engaging youth in county government: cabarrus county, nc

Quality + Impact = POWER

Cabarrus County 4-H Citizenship Focus

Planning and Preparation

• Conversations with Civics teachers and county commissioner, attendance at workshop

• Tenth grade Civics students have the opportunity to actively learn about local government through experiences

The Program

• Cabarrus 4-H Citizenship Focus– Visit to Cabarrus County Governmental Center

• Panel discussion with elected officials• Budget simulation activity• Employee interviews

Target Audience & Skills

• Cabarrus County Civics classes

• Program designed to align with NC Standard Course of Study objectives

Research Base• Young people's intended civic and political

participation: Does education matter?  

Lopes, Joana; Benton, Thomas; Cleaver, Elizabeth; Journal of Youth Studies, Vol 12(1), Feb, 2009. pp. 1-

20. • Building the evidence base for youth engagement:

Reflections on youth and democracy.  Yohalem, Nicole; Martin, Shanetta; Journal of Community Psychology, Vol 35(6), Aug, 2007. Special issue: Youth and democracy: Participation for personal, relational, and collective well-being. pp. 807-810.

Goal

• Participation in Cabarrus 4-H Citizenship Focus will bring meaning to several Civics course objectives through a ‘learn by doing’ opportunity and produce engaged citizens.

Objectives

• Students will become more confident in speaking with elected officials

• Students will learn what their civic responsibilities are

• Students will encourage adults they know to vote

• Students will talk about local government issues with others

County Finance Manager leads students in budget simulation

A group of students visit with the Cabarrus County Parks Director

A student addresses the panel of elected officials

Partners

• Cabarrus County Cooperative Extension

• Cabarrus County Government

• Cabarrus County Schools

• Kannapolis City Schools

• City of Concord

• City of Kannapolis

Partners, continued

• Town of Harrisburg

• Town of Mount Pleasant

• Cabarrus County Cooperative Extension Youth Advisory Council

Resources

• NC Civic Education Consortium

• Rotary of Cabarrus County

Marketing

• Flyer for teachers

• NCACC

• NACo

• Newspaper

• Success stories

Evaluation

• Immediate evaluation

• Follow-up evaluation

Benefits of Program

• 2700 students served

• Majority of students report being more confident in speaking with elected officials

• Nearly 90% of students better understand their civic responsibilities

• Volunteer hours = $18,000

• More educated voters in county

Recognition

Key Points

• Communicate with teachers – you need their buy-in

• Orient students

• Be organized and flexible

How do I replicate the program?

Questions