RSVP Summit Models
RSVP is intended to be flexible enough to be adapted to the particular circumstances and schedule of any participating school. Although it is recommended that the sessions be done as four separate summits, we recognize that schools will need to schedule summits according to the time they have available to conduct them. Rather than not conduct summits at all, it is preferable to adapt the schedule to meet your school's needs. The following models are provided as sample designs for student Leadership Teams to use as references in planning their Summits. Feel free to adapt them to meet your needs.
Class Summits in Conjunction with After-School Summits
This model begins with the selection of a class period for summit activities in which all students can participate. Schools may utilize adviser-advisee programs or target specific academic classes that can best integrate the topic of civic engagement or service into the curriculum.
In-Class Summit 1
Begin by introducing the RSVP purpose and process. Then initiate discussions about school or community issues/concerns that students are aware of and how they might see themselves being a part of the solutions to those identified. Each room/group should then develop a list of their top three concerns. That list is to be submitted to the Leadership Team for inclusion during the summit. A copy of the list may also be made for display in the room to initiate further discussions and ideas. (Review facilitator directions for Summit 1 for additional ideas.) Facilitators should extend an invitation to all students to attend the after-school summit and continue the dialogue. Give a brief overview of next steps and stress that all are invited to participate. The summit Leadership Team should collate all submissions and prepare a visual display for the after-school summit that clearly displays each of the students' issues/concerns.
After-School Summit 1
Select a room or venue in the school large enough to hold the expected numbers of students attending the summit.
Open the summit with some formality such as a speech about the importance of civic engagement and the power of students to make a difference.
Begin the summit by introducing the facilitators and going over the ground rules of discussion.
Divide participants into small groups of 8-12 students. Conduct a quick icebreaker in small groups to help participants learn the names of those they will be talking with.
Present the issues that came up most often from the in-class summit dialogues. Any issue not understood should receive some type of clarification or explanation. Select and use a voting method to narrow the group of issues/concerns to the top three.
Initiate discussion on the top three issues/concerns and ask each student to propose at least one recommendation for change on the issues presented.
Make a list of recommendations for change from student proposals.
Discuss which recommendations students like best and which are most likely to succeed. Vote on the top three recommendations students think should be implemented. (Review facilitator directions for Summit 2 for additional ideas.)
Explain that the Leadership Team will take the recommendations and develop a Civic Action Plan for implementing them.
Thank students for attending and for their willingness to get involved in making a difference in their school.
In-Class Summit 2
Using the same classes that were used for In-class Summit 1, present the proposed Civic Action Plan to students.
Follow the facilitator directions for Summit 3 and collect feedback from students to pass on to the Leadership Team.
Invite students to attend another after-school summit to see the final plan and have an opportunity to get involved in implementing the plan.
After-School Summit 2
Select a room or venue in the school large enough to hold the expected numbers of students attending the summit.
Open the summit with an icebreaker to help participants learn names and feel comfortable contributing in this group.
Present copies of the final draft of the Civic Action Plan to all participants. Follow facilitator directions for Summit 4. Provide sign-up sheets for participants to indicate areas in which they want to play a role in implementing the plan.
Half-Day Summits
In the half-day summit model, schools structure the summits so that they take two half-days, with Summit 1 and 2 occurring on one day, and Summits 3 and 4 occurring on a later day. Because the Leadership Team needs time to work with the information from each summit, the half-day summits would ideally be structured with the school's lunch period between the two sessions. The Leadership Team would need to work quickly to generate master lists of issues and concerns from Summit 1 so that it would be ready for discussion in Summit 2. Likewise, the Leadership Team would need to quickly assimilate the information from Summit 3 into their Civic Action Plan to be able to present a revised plan in Summit 4.
Incorporating a Virtual Summit
Another option to lessen the amount of time taken from the school day to engage in the summits could be to utilize electronic technology to gather feedback from students. Conduct Summit 1 and Summit 2 either as in-class or after-school sessions, then post the Civic Action Plan on the school's Web site. Invite students to post their reactions to the plan and suggest modifications to it on a school message board, conducting Summit 3 as a virtual summit. Use this electronic feedback to finalize the plan, and then present it in Summit 4 either in class or after school.