Overview

What is Youth for Justice?

Youth for Justice is a student-led program designed to empower youth to be actively engaged citizens who work together to make a positive difference in their community. 

The program allows students to identify an injustice, intolerance or problem relevant to their local community, and then develop a plan of action and work together to remedy the injustice.

Youth for Justice gives students the power to make a difference in their communities through service-based learning. As students work on their projects, they develop valuable 21st century skills. Youth for Justice is aligned to Ohio's New Learning Standards in Social Studies and English.Language Arts.

Who can use Youth for Justice?

The versatile nature of the program allows it to be incorporated into the classroom or used with after school programs, homeschoolers and youth organizations.

We can come to you

Unable to attend a scheduled professional development? If you have at least five interested individuals, one of whom is an OCLRE member, we can come to you! Contact rsuskey@oclre.org for details.

Youth for Justice Resources

OCLRE is proud to make the Youth for Justice materials available to educators free of charge! The Youth for Justice Manual includes collected resources, helpful tips, and student instructions. This can be used a resource guide for teachers, or shared with students working on their project.

Youth for Justice Virtual Summit

Interested in learning more about Youth for Justice? Contact Ryan Suskey at rsuskey@oclre.org or 614-485-3506.

Download the Youth for Justice Training Manual HERE.

ABOUT:

• On average Youth for Justice projects take 2-3 months to complete (with students working 1-2 days/week on a project)
• Projects are intended to present a summary of students' work conclusions and solutions.
• Final projects are submitted virtually and can be emailed to Ryan Suskey; rsuskey@oclre.org

Teacher Mentors

What teachers are saying about the Youth for Justice program:

"It's a wonderful experience and confidence builder for the students."

"This is one of the best programs that our students have been a part of. They have been transformed to be model students. The parents and community are grateful for the Youth for Justice program."

"Youth for Justice allows students to select problems that are important to them and solve the problems in their way. The whole program is very student-centered." 

" The Youth for Justice program enriches the 'total student' in all aspects of academic and social development regardless of the project selected by the team." 

Do the students who are in the Youth for Justice program have to be school-based?
No; the program is open to school groups, both in class or after school, community groups, etc.

Does an entire class have to participate?
No; we recommend that students work in a group but you can have multiple groups withing the same class.

How do I get involved?
-If you are a student, share the Youth for Justice website with your teacher and invite them to contact Ryan Suskey at rsuskey@oclre.org or 614-485-3506
-If you are a teacher, download a copy of the teacher's manual HERE then get your students talking and thinking about different issues that they can impact in their community.

What age groups is this program designed for?
Students can be at any age level although we typically see projects from students in grades 4th-12th

What is the Virtual Summit?
The Virtual Summit is held every year. It is an opportunity for student groups to showcase their projects on the OCLRE website and receive feedback from project evaluators. The projects will be hosted on our website for the remainder of the calendar year and available for viewing by visitors to our website.