Registering Your Chapter with Your School

The process of registering your chapter at your school is no different than starting a regular club. In fact, it would be easiest to call your chapter “Youth Activism Club” or “Advocacy Club” rather than “High School Name Chapter of Youth Activism Alliance”. Each middle/high school is a little different, but the general process for starting a club is usually the same.

  1. Create Bylaws for your club. Lucky for you we’ve already done that! Access the template here. You will most likely have to edit the contents to fit the necessary requirements (if any). If your school has already provided a template, copy and paste the information provided and make necessary adjustments.
  2. You may also have to submit a budget for the chapter. Most chapters run expense-free, although some may have projects planned that require funding. Or they want t-shirts. In any case, if you need help planning a budget, talk to our Finances Director.
  3. Most clubs at a middle/high school will need an advisor. This will be a staff member who oversees the work that the club does, attends and supervises meetings, etc. It will most likely be up to you and them to decide how active they will be in the club. Even if it is not a requirement, it is nice to have a staff member that can help connect you to people, projects, and more.
  4. You may need a list of people that will be in the club before you can register it, as a guarantee that it will be successful. Talk to your friends and try to spread the word with other like-minded people. If you can’t get the required amount of people to sign up, just have your friends sign and not actually show up. It’s kinda cheating but as long as some people are interested, you should start the chapter.
  5. Register your club. This varies from school to school, so it’s your job to figure out the exact process. If it is not stated in your school handbook or website, try contacting a teacher for the information.
    1. If it is as simple as filling out a google form, congrats, your job is done.
    2. Some high schools might require you to attend a student council meeting, talk with school admin, or something of the sort. If this is necessary, make sure you are well versed in our organization's goals and values, and be sure you know your job as a chapter leader. It would also be helpful if you already have ideas for things your chapter would accomplish. If you ever need help with your “pitch”, don’t be afraid to reach out to the Executive Team.

The difficult part about all this is that your club, and our organization, are based on activism, with is a relatively political topic. Some schools/admin just won't care, and they'll let their kids do whatever. Most schools won't be that way, though. They might see your club as a liability, or they might oppose some of the topics you want to talk about in your meetings. There is no "right" way to contest these opinions. However, these points are probably your best bet.

  1. Yes, some of these topics are controversial, but the presentations are created to be fairly nonpartisan, and they strongly encourage discussion and debate, to make way for different opinions.
  2. Activism can be political, but it can also just be doing good in the community. We're looking to provide more volunteer and service opportunities.
  3. Our club is totally customizable, so we can avoid topics that might be too much.

Hopefully, you'll be able to convince them if they have some doubts :)