Item 4B Draft Youth Master Plan - 8-10-18
CITY OF SOUTHLAKE
DRAFT YOUTH MASTER PLAN – 8.10.18
An Element of the Southlake 2035 Comprehensive Plan
Adopted by Southlake City Council
Ordinance No. 1196
XXXXXX #, 2018
Prepared by:
Southlake Planning & Development Services Department
Special Thanks:
Southlake Youth Action Commission (SYAC)
Southlake Kids Interested in Leadership (SKIL)
Community Engagement Committee (CEC)
Note: This plan element is not designated for 4-year review cycle
Youth Master Plan 3
Executive Summary
The Youth Master Plan represents a brand new element in the Southlake 2035 Comprehensive Plan. The City
of Southlake currently offers or supports a number of programs directly related to the serving the
community’s youth; however, there is not a single unifying plan document tying all of these efforts together.
The Youth Master Plan was written to not only capture many of the important initiatives underway currently,
but also to plan for the future engagement of our City’s younger population. This plan does not provide a
specific age range for “youth.” Yet, given the current broad provision of service offerings, and the identified
recommendations within this plan document, programming for infants through high school is discussed.
City staff held a number of internal meetings to gather examples of current youth programming before
starting the process of crafting plan recommendations. In addition, a review of existing comprehensive plan
recommendations related to youth initiatives was conducted. These identified programs and initiatives
provided a background into the reach of the City’s youth programming. Based on this initial inventory of
programming, staff separated the plan into three main categories, for which the plan would be structured,
and any recommendations or research would be captured. These three categories are shown below.
Section 3 – Leadership & Engagement
Section 4 – Safety and Health & Wellness
Section 5 – Partnerships & Volunteerism
Once a comprehensive list of programs within these three categories was accumulated, staff began working
to identify potential areas of expansion; to identify where might there be room to fill programming gaps, or
even, create or build upon existing programs.
City Council appointed the Southlake Youth Action Commission (SYAC) to develop this plan. In addition,
staff held meetings with the Southlake Kids Interested in Leadership (SKIL), and the Community Engagement
Committee (CEC). Surveys, tabletop exercises, and discussions with these three groups provided invaluable
insight in development of this plan, particularly in regard to furthering youth engagement in Southlake.
As will be demonstrated throughout the Youth Master Plan, the City offers or supports myriad programs
ranging from recreational programming to volunteer opportunities. Additionally, the City and the Carroll
Independent School District (CISD) have a strong partnership, as evidenced by the SRO program, and various
joint-use agreements for facilities. This plan identifies these existing programs to help provide context for
the City’s current youth environment.
All of that said, a number of opportunities were outlined within this plan. In total, there are twenty-one (21)
recommendations in the Youth Master Plan. Grouped by the categories listed above, these
recommendations speak to involving the community’s youth in the policy and decision-making process,
expanding library programming, promoting safety and security, as well as health and wellness programs,
and even working to expand volunteer opportunities for the youth. A major takeaway from this plan is that
the City should actively seek the youth perspective when developing certain master plan elements,
expanding youth programming, and ensuring the City does what it can to foster an environment where
youth have opportunities to build leadership skills, and remain or become engaged stakeholders in their
community.
This plan underscores the importance of partnerships with not only our citizens, but also the need to
continuously identify opportunities to engage our corporate citizens and various community groups.
Youth Master Plan 5
Table of Contents
Section 1 Introduction 5
1.1 Purpose of the Youth Master Plan 5
1.2 Why A Youth Master Plan?
1.3 Relationship to the Strategic Management System 7
1.4 Adoption Process 8
Section 2 Background 12
2.1 Demographics 12
2.2 School Districts 13
2.3 Existing Comprehensive Plan Recommendations 15
2.4 Existing City Policies & Programs 19
2.5 Youth Input 24
Section 3 Leadership & Engagement 39
3.1 Personal Development for Youth 39
3.2 Youth Advisement 41
3.3 Youth Involvement 42
3.4 Role of Technology 44
3.5 Leadership & Engagement Recommendations 45
Section 4 Safety and Health & Wellness 52
4.1 Youth Safety 52
4.2 Youth Health & Wellness 55
4.3 Youth Recreation 58
4.4 Safety and Health & Wellness Recommendations 60
Section 5 Partnerships & Volunteerism 63
5.1 Existing Partnerships with School Districts 63
5.2 Public / Private Partnerships 66
5.3 Youth Volunteerism Support 69
5.4 Partnerships & Volunteerism Recommendations 73
Section 6 Evaluation, Prioritization and Implementation 77
6.1 Plan Evaluation and Implementation 77
6.2 Prioritization Schedule 77
Section 7 Youth Recommendations Summary Tables 80
7.1 Leadership & Engagement Recommendations 80
7.2 Safety and Health & Wellness Recommendations 87
73 Partnerships & Volunteerism Recommendations 90
Youth Master Plan 6
Youth Master Plan 7
Introduction
The City of Southlake is committed to providing high quality programs, services and facilities. One way the
City has been successful is through a strong comprehensive planning process. There are a number of plan
elements that have been adopted over time addressing topics such as mobility, water conservation, parks
and recreation, and more. With the next phase of comprehensive planning, Southlake 2035, a new plan
element has been identified; the Youth Master Plan.
The Youth Master Plan consolidates, codifies and in some cases, updates policies, programs and even
recommendations specifically related to the youth in the community.
