The Summit

Ten Steps to a Local Summit

Assemble a cross-sector organizing committee: Be sure to have representatives from schools, PTAs, businesses and local chambers of commerce, mayor's or supervisor's office, youth-serving organizations, faith community, parents and young people themselves.
The dropout problem is likely to increase substantially through 2020 unless significant improvements are made.

—The Silent Epidemic (PDF)

Determine your summit's primary purpose & message: Will this be the first step in energizing your community around the dropout issue and kicking off a campaign to improve your graduation rates? Will it be an interactive session to create a community action plan? Or are you ready to unveil an action plan that you hope to rally the community around? It’s possible to accomplish a little of each through your summit, but be sure to have a clear idea of what you hope to accomplish. To help get focused, think through and then clearly state how success for your event will be measured.
Recruit a credible, high-profile champion: Having one or more of your well-respected community leaders as the face and voice of your summit will bolster your effort. Are there one or two individuals who are trusted and respected by community members of all ages, political affiliations and backgrounds? Think about securing your school superintendent, the mayor or county executive, a member of the clergy, and/or the CEO of the area's major employer.
Pick your date and venue: Try to find a time and location that allows your desired participants to attend. Avoid major conflicts such as holidays, common family vacation weeks, or community-wide events like fairs, festivals and elections. And identify a venue that can accommodate the number of participants you anticipate for large- and small-group sessions, is seen as welcoming to all who will be invited, and demonstrates the importance you place on the topic.
Develop your invitation list: Ideally, your summit should be open to the public. But you will also want to make a concerted effort to invite a cross-section of your community, particularly those who are critical to improving your graduation rates. Who brings access to the expertise, programs, resources, young people most at-risk of dropping out, and the overall energy and commitment to move your community to action? Be sure you have many representatives from each of the groups suggested above for your organizing committee. Mail or e-mail your invitations one month before your summit.
Determine your community's graduation rates and available supports: Make sure you know your school's or community's true, on-time graduation rate using an accepted formula. Complete an inventory of the existing programs, policies and services your community has available for young people. Use the 10-point plan as a guide to determine your community's greatest assets and needs.
Line up your agenda and presenters: Depending upon your summit's primary purpose and number of participants, think about the best way to organize the day. What's the right combination of large-group presentations and small-group discussions that you'll need? Start off with a high-energy plenary speaker that sets the tone of urgency and possibility. Find a local expert who can give a good overview of your community's graduation rates overall and for populations of particular need. Invite a major employer in the area or chamber of commerce representative to talk about what skills and abilities they need to keep your local economy strong. Consider having one or more young people, including some who have dropped out of high school, talk about their experience, what supports they need, and what they think the community can do to help more of their peers stay in school and graduate on time. If space permits, set up exhibit space or literature tables to promote existing programs and services to help young people graduate on time.
Seek support from community partners: Starting with your organizing committee and public champion, identify partners in the community that can provide financial and in-kind support for the summit. Consider approaching your major television station or newspaper to serve as your media partner—to promote the summit in advance, the cover the actual event, and to commit to follow-up stories in the coming year. Approach local businesses to provide financial or in-kind support—like a hotel to host the event, restaurants and caterers to provide meals and refreshments, printing companies to produce materials, etc. Partner with a local student group like ROTC or Circle K for help recruiting youth volunteers to help staff your event.
Develop a call to action: Your summit should culminate in a call to action that mobilizes your community to improve your graduation rate. Think about setting a goal with your organizing committee and announcing it at the summit—like cutting your dropout rate in half, or doubling the number of adult advocates in the schools. To build momentum, seek a few early commitments that can also be announced, like a major employer providing paid release time for its employees to help in the schools, or a youth-serving organization opening a new afterschool, tutoring program in a neighborhood of high need. Be creative about providing a way for all summit participants to "sign on," like signing a statement on a big banner that will be hung in city hall, or completing a pledge card to volunteer in the coming year.
Have a plan for follow-up: Summits are great tools to rally a community around a common topic or goal. But to be real catalysts for change, they can't simply be one-day events. Be prepared to explain how the work will be carried out. Will a new task force out of the mayor's office or school district monitor the community's progress toward implementing its action plan? Will the newspaper or local news show provide monthly stories and profiles? As more and more community members get inspired to help, who can they call to get involved? Have a plan for measuring and reporting your progress to show momentum. Consider setting up a website with data, resources and a way to register volunteers.