Establish Youth-Centered Approaches To Education
NCYL works to remove barriers to student learning and ensure every student can access quality education that is rich and engaging in their own communities.
All students deserve access to a robust education that encourages their individual development and creativity. Classroom curriculum should be designed to serve the unique needs and experience of every student - and include education that is truthful, complete, and culturally and identity-affirming.
Schools are extensions of the community
Schools are centers of education and centers of community that provide learning, hope and healing. NCYL aims to advance an approach to learning in which schools remove common barriers to student learning - including providing health services, mental health care and more.
NCYL also uses impact litigation and policy advocacy to challenge practices that push students away from the schools in their communities - so that students can remain in the most supportive environments for them.
Building Compassionate Education Systems
NCYL’s Compassionate Education Systems team works directly with students in foster care, in the juvenile justice system and with students experiencing homelessness to empower them to use their voices to inform the education decisions being made on their behalf and identify opportunities for school reforms.
