{"id":222407,"date":"2026-06-18T16:42:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T16:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/222407\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T16:42:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T16:42:08","slug":"teens-learn-about-democracy-by-trying-to-run-philadelphia-city-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/222407\/","title":{"rendered":"Teens learn about democracy by trying to run Philadelphia city government"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia\u2019s free newsletter<\/a> to keep up with news on the city\u2019s public school system.<\/p>\n

Kailey Reinboth has won and lost many elections. In fact, her political resume is stacked \u2014 and she hasn\u2019t even gone to college yet. <\/p>\n

Through the Greater Philadelphia YMCA\u2019s Youth and Government program, she served as a two-time committee chair in a student version of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, as well as chief of staff to a teenage governor. And she recently added still more to her budding government resume. <\/p>\n

Reinboth and nearly 100 of her fellow high school students and recent graduates spent a hot summer Wednesday in the historic chambers of City Hall to participate in the Philadelphia City Government Youth Summit. The program is a full-day \u201ccivic immersion experience\u201d hosted by the YMCA in partnership with the Mayor\u2019s office and City Council.<\/p>\n

\"AMayor-for-the-day Jada Fagan delivered an impassioned speech before her peers began to debate the legislation on their desks. (Chi Tian \/ Chalkbeat) <\/p>\n

The students elected their own mayor \u2014 Cristo Rey High School graduate Jada Fagan \u2014 and assumed roles in the mayor\u2019s cabinet, the City Council, press corps, and community advocacy groups. Their tasks were to debate, negotiate, amend, and vote on proposed legislation. <\/p>\n

The program is a response to findings from experts like those at Tufts University<\/a> that young people, especially youth of color, don\u2019t feel qualified enough to participate in politics. It aims to build students\u2019 civic awareness and foster skills like public speaking and critical thinking. Although Pennsylvania students are required to pass a civics test<\/a> in order to graduate high school, the state has never required school districts to offer a civics course.<\/p>\n

We’re here to help.<\/p>\n

Every day, Chalkbeat Philadelphia reporters are answering your questions, following the money, and digging into what’s happening in the city’s public schools. Keep up with our free newsletter, delivered every Wednesday and Friday morning.<\/p>\n

This was the first year the summit came to Philly. In previous years, Reinboth and other high schoolers have experimented with governing at the state level in Harrisburg. <\/p>\n

Throughout the day, Lindsay Doyle Director of Youth Civic Engagement at the YMCA urged students to remember respect and decorum. \u201cWe are debating the ideas, not the people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"AIn their council session Wednesday, the students debated legislation they\u2019d drafted about the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (Chi Tian \/ Chalkbeat) <\/p>\n

Reinboth, who will start her freshman year at Gettysburg College this fall, said her biggest takeaway from the experience was being able to communicate and talk to her peers in a respectful manner even when they disagree.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to have not just a conversation, but a civil, productive conversation, so that you can both benefit, is one of the biggest and most important things I\u2019ve learned from this,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Philly-area students received advice from real-life Mayor Cherelle Parker, and adult City Council President Kenyatta Johnson. <\/p>\n

Fagan, the mayor for the day, said the summit taught her that writing sound policy and passing legislation is not a one-person job.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one person could get blamed for the decisions being made. It\u2019s a full team,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"AThis was the first year the Philadelphia City Government Youth Summit took over City Hall. In previous years students have experimented with governing at the state level in Harrisburg. (Chi Tian \/ Chalkbeat) <\/p>\n

Nyjera Choice, 15, a ninth grader at the Philadelphia High School for Girls and a member of the youth government press corps, also came away from the summit with a more empathetic view of her elected officials. <\/p>\n

Having to write the legislation, consider amendments, and weigh everyone\u2019s different interests \u201cgives you a broader perspective of what they have to handle,\u201d Choice said.<\/p>\n

In their session Wednesday, the students debated legislation they\u2019d drafted about the 2026 FIFA World Cup. <\/p>\n

Students had to consider public transit, stadium projects, policing, trash pickup, cultural beautification efforts \u2014 and budget constraints. The result was a proposed $72 million bill that would fund various priorities.<\/p>\n

In a lively City Council session, they expressed concerns about SEPTA\u2019s \u201cfiscal nightmare\u201d and debated how to keep the beleaguered transit agency<\/a> solvent while allowing for city residents and tourists to easily and affordably move around. They found errors in the legislation and asked for clearer definitions of abstract concepts.<\/p>\n

\"AStudent Ja’kiyah Wright acted as City Council President. She said even though her legislation failed to pass, \u201cit just showcased how determined we are and how engaged we are.” (Chi Tian \/ Chalkbeat) <\/p>\n

Ja\u2019kiyah Wright, a rising senior at Universal Audenried Charter School and Youth City Council President, presided over the session. She wielded her gavel to keep councilmembers within their time restrictions and worked to ensure everyone was heard.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the council rejected the bill. Members agreed it needed more work in committee \u2014 and a spelling and grammar check.<\/p>\n

Wright said even though the legislation, which she sponsored, was rejected, \u201cIt just showcased how determined we are and how engaged we are, because we can have these conversations and understand the problems with the legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wright said she would love to be a part of Philadelphia\u2019s local government in the future.<\/p>\n

Actual Council President Kenyatta Johnson gave the students a passing grade on Wednesday. He said seeing them in action made him feel like the city\u2019s future will be in great hands. <\/p>\n

As for failing to pass their bill, Johnson said: \u201cThat\u2019s the democratic process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia\u2019s free newsletter to keep up with news on the city\u2019s public school system.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222408,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[96741,8003,990,1718,69,71,70,7625,96742,2236,5727],"class_list":["post-222407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-city-council-session","tag-city-hall","tag-city-council","tag-investment","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-philly","tag-teenagers-take-over","tag-world-cup","tag-ymca"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}