Get the latest news from California's youth about key health issues in their community

• » Boyle Heights youth artist gets first place in district-wide student art competition
  The 34th Congressional Student Art Competition asked young artists in Los Angeles: “What does your community look like?  Boyle Heights Beat youth reporter and Roosevelt High student Stephanie Varela won first place with her Mariachi Plaza painting. Filed under: Boyle Heights Beat, Mural
• » Mr. Bruggeman is more than a history teacher
  Scott Bruggeman, a history teacher at Hiram Johnson High School, was recently diagnosed with skin cancer, and he shares the insights he’s had with his students. It makes you think of the big questions, says Mr. Bruggeman. What is life, whats my legacy, if I were to die tomorrow ho... read more
• » Hispanic high school grads break records, surpass whites in college enrollment
  This generation of students have marked an achievement for Latinos in the United States.  Seven in 10 Hispanic students who graduated from high school in 2012 continued onto college.  At the same time, an analysis found that the dropout rate among Latinos fell by half in the last ten years.  Read... read more
• » Youth photo editor snags internship at The Bee
  The photo editor of Foothill High School Press , Ruvim Noga, snagged an internship offer with the award winning newspaper The Sacramento Bee.  Internships at The Bee are competitive, and this summer could change his life.  An interview with Noga about his unique opportunity is on Access Sacrame... read more
• » How will gun control affect student safety?
  People with children in public schools in Fresno, and school staff, wonder if enough is being done to protect against a tragedy like the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings.  Fresno high schools have several campus safety officials patrolling, but an Edison High student thinks some warning signs are be... read more
• » Fresno schools vote for restorative justice
  District school board members voted on May 8 to implement restorative justice practices in several Fresno schools.  Members of SUCCESS (Students United to Create a Climate of Engagement, Support and Safety) having been promoting restorative justice, and can be partly credited with the decision. ... read more
• » Detention Chronicles: Episode 1
  Against the rules “I wore my t-shirt past my fingertips, and I got suspended for that because they thought it was gang-affiliated,” says one Richmond high schooler.  Youth Radio’s video series documents the variety of situations in which young people have found themselves guilty... read more
• » Protesters target excessive phone rates for immigrant detainees
  The phone rates for calls made from detention centers are a cash cow for the facilities, and a hindrance for detainees to connect with the outside world — with lawyers as well as family members and social supports.  Fifty dollars gets about 15 minutes of actual talk time, said Roberto d... read more
• » Willful Defiance suspensions are no longer legitimate, and youth agree
  Teachers can cite a list of reasons for suspending students — somewhere in the list is, “disruption of school activities or willfully defying the authority of school personnel.”  That last rule, long criticized as being overly broad and resulting in unwarranted suspensions, has b... read more
• » Teen Chef Battle makes healthy eating fun
  In the Teen Chef battle, part of Coachella Valley High Schools afterschool cooking program, two teams compete for the coveted Emerald Spoon.  The competition is part of the HealthCorps initiative at Coachella Valley High School. The program is now in 66 high schools in 14 states — it aim... read more
• » The kNOw Youth Media story on youth participation in the Select Committee
  Today, Miguel Bibanco, Quamir Lindsay, and Kevin Shelton of The kNOw Youth Media, are at the California State Capitol. They're representing Boys and Men of Color specifically from the Central Valley - Fresno to state legislators... read more
• » KPFK radio story featuring interview with youth Jevon Wilkes around the Select Committee and BMOC issues
  New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and billionaire philanthropist George Soros are donating $30 million dollars each to their City's Young Men's Initiative. The program is designed to address the broad disparities slowing the advancement of black and Latino young men by helping them enter the economic... read more
• » Oakland Local op-ed on education and Select Committee by youth Joshua Hinton
  I am Joshua Hinton and I am a senior at Oakland Military Institute, College Prep Academy. Going to school in the inner-city is challenging considering that my school district lacks a strong education system and funding for essential supplies to make learning more effective. Oakland definitely lives up to its... read more
• » Profile in Vida en el Valle of youth Miguel Bibanco and his participation with the Select Committee and school discipline issues
  SACRAMENTO -- According to the statistics, Miguel Bibanco should not have been testifying in the state Capitol last Wednesday afternoon before the Assembly Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color in California... read more
• » Miguel Bibanco's own op-ed on school discipline for New America Media, accompanied by a video/slide show piece narrated by another young man from Fresno
  As California's fourth largest school district, Fresno Unified has recently begun revamped efforts to address its high number of school dropouts. The district is using approaches that involve listening to different individuals... read more
• » Another op-ed on school discipline by Miguel Bibanco in the Fresno Bee
  More than three years ago, a group of Fresno youths launched an effort to remake the city's public education system. We knew that too many young people were dropping out of high school and we wanted to stop this epidemic.... read more