Tom Bolt, American Bar Association Delegate at Large, announced on Wednesday that the The American Bar Association Division for Public Education’s National Online Youth Summit. The program offers students in the Virgin the chance to study, research, and analyze an issue, and discuss it online with high school students throughout the United States. The theme of this year’s Youth Summit is “Environmental Law & Public Policy: From Grassroots to Government”. 

Bolt who has served as a member of the ABA’s House of Delegates for over twenty years said “This topic is of great interest to all people, especially today’s youth in the Virgin Islands.  The program will focus on grassroots and government efforts to create a national environmental policy, current environmental laws, and some of the political and social responses to resource management and environmental change across time.  Our students will have the opportunity to analyze key legislation and Supreme Court decisions dealing with the environment, and global warming in particular, as well as the role of the Executive branch in administering environmental laws."

During the course of the 12 week program Virgin Islands students will:

  • learn about some of the topic’s issues through a literature-based exercise;
  • critically evaluate environmental public policies;
  • articulate informed opinions about policy options;
  • engage with other students throughout the United States by participating in the online discussion;
  • pose questions to legal experts; and
  • create a research-based final project.

There is no cost involved for the 12-week program that has been created by the American Bar Association. Participating teachers will:

  • benefit from the expertise of a community of teachers;
  • teach an interdisciplinary curriculum of 14 sequential activities provided by the ABA;
  • receive instructional support from the ABA and additional resources to create individualized classroom plans; and 
  • create a project-based learning experience tailored to your students, course objectives, and goals.

Students can register by December 3 for this FREE interdisciplinary program for high school students and teachers or visit the National Online Youth Summit Website for more information.  Participation is limited so students are encouraged to register today to secure their participation in this FREE program.