While students are at the center of all the work that JPEF does when supporting educators, engaging parents, and policy makers, JPEF also provides unique opportunities for students to lead themselves in research and advocacy.
Example opportunities from 2024 include:
- Youth Participatory Action Research for the Wolfburg Fund for Social Justice - where high school students engaged in 15 hours of training and technical support and collected the voices of over 30 of their peers through qualitative research methods to answer questions about utilizing social justice in DCPS.
- School Board Voting Videos - where high school students provided self-recorded videos of why voting is important which JPEF uplifted in commercials during the 2024 School Board Elections.
- Urban Education Symposium sessions - where students are empowered to plan and facilitate sessions regarding education and success at a community focused annual convening.