Organizing Strategies of UrbEd

UrbEd is composed of students, but they have a Board of Directors that oversee their work. Adults make up the board and support the youth activism. They come from a variety of backgrounds and employers throughout Philadelphia  (UrbEd). It appears that UrbEd utilizes the facilitation model because there is a clear boundary between youth and adult roles, the adults support the work, and the emphasis is placed on the youth to organize the group (Kirsher, 2008, p. 74). They also utilize a Freirian approach to organizing. This stems from the process of having liberation education and continued learning for a common purpose (Martinson and Su, 2012). The organizers, as youths, reflect on how they are personally and how their community is challenged by challenges in school resource officers and disciplinary practices, that they focus their energy on changing these problems (Martinson and Su, 2012). They continue to learn and challenge the teacher-student dynamic, especially because everyone in the organizing is a teacher-learner (Martinson and Su, 2012). The combination of a facilitator approach to youth organizing and the Freirian strategy provides a unique combination for UrbEd to reach success. 

Source: https://educationvoters.org/resources/strikes/