At two Maine high schools, Cortico’s conversation approach rebuilt trust between students and administrators, leading to real changes, including student seats added to a school board. Three years in, the work continues.

Youth leaders from Newark’s own neighborhoods spent two years talking with peers about why school feels disconnected from their futures. Their findings have reached school boards, Teach for America, and MIT — and the conversation portal they built is still growing.
For the first time in JA’s history, students and alumni across 64 countries shared their experiences in recorded small-group conversations, surfacing insights that now shape the organization’s global strategy.

A national fellowship supporting students to do something rare: design a real listening process, host it, and share what they hear with their campus community. Now in its second year, the program is building a growing network of young civic leaders across the country.