The plan identifies policies, programs and projects for implementation and development, and guides
funding decisions. The Youth Master Plan is divided into the following sections:
1) Introduction
2) Background
3) Leadership & Engagement
4) Safety and Health & Wellness
5) Partnerships & Volunteerism
6) Evaluation, Prioritization and Implementation
1.1 Purpose of the Youth Master Plan
The purpose of the Youth Master Plan is simple: establish clear goals and priorities for the next several years
related to building up and encouraging youth in the community. More specifically, this plan will identify
opportunities to engage with parents as well as business partners, educators and administrators, civic
leaders and volunteers in the community on topics related to youth. The recommendations included within
the Youth Master Plan will provide a framework for pursuing initiatives such as youth leadership and
volunteerism. Some of the recommendations within this plan will provide City staff with clear guidelines and
measures to approaching identified objectives. There is no question that a wealth of knowledge, experience
and expertise exists in the City of Southlake. Bridging any gaps between young people in the community
and this knowledge base is a key component of this plan.
According to the National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education, and Families Creating a Youth
Master Plan Action Kit:
Young people who grow up with the requisite skills and social attributes for success in school,
work, and life form the backbone of communities that strive for an educated, high-wage
workforce, a vibrant local economy, safe and stable neighborhoods, and strong, healthy
families. By clearing a path for this goal, a youth master plan can yield lasting benefits not only
for young people but also for municipal governments, schools, and the communities they
serve (4).
The statement above aligns with the Southlake vision for this document as well. The City of Southlake views
youth in the community as stakeholders with valuable insights, as well as citizens with a unique set of needs.
Youth Master Plan 8
Relationship between Carroll ISD and the City of Southlake
The Youth Master Plan represents a codification of existing programs and policies, as well as a
comprehensive look at future recommendations that involve and engage the City’s youth through programs
and initiatives offered or supported by the City of Southlake. The City recognizes the major role of CISD in
the community, and how important the success of the school district is to the overall wellness of the City of
Southlake. That said the City does not wish to replace or stand in the way of successful programs and
initiatives planned or in progress by the school. Rather, Southlake wishes to offer support to the local
students, parents and caregivers regarding the well-being of the community’s youth. The Carroll
Independent School District has a major responsibility in the development and safety of students, and the
City wishes to be supportive of the school in this process. While not responsible for the implementation of
CISD initiatives, the City is aware of the programs offered by the school, and wishes to partner where
feasible.
1.2 Why a Youth Master Plan?
In the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt, “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our
youth for the future.” This frame of mind is a large driving force behind the Youth Master Plan as the
Southlake City Council recognizes the importance of investing in the younger generation. As the
recommendations for this plan were being developed, staff held a number of internal meetings to
document the myriad programs currently in place; from the Southlake Kids Interested in Leadership (SKIL) to
youth volunteering opportunities in the library and even safety initiatives for parents with infants. While it is
clear that there are many programs in place with a direct link to youth, a single unifying document tying
everything together did not exist.
The Southlake City Charter states that certain components of the City’s comprehensive plan shall address a
planning horizon of at least ten years into the future, and these components are to be updated to reflect
changing City conditions and requirements every four years. While not on this same four-year review cycle,
the Youth Master Plan introduces a new comprehensive plan element. By emphasizing the importance of
youth, the City demonstrates a commitment to this very important population group, along with other
master plan elements such as mobility, sustainability, economic development and more.
This plan will not directly define the word “youth.” Even the Merriam-Webster dictionary does not indicate a
specific age range, providing the following two definitions for the word first:
a: the time of life when one is young; especially: the period between childhood and maturity, and;
b: the early period of existence, growth, or development.
We cannot always build
the future for our , youth
but we can build our
for the future. youth
-Franklin D. Roosevelt
Youth Master Plan 9
With that said, a more fluid approach to pursuing recommendations was used. Rather than honing in on a
specific age group, staff evaluated the current landscape of youth engagement and opportunities
holistically. For example, conversations with staff members from the City’s library revealed that much of the
programming for youth primarily focuses on children in the elementary age group. This means there are
opportunities to engage the “tween” and “teen” age groups with library programming. By engaging with
City staff and leadership, stakeholders in the community and multiple youth organizations, a comprehensive
understanding of existing strengths and opportunities is more clearly defined. This plan will continue with a
positive trajectory towards prioritizing and implementing policy that achieves the goals defined by the
citizens of Southlake.
1.3 Relationship to the Strategic Management System
Strategic planning is an ongoing process where resources, critical concerns, community priorities and citizen
needs are combined to produce both a plan for the future and a measure for results. More specifically,
Southlake’s Strategic Management System links the City’s day-to-day activities to a comprehensive long-
term strategy for public policy and management decisions.
The Strategic Management System identifies Strategic Focus Areas and Objectives to guide effective and
efficient resource allocation and provides benchmarks to assess performance. The Strategic Focus Areas and
Objectives are driven by the City’s Citizen Survey and are outlined in City’s Strategy Map shown above.
Youth Master Plan 10
The Strategic Management System guided the development of
the Southlake 2035 Vision, Goals and Objectives (VGO), which
define a desired direction for growth in the City. Adopted by
Ordinance in June of 2017, all subsequent master plan elements
developed will be linked back to this document. The first task
needed for the development of the Youth Master Plan was to
ensure the existing goals and objectives relating to youth
initiatives and community involvement were applicable. All
recommendations in the Southlake 2035 plans are tied to at least
one Strategic Focus Area from the Strategic Management System
and at least one objective from the adopted Southlake Vision,
Goals and Objectives. The recommendations from the
comprehensive plan elements guide the development of the
Capital Improvements Program (a five-year plan for the purchase,
construction or replacement of the City’s physical assets) as well
as departmental business plans. In turn, the Capital
Improvements Program and departmental business plans dictate
the City’s day-today operations in order to ensure the City works
to achieve the community’s goals.
Further, the Southlake 2035 Comprehensive Plan assists the City
Council, Boards and Commissions in decision-making by
establishing a blueprint for the City’s future. For example, the
recommendations adopted with this plan element will provide
the framework used to determine the youth initiatives and
programs that get pursued. Using the plan as a guide helps to secure the community’s vision for strong
youth programs that engage the younger generation of Southlake.
