The Village Square » Teen Square

Teen Square

Congratulations to the Class of 2011 Teen Square:

June Lee
Melanie Felia
Daphne Dodd
Christopher Hill
Roberta Fiorito
Dillard Jendayi
Kara Copeland
Celia Glassman
Hannah Swee
Katie Skene
Haven Mills
Julia Draper
Grace Richardson

CLASS OF 2012 applications will be available in February of 2011. Check back or sign up to receive an email when applications are available HERE.

About Teen Square

Teen² is a program for high school seniors who are interested in politics and government. It is sponsored by The Village Square, a nonprofit organized by a bipartisan group of community leaders concerned with reviving a constructive community dialog across the partisan divide.

FIND A TEEN SQUARE ONLINE APPLICATION HERE.

Teen² meets on the following dates:

Thursday August 26, 2010 5:30 to 7:30 PM
Thursday December 9, 2010, 5:30 to 7:30 PM
Thursday February 17, 2011, 5:30 to 7:30 PM
Thursday April 21, 2011 5:30 to 7:30 PM, FINAL MEETING

There will be 3 Tuesday night “Dinner at the Square” meetings that participants will be requested to attend and help with. These dates are not set yet, but if any of these dates does not work, the participant can choose an alternate Tuesday night “Take-out Tuesday” forum to attend (there are usually many date choices), to fulfill the obligation of 3 events. If you are never available on Tuesday nights, however, you cannot participate in Teen Square.

Applications will be accepted from high school juniors in Leon County to participate in Teen² their senior year.

Benefits to participating students

• Earn a minimum of 25 volunteer hours for Bright Futures and college applications
• Meet and work in cooperation with community leaders on current topic of national interest.
• Opportunity to represent their generation’s view on hot topics in high profile local discussions.
• Participate in Fact Check 101 – a workshop offered specially for Teen² participants by Tallahassee Democrat staffers
• Learn concepts of democracy, debate and dialog; practice “agreeable disagreement.”
• Two tickets for one “Dinner at the Square” event
• Attend invitation-only special events through the year for Village Square board members, Founders and members.

Responsibilities of participating students

Applicants must commit to attend, if selected, all meetings on the following date and times:

Thursday November 19, 2009, 5:30 to 7:30 PM
Thursday January 21, 2010, 5:30 to 7:30 PM
Thursday April 15, 2010, 5:30 to 7:30 PM FINAL MEETING

Additionally, applicants must commit to attend “Dinner at the Square” events during the school year as volunteers (summer event is optional). Teen² participants are also required to participate in The Village Square’s Leadership NEXT online forum.

Calendar for Class of 2011

March 1, Current application and meeting dates available online
MAY 1, DUE DATE FOR RISING SENIOR APPLICATIONS
MAY 21, applicants will be informed by email as to whether they have been selected

Opportunities

At the completion of the Teen² project, participants will have the opportunity share their work in the local media, alongside leaders in the community.

Guidelines for Selection

The Village Square will seek responsible students with a minimum GPA of 3.5 un-weighted who have demonstrated they are self-starters. Students should be able to work constructively with peers who differ from them. Political diversity will be a primary concern for selection for most Teen² topics. Other Teen² forums will have different selection criteria (such as racial or ethnic diversity) consistent with the forum topic.

Applications

Applications are available online HERE. Applications may be completed and submitted online or may be mailed to:

The Village Square
PO Box 10352
Tallahassee, FL 32302

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