Conference Draws Teens from 50 Oakland Schools

On Wednesday, 28 school districts in Oakland County sent more than 400 students to Oakland University for the second annual Oakland County Student Leadership Conference.

Dr. Bob Maxfield, former Farmington superintendent and Huntington Woods resident, and Dr. JoAnn Andrees, superintendent of West Bloomfield schools helped put the event together. The idea for the conference was born at a retreat where all 28 superintendents came together and discussed district issues.

"As superintendents we wanted our principals to be connected to the work we were doing and engage students and help them have a voice," Andrees explained.

The day started with a keynote presentation entitled "You Don't Know Me Until You Know Me," given by Dr. Michael "Mykee" Fowlin, a poet, actor and psychologist. His inspirational talk covered issues of race, discrimination, violence prevention and personal identity.

Students then participated in 13 break-out sessions, presented by students and teachers alike. Each one-hour breakout session delved into challenging areas of diversity, with titles such as The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration and Second Class Citizenship, Leadership through my World, Social Media: Managing Your Online Image and Debunking Arab and Muslim Stereotypes.

Students from led "Taking on Social Justice in our Schools."

This session's material was taken from the one-term, half-credit UM Youth Dialogues on Diversity Leadership course taught in the district. The course was created in partnership with the University of Michigan. Students spoke about recognized racial disparities in student achievement.

"We're here to close the achievement gap," said Jacob Minkos, a senior at . "We're not saints, we're just ordinary guys."

During the session Waterford Kettering student Nick Cabrera commented, "A lot of stereotypes come from people who don't challenge them ... I feel like we have the ability, we don't have the ambition. But I feel like I can bring that ambition back to our school."

The discussion also covered the fact that diversity is not always about the color of skin but what people do, and that you have to "dialogue to get past race and what you do" and to "look for different views from different shoes."

Junior Jasmine Harris of school helped lead the discussion and challenged the attendees.

"Take what you learn and do something," she said.

Maxfield said students are handpicked to attend the conference. "We select sophomores and juniors, and we look for a good cross-section of students," he explained.

In developing the event, Larry Thomas of Oakland Schools and Maxfield honed in on the diversity issue, according to Andrees.

"They put this together along with Oakland University and Oakland Schools to help students develop a voice," she said.

After the initial event last year, students took three items they wanted to work on with their teachers, administration and students. The superintendents were all made aware of these items, which upheld accountability.

"We have to report back to the superintendent's meeting what the students are doing," Andrees said. "Are we doing what we said we're going to do? Are we committed? This is not just an event, but a journey we are on to make our schools better for all children."

Students from West Bloomfield, the and Andover in the Bloomfield School District, along with Thomas, led the Minority Students in Majority Districts session, which was infused with hope and inspiration.

Senior Mariah Ivory of Berkley struggled with being one of few students of color in her district. She said her own story was filled with despair and thoughts of suicide. But with the help and constant inspiration from her mom, she worked through the hard times.

"Don't give up. Become what you want to be," Ivory told the two dozen students who attended the presentation. "My GPA was so low, they told me there would be no college. People doubted me, but that made me try harder." Ivory will continue her education at Bowling Green State University in pre-law after high school.

All three minority students agreed with Green's observation that "you will fall a couple of times but you try again."

The topic is especially relevant to this area; Thomas said previous census data showed "the Detroit metro area was the most segregated place in the United States. We are now fourth after the last census."

Overall, conference attendees were told that having a support system, along with education and communication with teachers and administration, will help bridge the achievement gap and bring students together.

Gerry Henry, a junior at West Bloomfield summed up the session he attended with a paraphrased quote from Gandhi.

"Be an example," he said. "Be the change you want to see."

Correction: The headline on this story was changed to reflect that students from 50 Oakland County schools, and 28 school districts, attended the event.