1.4 Adoption Process
As will be further highlighted later in Section 2.5, Youth Input, City Council appointed the Southlake Youth
Action Commission (SYAC) as the City board to oversee the development of the Youth Master Plan. To
ensure adequate representation and feedback from the community’s youth, City Council also had staff
include the Southlake Kids Interested in Leadership (SKIL) in this process. City staff held a number of
meetings with each group between October 2017 and March, 2018.
One of the first steps in the update to the Southlake 2035 Comprehensive Plan was to revisit the existing
goal and objectives. In June of 2017, City Council replaced the Southlake 2030 Vision, Goals & Objectives
with the Southlake 2035 Vision, Goals & Objectives (VGO). This critical document establishes the foundation
for the recommendations within not only the Youth Master Plan, but each and every adopted master plan
element. The revised VGO document reflects changes in the Southlake community since the Southlake 2030
iteration was adopted in 2009. The Southlake 2035 Vision, Goals & Objectives also address new and future
plan elements that will be included in the master plan. The Youth Master Plan represents one of these new
plan elements. The goals and objectives for this plan are illustrated on page 10. Using this as a foundation,
the Committee then developed the recommendations for the plan.
Between meetings with SYAC, SKIL and the Community Engagement Committee (CEC), the Youth Master
Plan was either discussed or presented at nine (9) committee and group meetings. Although not appointed
to oversee the development of the Youth Master Plan, the Community Engagement Committee was a
natural fit to provide additional input into this plan element. Staff brought this plan forward for their
Results
City Activities and Operations
Comprehensive Plan Elements
Southlake 2035 Vision, Goals and Objectives
Strategic Management System
Citizen Satisfaction Survey
Youth Master Plan 11
comment and consideration at three (3) CEC meetings. Some of the input from the CEC was used to inform
the recommendations of this plan, including comments about the possibility of the City hosting or
supporting a youth job fair.
All meetings were open to the public and advertised on the City’s website. Once the plan was ready to
continue moving through the process, SYAC made a recommendation to forward the Southlake 2035 Youth
Master Plan to the Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) for consideration, public hearing, and
recommendation in accordance with the City’s charter. After P&Z made their recommendation to approve
the Youth Master Plan, this element proceeded to City Council for public hearing and final approval. On
Month, Date, Year, City Council adopted the Southlake 2035 Youth Master Plan as Ordinance No. 1196.
A Southlake Program for the Involvement of Neighborhoods (SPIN) Town Hall Forum was also held on June,
12, 2018 in order to present the plan publicly before P&Z and City Council to gather additional public input.
The forum fosters open and timely communication between the citizens and city government regarding
programs and issues affecting the quality of life in the community, encouraging positive relations and a
stronger sense of community.
In summary, the approval process for the Youth Development Master Plan was as follows:
1) SYAC and SKIL Meetings
2) SPIN Town Hall Forum – June 12, 2018
3) Planning & Zoning Commission recommendation – August 9, 2018
4) City Council 1st reading – August 21, 2018
5) City Council 2nd reading (final plan approval) – September 4, 2018
Youth Master Plan 12
Southlake 2035 Vision, Goals & Objectives. The Youth Master Plan references the objectives above in the adopted recommendations.
•Objective 5.6: Enhance and promote public safety through public-
private partnerships and utilization and training of volunteers.
•Objective 5.8: Develop and implement safety education programs that
enhance the quality of life and safety in the community.
Goal 5: Public Safety
Establish and maintain protective
measures and policies that reduce
danger, risk or injury to property
and individuals who live, work or
visit the City.
•Objective 7.2: Promote public awareness and education on such
sustainability issues as public health, energy and water conservation
and overall environmental stewardship.
Goal 7: Sustainability
Encourage the conservation,
protection, enhancement and
proper management of the
natural and built environment.
•Objective 8.1: Provide a level of community facilities that meet the
needs of both the existing and projected population.
•Objective 8.4: Incorporate new computer and telecommunications
technologies into public buildings and designated areas in order to
improve time and cost efficiency of service delivery and to meet
increasing demands of information access and sharing .
Goal 8: Community Facilities
Plan and provide quality
community facilities and services
that effectively meet the service
needs of Southlake's residents and
businesses
•Objective 9.1: Partner with other government entities, non-
governmental organizations and the North Central Texas Council
of Governments to address regional and local issues.
•Objective 9.2: Continue mutually beneficial partnerships between
the City and local school districts to explore the provision of
facilities, services, technology, and other opportunities through
open communication and close coordination.
•Objective 9.3: Continue active partnerships with non-profit
organizations, civic groups and local businesses to create
opportunities that benefit the community.
•Objective 9.4: Partner with local school districts to educate
Southlake’s youth in their municipality and seek youth input when
planning the future of our community.
Goal 9: Partnerships
Fully utilize and coordinate with
the City's many partners to
address issues facing the area,
provide services and facilities,
promote volunteerism, support
events and programs and
encourage economic growth.
•Objective 12.1: Use technology to engage the community on topics of
interest that informs and facilitates the exchange of information.
•Objective 12.1: Provide opportunities for the community’s youth to
advise and participate in policy and decision making, while investing
in future generations.
•Objective 12.3: Implement effective engagement strategies, such as
Town Hall Forums, that solicit input from the community.
•Objective 12.4: Engage with community groups to identify
opportunities to enhance transparency and encourage participation
in local government.
Goal 12: Community Engagement
Promote and prioritize initiatives
that involve and empower home
owners associations, residents
and businesses to collaborate
with the City of Southlake in
achieving community objectives.
