Student Recruiting Philosophy
All 9th-12th grade students are welcome. That’s it. No GPA requirements, past leadership experience, or background limitations. Young Leaders, Strong City recruits students from across the Dallas- Ft. Worth area — intentionally seeking students from public, private, and charter schools.
Our Why
Our intent is to create space for conversations that may not occur on campus related to race and identity. We also aim to provide leadership development opportunities that encourage students to take the learnings from YLSC programming and apply them at home, school, and in their communities.
One of YLSC’s core tenants is to create spaces where students from diverse backgrounds can join together in shared conversations and experiences. We encourage students to build relationships with people from other schools, racial, ethnic, geographic, socio-economic, and religious backgrounds. This is also a welcoming and specially-created space for students who identify as LGBTQ+, have varying ability levels, require translation and multilingual facilitators, and immigrant identity statuses.
YLSC Annual
Teen Equity Summit
Each year since 2014, Young Leaders, Strong City has brought together high school students from across the Dallas - Ft. Worth area. On November 11, 2023, more than 250 students attended the 10th Annual YLSC Teen Equity Summit. The summit is a half-day leadership development experience with meaningful discussions on identity, equity, and organizing for change.
A big thank you to all of the students who attended, our student planning committee, donors, facilitators, and volunteers who helped make it happen!
Commit Youth Advisory Cohort
This paid cohort experience is open to all 8th-10th graders interested in community change and becoming educators! No matter your past leadership experience. Transportation support available.
Need more info? email support@ylscmovement.com
"At schools, sometimes people don't have outlets to share about our own race and our own gender... It's nice to have a place to talk about who we are and how we represent ourselves as people. "
Teen Equity Summits
for School DISTRICTs
The Young Leaders, Strong City staff is pleased to offer programming to local schools and districts. With the history of race and education in Dallas as a starting point, our team uses storytelling as a tool to inform students and develop a shared understanding of where their district began.
'Our City'
Local History Field Trips
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"I really liked going to different spots of Dallas and learning about history I had no idea about."
YLSC partners with schools, educators and students on both in person and virtual tours of the Dallas/Richardson area centered on inclusive history, place, and narrative change. Students have the opportunity to learn, explore, and discuss historically significant markers from across their area in order to begin their personal narrative change process and gain the basic skills needed to begin historical exploration outside of this single event.