
The Youth Summit will continue to support the statewide expansion of the Higher Education Readiness Officers (HEROs) program. The HEROs initiative was first piloted in the 14 high schools served by the West Virginia GEAR UP program. GEAR UP, which stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, is a federally funded college access program. Through the pilot HEROs effort, more than 500 students have participated in leadership training and served as college access and student success advocates in their communities. Additionally, the schools that attended the First Youth Summit, Second Youth Summit, and third Youth Summit have launched HEROs programs within their schools over the last four years.
The HEROs effort has been recognized across the country as a promising practice for engaging students in taking charge of their futures and building college-going cultures in schools and communities. Because of the pilot efforts' enormous success, the CFWV team is working to offer this opportunity statewide!
Students who participate in the CFWV Youth Summit will be trained to become HEROs. These students then will be charged with organizing a HEROs group in their schools. HEROs groups will focus on encouraging student, parent, and community involvement within the school and on promoting the college readiness process. HEROs also serve as peer mentors for their fellow students.
The adult sponsor accompanying each Youth Summit team should be prepared to serve as the adult advisor for the school's HEROs group. The advisor will be responsible for organizing the HEROs group, establishing the group's legitimacy as a student group within the school, and ensuring that HEROs students meet on a regular basis and accomplish their annual goals.
HEROs groups will commit to completing several service learning projects throughout the year, aiding in College Application and Exploration Week, and reporting to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission periodically regarding their activities.
Students who attend the Youth Summit will be given the opportunity to experience a professional conference while interacting and learning with other students from across the state of West Virginia. School teams will focus on developing their leadership and communication skills and on constructing plans to establish a HEROs group in their schools and communities. Students will share their work and their accomplishments during a plenary session at the 2018 Student Success Summit.