Youth Master Plan 13
Background
Southlake is located in North Central Texas, situated 23 miles
northeast of Fort Worth and 25 miles northwest of Dallas.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport is only a few short
miles to the southeast, and Lake Grapevine borders the city to
the north. State Highway 114 runs diagonally through the
middle of the City, heading east through Las Colinas and into
downtown Dallas and west toward the Alliance Airport
corridor. This corridor, along with Southlake Boulevard (FM
1709) and Davis Boulevard (FM 1938), are the primary
roadways that help fuel the City’s economic success.
The City of Southlake today consists of approximately 22
square miles of land and approximately 29,000 residents.
Southlake has grown and become a premier community in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. The
City’s dedication to quality development, sound fiscal policies and effective strategic management has made
it an exemplary community. In order to continue this level of quality of life, it is important to have a plan for
economic sustainability to meet the needs and demands of Southlake’s residents now and in the future.
Although there are numerous existing policies and programs that supporting youth initiatives, City Council
recognized the need for consolidating these policies and programs into one cohesive document. The
following sections provide a framework for the plans, policies and programs which serve as the foundation
for the development of the Youth Master Plan.
2.1 Demographics
According to the US Census Bureau, the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area is the
fourth most populous in the country and the most populous in the state. In 2014, the Metropolitan Statistical
Area was also the second fastest growing area in the United States after the Houston region. From 2010 to
2014, the region added nearly 400,000 residents. Forecasts project that these growth trends will continue
through 2040.
2,808
7,065
13,350
21,519
24,900 26,575 28,568
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
1980 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2017
(est.)
Southlake Population
Southlake Population
6,417,724
10,676,844
0
2,000,000
4,000,000
6,000,000
8,000,000
10,000,000
12,000,000
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2017
(est.)
2040
(est.)
DFW Metroplex Population
DFW Metroplex Population
Youth Master Plan 14
Southlake experienced rapid population growth between 1990 and 2000. There was a 205 percent increase
in population during this time period, among the highest in Texas. With economic recession and less land
available for residential development, this trend slowed significantly between 2000 and 2010. However,
both residential and commercial development activity has increased steadily since 2010. The ultimate
buildout population, estimated at 34,188, which should be reached by 2035.
Source: FY 2017 Annual Development Activity Report / FY 2018 Adopted Budget
2.2 School Districts
If you ask someone to list why they chose to live in
Southlake, chances are the exceptional school district is
one of the top or main reasons. Southlake is primarily
served by Carroll Independent School District (ISD)
(78% of Southlake served by CISD), which is one of the
largest in the state of Texas to earn the top rating of
“Exemplary” by the Texas Education Agency. According
to the Southlake Carroll website:
Approximately 98 percent of Carroll's seniors
go on to attend a college or university after graduation. More than 90 percent of Carroll
students take a college entrance exam, with composite scores on the SAT and ACT that exceed
state and national averages. Carroll offers a full array of Advanced Placement and Honors
courses, a challenging curriculum for gifted and talented students and special programs for
students with special needs.
School Districts / Private Schools Serving Southlake
While the majority of Southlake residents attending public school will go to Carroll ISD, the City of Southlake
is served by four independent school districts; Carroll ISD, Northwest ISD, Keller ISD, and Grapevine-
Colleyville ISD. In addition, there are also several private and/or Montessori schools within the City limits;
Southlake Montessori, The Clariden School, Abundant Grace Christian Montessori Academy and The
Goddard School. A number of Southlake youth also attend nearby private schools beyond the City limits.
De
m
o
g
r
a
p
h
i
c
P
r
o
f
i
l
e
Population by age: Under 19 years - 35% / 20-64 years - 57% / 65 years and older - 8%
Average people per household of 3.15
2017 median household income of $208,848
2017 average home sales price of $815,563
68% of residents 25 years and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher
Youth Master Plan 15
Carroll ISD
•5A
•K-12
Attendance:
8,177
•100%
Graduation
Rate
•78% of
Southlake
served by
CISD
Northwest ISD
•5A
•K-12
Attendance:
21,024
•97%
Graduation
Rate
•12% of
Southlake
served by
NISD
Keller ISD
•5A
•K-12
Attendance:
34,203
•94%
Graduation
Rate
•7% of
Southlake
served by
KISD
Grapevine -
Colleyville ISD
•5A
•K-12
Attendance:
13,818
•96%
Graduation
Rate
•3% of
Southlake
served by
GCISD
Source: City of Southlake Fast Facts / FY 2017 Annual Development Activity Report / Southlake GIS
Public School Districts Serving the City of Southlake
Map produced by Southlake Geographic Information Systems division (GIS) February 2018
Youth Master Plan 16
2.3 Existing Comprehensive Plan Recommendations
It would be challenging to identify each and every youth-centered program and initiative offered by the City
of Southlake. However, as part of this planning effort it is important to highlight a number of the current
policies in place. There are a few reasons for emphasizing existing programs in place. For one, some youth
initiatives may not be listed as new recommendations, given that there is already a structure,
recommendation or policy in place. Conversely, the Youth Master Plan may also be used to create
redundancy, or codify significant policies not currently linked back to a comprehensive plan element. The list
below is not comprehensive, but rather intends to illustrate some of the programs, policies and initiatives in
place that focus on the community’s youth. Additionally, below is a table that lists existing adopted
recommendations with a direct correlation to youth. These recommendations were adopted as part of the
Southlake 2030 plan, and will need to be revisited as those specific plan elements are updated.
Existing Recommendations - Water Conservation Master Plan
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic Link VGO
Link Department Priority
Tier
WC-1
Develop and
implement a
School/Youth
education program
promoting water
conservation
Develop and implement a
program focused on
educating the City’s youth in
partnership with local school
districts, private schools and
other youth oriented
organizations.
