Youth-led Tech was a technology mentoring program in Chicago neighborhoods.
In 2016, the program was held in Austin, North Lawndale, and Roseland, as well as in the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.
Overview
The conceptual model for this program is “youth-led tech”, which means teaching technology in the context of the needs & priorities of young people. Youth learn how to use free and inexpensive Web tools to make websites and use social media to build skills, generate revenue, and get jobs in the growing technology industry.
They also learn about all sorts of other jobs in tech— strategy, project management, design, and so on. At the end of the six-week program, all of the youth know how to set up a website, are exposed to sophisticated tech skills, and know how to find real customers & employers for their skills.
This intensive, six-week summer program (from 10 am – 4 pm; dates to be determined) meets youth where they’re at, in their neighborhoods, at their skill level, and takes them through a course of learning on simple & powerful Web-based tools. The program material— the websites and tools they made— revolve around their expressed needs and interests.
Lead Instructors and Assistant Instructors
The program trained & employed Lead Instructors at each location. Lead Instructors are responsible for conducting onsite training of youth and organizing the two Assistant Instructors. All curriculum will be provided, with step-by-step instructions on what to teach every hour of every day. See the Youth-Lead Tech 2015 instruction materials for a good idea of the material.
Lead Instructor positions are independent contractors. They are paid $20/ hour for 8 hours per day, 5 days a week, 8 weeks / 320 hours total (two-week orientation and training session and 6 weeks of classroom instruction).
We also hired dozens of Assistant Instructors; two for each of the ten locations and five “floaters”. Assistant Instructors are responsible for assisting in instruction, taking attendance, administering onsite resources like computers, food, Ventra cards, and other materials, and handling any other issues that arise.
Assistant Instructor positions are independent contractors. They are paid $15/ hour for 8 hours per day, 5 days a week, 8 weeks / 320 hours total (two-week orientation and training session and 6 weeks of classroom instruction).
The goal is to have a team of 1 Lead Instructor and 2 Assistant Instructors working with a set of 30 youth at each of our ten locations in Austin, North Lawndale, Roseland, and the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. All ten onsite teams will be supported by a Project Analyst (managing curriculum and instructor quality), a Tech Support Coordinator (handling all computers and wifi issues), a Project Coordinator (handling citywide details), and other Smart Chicago staff.
We prioritize for people who live in and/or are tied to the three program location areas and the seven focus communities of our funder. In choosing instructors, we value strong classroom management, interest in and aptitude with technology rather “tech people”, and the ability to listen to youth voice and make sure it gets heard and represented the tech we make over the summer.
Locations: APPLY HERE
Space for recreation is important
This year we will be running Youth-Led Tech in three neighborhoods: Austin, North Lawndale, and Roseland. We are actively seeking nine locations partners— three in each neighborhood. To get an idea of what kind of spaces we’ve used in the past, take a look at our digital skills learning environment posts on locations from last year’s program in Austin, Humboldt Park, Englewood, North Lawndale, and Roseland. Here are characteristics we’re looking for:
- Must be located in Austin, North Lawndale, or Roseland. Use this website to determine if your address is in one of these neighborhood or community areas
- Must be able to accommodate 30 youth and 3-5 instructors in one room. Must have enough chairs and table space for all
- We will provide a heavy duty, locked cabinet to store computers. Must have space for this
- Must be available from mid-June to mid-August. We do not have the exact dates of the program yet, but it will be after Chicago Public School lets out and will occur in the same six-week time period as all other Chicago summer programs
- Must have existing Internet service with wifi. We will provide Tech Support and may also have the resources to upgrade your existing service to meet our program needs. We would pay for the upgrade and any added service costs for the time period we occupy the space. Location would be responsible for any service after the program ends
- Must be willing and able to enter into a lease agreement
We prioritize locations with space for recreation. Refrigerator space is a plus. Good cellphone service for team communication and food delivery is a plus.
Complete this form to apply to be a community host location for Youth-Led Tech.
Food vendors: APPLY HERE
Foodz!
We are searching for a number of local businesses to meet our catering needs. We are actively seeking neighborhood-based food vendors to serve breakfast and lunch every day for six weeks this summer in nine locations (three in each neighborhoods). To get an idea of our requirements, read this blog post about last year.
Complete this form to apply to be a food supplier for Youth-Led Tech.
Funding
This program is fully funded by a grant from Get IN Chicago, whose mission is to identify, fund and rigorously evaluate evidence-based programs that lead to a sustainable reduction in violence for individuals and communities most affected by violence and poverty. Here’s their blog post announcing their support for the program in 2016, and here’s a snip:
Last week, the Get IN Chicago Board of Directors approved a renewal and expansion of Smart Chicago’s Youth-Led Tech for Summer 2016. This summer, the program will focus on Austin, North Lawndale, and Roseland – and more importantly, on our Get IN Chicago demographic: the most at-risk youth, such as those who are justice-involved or chronically truant. Along those lines, Smart Chicago will also offer the program at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.
Smart Chicago plans to reach 300 youth with Youth-Led Tech this summer. We are incredibly excited to support their work again! Our partnership is a perfect example of how Get IN Chicago is using innovation and cross-sector collaboration to create safer communities, brighter futures, and better opportunities for youth in our city.
More
See also our project page for #CivicSummer, a precursor to Youth-Led Tech that we helped run with other key partners. Info on Youth-Led Tech 2015 is here.
Questions/ comments? Call Daniel X. O’Neil, (773) 960-6045, doneil@cct.org.