Partnerships
&
Volunteerism,
C5 7.2,
9.1
CMO, PW,
CS
1
Existing Recommendations – Parks, Recreation & Open Space / Community
Facilities Master Plan (Citywide Recommendations)
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic Link VGO
Link Department Priority
Tier
P14
Continue to explore
opportunities in
partnerships with
Carroll Independent
School District (CISD) in
order to create
programs and share
facilities to maximize
financial benefits to
both organizations and
the residents of the
City
Create partnerships for
various purposes with
CISD
Partnerships
and
Volunteerism
4.4,
8.1 CS 1
Youth Master Plan 17
Existing Recommendations – Parks, Recreation & Open Space / Community
Facilities Master Plan (Park Recommendations)
No. Recommendation Forced
Ranking
Priority
Tier Department Strategic Link VGO
Link
Bob
Jones
Park 1
Partner with the Carroll
Independent School District
(CISD) to locate jogging/cross-
country trails appropriately in
Bob Jones Park and the Bob
Jones Nature Center &
Preserve and U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers properties
through appropriate signage
and designated routes
(Complete)
5 1 CS Partnerships &
Volunteerism, C5
1.5, 1.9,
3.2, 4.2,
4.4, 4.5,
4.6,
4.13,
5.1, 8.1,
9.3
Koalaty
Park 1
Explore the opportunity with
Carroll Independent School
District to have a parking
agreement for joint use of the
parking lot at the elementary
school (Complete)
11 1 CS Partnerships &
Volunteerism, C5
1.5, 1.9,
4.4, 4.6
Koalaty
Park 5
Provide a vehicle drop off area
adjacent to the drive aisle at
the elementary school.
11 3 CS
Quality
Development,
Mobility, C3
1.5, 1.9,
4.4, 4.6
Noble
Oaks
Park 2
Explore the opportunity with
Carroll Independent School
District to have a parking
agreement for joint use of the
parking lot at the elementary
school. (Complete)
10 1 CS Partnerships &
Volunteerism, C5 3.2, 3.3
Oak
Point
Park 3
Evaluate and consider the
ability to create a pathway
connection to North White
Chapel Boulevard / Walnut
Grove Elementary School.
(Complete)
16 3 CS Mobility, C2
1.1, 1.5,
3.3,
4.11
Royal
and
Annie
Smith
Park 4
The City shall work with Keller
Independent School District to
provide additional connectivity
to the west crossing the
Florence Elementary property
onto Harrell Drive. (Complete)
12 3 CS Quality
Development, C3
1.5, 1.9,
4.4, 4.6
Youth Master Plan 18
*CV= Community Vitality (Section within the Sustainability Master Plan)
**WM = Waste Minimization (Section within the Sustainability Master Plan)
The Southlake 2030 Mobility Master Plan was adopted by City Council in 2014. There have been a couple of
amendments to this plan to introduce new recommendations related to roadway projects, as well as
recommendations related to bicycle safety and the City’s intersection capacity analysis. While not directly
related to a youth policy or program, the safety of the City’s youth is of high priority. As such, the City of
Southlake has recommendations in place to address safe passage of students making their way to and from
schools at key intersections around town. As part of the Southlake 2030 Mobility Master Plan, the City
participated in a sidewalk construction prioritization exercise to address critical gaps throughout Southlake,
ranking those gaps based on six criteria. Among those, proximity to schools was listed as the highest priority.
The list below references some of these adopted recommendations. While the Youth Master Plan will
address safety and wellness issues, major policies related to mobility or active transportation will be
considered further with the next comprehensive update to the Mobility Master Plan.
Existing Recommendations - Sustainability Master Plan
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic Link VGO
Link Department Priority
Tier
CV10
*
Promote existing
educational
opportunities for all
age groups and
explore options to
expand
postsecondary
educational
opportunities
Compile and provide
information on existing
educational programs, such
as but not limited to
preschools, available
enrichment programs for
preschool and school age
children, and adult education
opportunities. Consider
options for expanding post-
secondary educational
opportunities.
Performance
Management
& Service
Delivery; C6
9.2 ED, CS 3
CV11
*
Explore options for
promoting and/or
expanding
availability of
support groups for
caregivers.
Compile and provide
information on existing
support groups for
caregivers. Examples may
include groups for children of
aging parents and groups for
parents of children with
special needs.
Performance
Management
& Service
Delivery; C6
9.3 CS 3
WM2
**
Facilitate
partnerships in
composting.
Continue to work with the
Bob Jones Nature Center in
promoting the composting
classes offered at the center.
Consider partnerships with
school districts or other
organizations to expand
composting locally.
(Complete)
Performance
Management
& Service
Delivery; B2
7.5,
9.1 CS 1
Youth Master Plan 19
Existing Recommendations – Mobility Master Plan
Active Transportation (Crosswalk Recommendations)
No. Recommendation Department
Responsible Strategic Link VGO Priority
Tier
AT10
Inventory all crosswalks.
Establish a maintenance
schedule for crosswalks,
specifying more frequent
maintenance of crosswalks
near schools. (Complete)
PW, PDS
Safety & Security, Mobility,
Infrastructure, Performance
Management & Service
Delivery; C1, C2, B5, B6
3.1 1
Existing Recommendations – Mobility Master Plan
Sidewalk Construction Priority List
No. Primary Street /
Location Description Issues Length Priority
Tier Strategic Link VGO
7(L) Union Church –
north side
From existing
sidewalk adjacent
to Siena Addition
to Davis
Boulevard
Trees;
topography;
drainage. Would
connect a
neighborhood
(Siena Addition)
to a preschool
570 LF
$70,000 2
Mobility,
Infrastructure,
C2
3.1
&
3.3
55 Durham
Elementary
Sidewalk along
school drive
Need to work
with CISD 205 LF 3
Mobility,
Infrastructure,
C2
3.1
&
3.3
Youth Master Plan 20
Leadership &
Engagement
Safety and Health
& Wellness
Partnerships &
Volunteerism
2.4 Existing City Policies & Programs
Aside from a number of existing recommendations
related to youth within the City’s Comprehensive
Plan, there are several programs and policies in
place either managed or supported by various City
departments. The information below is not a
complete list of these initiatives, but rather serves
to provide more detail as far as how the City of
Southlake currently supports the community’s
youth. There may be overlap in terms of proposed
recommendations in the Youth Master Plan with
programs currently in place. This redundancy
ensures that the City continues to prioritize these
initiatives by adding them to a codified document.
The items highlighted below are ordered similar to
the outline of the recommendations in the Youth
Master Plan; existing leadership & engagement
programs and policies are shown first, followed by
safety and health & wellness, and then partnerships
& volunteerism. Discussions about existing
programs offered by the City of Southlake served as
Existing Recommendations – Mobility Master Plan
Intersection Capacity Improvements
ID Recommendation Intersection(s) Strategic Link VGO Priority Tier
IC8
Consider flashing
beacon system
for crosswalks for
school children
since traffic
signal isn’t
warranted
(Complete)
Southlake Blvd.
(FM 1709) @
Commerce St. /
Gateway Dr.
Mobility, Infrastructure, C1,
C2 3.3 1
IC11
Give southbound
left turn phase
and westbound
left turn phase
more time during
the school peak
in a special
school timing
plan
Southlake Blvd.
(FM 1709) @
Peytonville Ave.
Mobility, Infrastructure, C1,
C2 3.2 1
IC60
Develop special
school plan with
modified traffic
timing splits
Southlake Blvd.
(FM 1709) @
Shady Oaks Dr.
Mobility, Infrastructure, C1,
C2 3.9 1
Youth Master Plan 21
a catalyst for this plan. Conducting an accurate survey of these initiatives ensures that all of the departments
are on the same page, and staff from the Planning and Development Services proceeds in developing the
Youth Master Plan with a holistic understanding of current offerings. By conducting this work up front, and
talking with members of the youth community in Southlake directly, this understanding is well-rounded. It is
worth noting that the list below does not include every single offering for the City’s youth; rather, this serves
as a starting place and describes some of the best known programs.
Existing Leadership & Engagement Policies & Programs
The two groups listed below, Southlake Youth Action Commission (SYAC) and Southlake Kids Interested in
Leadership (SKIL) were instrumental in the development of the Youth Master Plan. Each group will be
referenced throughout this master plan in terms of their assistance in the development of this plan element.
Southlake Youth Action Commission (SYAC)
The Southlake Youth Action Commission is open to all students in the 9th - 10th grades that reside in
Southlake and/or attend schools in the Carroll Independent School District (CISD). Students must complete
and submit an application and may have no more than two absences per year. Membership must be
renewed each year. As an advisory board, the Southlake Youth Action Commission brings youth-related
issues to the City Council’s attention, and participates in community service projects throughout the year.
The specific outline for SYAC is located in Article V, Chapter 2 of the Southlake City Code. The enabling
ordinance for SYAC notes that the Mayor and City Council will use the Commission as a formal “voice of
youth” on various items concerning youth in the city. The code also mentions that activities will also entail
service projects throughout the community. SYAC was appointed as the board to oversee the development
of the Youth Master Plan.
Southlake Kids Interested in Leadership (SKIL)
Southlake Kids Interested in Leadership (SKIL) is a program
created in partnership between the City, the Carroll
Independent School District and the Southlake Chamber of
Commerce. The SKIL Program seeks to facilitate
opportunities for advanced engagement by Carroll ISD youth
whereby they become more than informants and
contributors but are valued as collaborators and decision-
makers.
This leadership program is a student and adult alliance for better government and a better
Southlake. Students participate in a meaningful way to make the Southlake community better. By training
future leaders, an interest in good government is fostered in the participants, and all can be opened up to a
new generation of ideas.
SKIL began in late 2015 and continues today. The SKIL leadership program selects 20 high school junior
Youth Master Plan 22
students from Carroll Senior High School at the beginning of each academic year. Each student interested in
participating applies during the application period (late August - early September) by submitting an
application at the senior high school. A selection process commences, administered by Carroll Senior High
School, and the students are then selected. Students from SKIL participated in the development of the Youth
Master Plan, as will be further discussed in Section 2.5.
Existing Safety and Health & Wellness Policies & Programs
Public Safety Initiatives
The City of Southlake has a number of programs regarding youth safety currently in place. Some of the focus
areas include drowning prevention and water safety, bicycle and helmet safety, distracted driving awareness
and a car seat program. The Southlake Police and Fire Departments have Certified Child Passenger Safety
Technicians on staff to help inspect car seats and to make sure it is properly installed. Residents are able to
contact a technician from police or fire to schedule an appointment, which typically will take approximately
30 minutes. On average, the public safety team installs or verifies approximately 500 car seats each year.
There are also a number of existing partnerships with a direct relationship to public safety, as will be
discussed later in this plan. Examples of this include the School Resource Officer (SRO) program (pages 52
and 65) as well as the Game Over (Shattered Dreams) program (page 68).
Students and Parents Against Risks to our Kids (S.P.A.R.K.)
Students and Parents Against Risks to our
Kids (S.P.A.R.K.) began as the “Joint Drug and
Alcohol Awareness Committee” in the late
1990’s. In 2007, then Councilmember Laura
Hill petitioned the City Council to revamp the
program and expand its mission to address
many different risks to children and teens,
which led to the formation of SPARKS
(Students and Parents Against Risks to our
Kids in Southlake). As with the Joint Drug
and Alcohol Awareness Committee, CISD was
identified as a key partner. In 2010, a few changes were made to the program, including a name change.
Recognizing that the organization could assist parents and kids beyond Southlake, the name was changed
to S.P.A.R.K.
Presently, members include parents, teens, business community members, school board members, school
counselors and public safety officers, members of the worship community, doctors, hospitals, family
therapists, attorneys, drug and alcohol counselors and representatives from the Southlake Police. Meetings
are open to all who are interested to attend.
Students and Parents Against Risks to our Kids (S.P.A.R.K.) seeks to spark ideas, share information, identify
needs, educate the community, mobilize resources, promote collaboration and advocate for sound public
policy in a new commitment to empower our citizens in the battle against underage drinking, drugs, and
internet perils. SPARK meetings take place monthly, and dates of the meetings are announced on the
S.P.A.R.K. website. You can also check the City of Southlake and CISD web calendars for time and location.
Youth Master Plan 23
Southlake Recreation Programs
Participation in Southlake recreation programs is open to anyone. The recreation division classifies youth as:
Parent and Child: up to two (2) years old;
Preschool and Toddler: Between three (3) and five (5) years old;
Youth: Between six (6) and twelve (12) years old; and,
Teens: Between thirteen (13) and seventeen (17) years old (this definition may change to ages 13-15 when
the Champions Club at The Marq Southlake opens; adult programs will begin at age 16).
The majority of youth programming focuses on the youth (6-12 year old) category. Because individual
programs may change, listed below are the various program categories in which offerings are grouped.
LiveFit is the City of Southlake’s fitness and wellness initiative. Through a variety of programs and activities,
the goal is to promote and encourage community health and wellness while building both physical and
mental strength, not only on an individual level but as a family. The City wants to encourage individuals and
families to get out in their community, meet their neighbors and get healthy! This program consists of the
following activities and events: Group Fitness Classes, LiveWell Lecture Series, Superhero 5K Fun Run,
Wellness Challenge and Childhood Obesity Month Activities.
The LiveFit wellness challenge is open to everyone, and there is even a youth category for those between
the ages of six (6) and eighteen (18) years of age. Through this new program there will be opportunities to
engage the community’s youth through participation in this initiative.
A number of sports associations provide recreational opportunities and pay fees to the City of Southlake to
use fields. The City does not compete with these organizations. They include:
Grapevine – Southlake Soccer Association
Southlake Baseball Association
The Miracle League of Southlake
Southlake Dragon Youth Football and
Cheerleader Association
Southlake Carroll Lacrosse Association
Southlake Girls Softball Association
Therapeutic Recreation
Therapeutic Recreation (T.R.) provides recreation and leisure opportunities to persons with
physical/cognitive disabilities. The T.R. service philosophy is to encourage people of all abilities to engage in
Southlake Recreational Program Categories
Arts / Crafts
Educational / Cultural
Camps / Clinics
Leagues
Performance
Instructional
Swim Lessons
Social
Events
Therapeutic Recreation
Youth Master Plan 24
a more active lifestyle through community recreation. The goal is to provide positive recreation and leisure
experiences through adapted, inclusive and community integration programs. Some of the therapeutic
recreation programs offered include Club Metro, Special Needs Art Adventure, Winter Club, Kids Yoga and
Mindfulness and more.
City of Southlake Public Library
The Southlake Public Library offers a variety of programming for babies through twelve, with primary focus
on preschool and elementary age groups. Preschool programming emphasizes on early and emergent
literacy through structured story times and free play. For children five and up, programming ranges from
entertainment to fine arts to science based hands-on workshops—with the intent that each program fosters
curiosity and lifelong learning.
Existing Partnerships & Volunteerism Programs and Opportunities
Teen Court
Teen Court is a voluntary program that grants teens in middle and high school the ability to work off their
fine and court costs by completing community service hours and participating in jury duty. Teens that
receive citations in Southlake, Grapevine, Colleyville or Keller can request teen court from those municipal
court Judges. From there, the teens are scheduled to participate in a teen court trial. In that trial, a jury of
teen peers decides upon the amount of community service hours that need to be completed. These jury
members include teens going through the teen court program as well as teens in the community
completing service hours. Another way teen volunteers are utilized is through the Teen Attorney Program.
Teens in high school are trained to be prosecutors and defense attorneys in some of the teen court trials. In
those trials, local attorneys volunteer their time to be teen court Judges. Adult volunteers are also helpful as
they assist with check-in and check-out, monitoring deliberation rooms, and other similar tasks. The
assigned community service hours are to be completed at either a nonprofit organization or other public
entity. The City of Southlake maintains a pre-approved list of organizations worked with on a regular basis.
Southlake Sister Cities
Southlake Sister Cities (SSC) is a non-profit
organization dedicated to fostering global
understanding, friendship and communication
through education and exchanges. Regular
meetings are the first Thursday of each month and
attended by the Board of Directors and general
membership. SSC is a member of Sister Cities
International. The City of Southlake has two Sister Cities; Tome City, Japan and Wuzhong District, China.
The Southlake Sister Cities Youth Ambassador Program offers the youth of Southlake an opportunity to
represent the City as a Youth Ambassador to one of Southlake’s Sister Cities – Tome, Japan and Suzhou
Wuzhong, China. The Youth Ambassadors and adult chaperone are immersed in a cultural experience while
living with host families and experiencing a variety of activities planned by the city and their hosts. Serving
as a Southlake Sister Cities Youth Ambassador provides the opportunity for global friendship and a life -
changing experience while fulfilling and underscoring the mission of the Sister Cities International program
of “bringing the world together through education and cultural exchange.”
Youth Master Plan 25
Southlake Sister Cities also partners with various organizations to host e vents such as the Lantern Walk and
Chinese New Year celebrations. According to the Southlake Sister Cities Website, annually, 150 citizens of
Southlake and the surrounding cities participate as members, volunteers and citizen ambassadors in the
program.
City of Southlake Public Library
The role teen volunteer’s play in the Southlake Library is instrumental in the library’s daily operations—from
shelving materials, cleaning, organizing and program preparations. They provide a valuable resource of
energy and creativity, and spread general good will. Additionally, teen volunteers have an opportunity to
experience the fulfillment of sharing their time and energy with others, and then communicate the
Southlake Public Library’s message of service and sharing into the greater Southlake community.
The Southlake Public Library also partners with the Carroll ISD Transitions program to provide volunteer
opportunities for students with special needs to develop skills that will assist them transition into the
workplace.
Partner Service Organizations
The City maintains partnerships with a few local service organizations such as Scholars and Athletes Serving
Others (SASO), National Charity League (NCL), and the Young Men’s Service League (YMSL). Each group
designates a liaison for which the City of Southlake can forward volunteer opportunities.
2.5 Youth Input
At their regular meeting on September 19, 2017, City Council
adopted Resolution No. 17-038 which appointed the Southlake
Youth Action Commission (SYAC) as the City board to oversee
the development of the Youth Master Plan. In addition to
making this appointment, City Council also encouraged staff to
include the Southlake Kids Interested in Leadership (SKIL) in this
process as well. City staff held a number of meetings with each
group between October 2017 and March 2018. This section
highlights just how each City of Southlake youth program was
involved in the development of this plan.
SYAC Meetings
October 18, 2017 – Youth Master Plan Kickoff Meeting
November 8, 2017 – Survey results and tabletop activity
December 13, 2017 – Youth Master Plan Update
February 21, 2018 – Youth Master Plan Update and Discussion
March 21, 2018 – SYAC Recommendation of Approval for the Youth Master Plan
SKIL Meetings
January 22, 2018 – Tabletop activity and discussion
Youth Surveys
In an effort to engage each of these groups and encourage strategic thinking, staff decided to have SYAC
and SKIL each separately participate in tabletop planning exercises. However, before starting the tabletop
Youth Master Plan 26
Question 1: List four (4) words that you would use to describe Southlake
Question 2: What is your favorite thing about living in Southlake?
Question 3: If you could choose for the City of Southlake to focus on one thing
for youth (ages 0-18) in the next year, what would it be?
Question 4: If you woke up tomorrow and five (5) years had passed, and it was
suddenly the year 2022 in Southlake, what are a couple things you
hope are offered for youth that may not be offered today? This
could include programs, facilities, amenities, etc.
portion of the meeting, SYAC and SKIL each separately completed a short youth-specific survey on their
perceived strengths of Southlake and identify where there may be opportunities for the future. Each survey
featured the same four questions:
The information from the survey was beneficial for staff in the formalization of the plan because the youth
provided direct and candid responses to each question. Further, because different youth organizations
participated in the survey separately, staff has a broader range of answers to review as part of the Youth
Master Plan.
The questions and answers from SYAC and SKIL are shown on the following pages. Details about the
tabletop exercise immediately follow the survey information.
SYAC Survey
The Youth Survey below was sent to the members of SYAC on October 27, 2017. The information was then
presented to SYAC at their November 8, 2017 meeting. There were ten (10) responses to the SYAC survey.
Note: responses to this survey represent verbatim comments.
Q1. List four (4) words that you would use to describe Southlake
Word 1 Word 2 Word 3 Word 4
Encompassing Philanthropic Affluent Inspiring
wealthy clean competitive smart
Young Vibrant Safe Clean
Well built Aesthetic Large Peaceful
Small Homey Well-off Educated
Wealthy Beautiful Happy Eventful
Artsy Interactive Decorative Fun
Close Spirited Pride Excellent
Community Tradition Fun Family
Concrete "Family friendly" Affluent Snobby
Q2. What is your favorite thing about living in Southlake?
I love the town centre because it is lively and buzzing with life. It makes a tedious task like
shopping enjoyable and entertaining
the community
My favorite thing about living in Southlake would be the safe environment. I am able to walk to
Southlake Town Square and not feel endangered.
Youth Master Plan 27
Town square
It is a small area so going around Southlake is so much better than other parts of Texas that are
constantly crowded and the schools are much better than from where I moved from.
There are so many restaurants, shops, and things to do.
The ability to easily access many community activities
The close, tight-knit family environment and tradition and pursuit of excellence
I love how everyone has Dragon pride and is always striving for excellence
Football
Q3. If you could choose for the City of Southlake to focus on one thing for youth
(ages 0-18) in the next year, what would it be?
Building our sense of community as Southlakians seems like a goal for us. As of now it feels to
me as if we are a rather disparate people and it would be nice to have more of a bond with each
other.
More classes about life skills
There needs to be more teen friendly activities eg. go karting.
Public transportation
I think Southlake should focus on getting more of the youth involved in things like SYAC or at
least to spark interest about those topics.
More fun places
More teen oriented activities
Safe driving
Drugs and Alcohol awareness for teens
The 2035 plan
Q4. If you woke up tomorrow and five (5) years had passed, and it was suddenly the year
2022 in Southlake, what are a couple things you hope are offered for youth that may
not be offered today? This could include programs, facilities, amenities, etc.
I believe a musical education for today’s youth is immensely important; therefore I would love to
see a community orchestra in Southlake. I would also be overjoyed to see a year-round charity
centre, which would make donating anything we don’t need much easier and more accessible for
us.
Programs that teach more about life skills
I hope there would be an iceskating rink, beach volleyball courts, golf cart transportation, shuttles
to Grapevine Mills, water parks, a teen night club, and an annual music festival
Public transportation
I would hope Southlake would have a program to educate younger kids more about government
and finance because, like me, when I used to hear people talk about these things I would be
completely clueless as to what was going on. Also a facility kind of like the Fieldhouse in
Grapevine would be something I would like to see.
More fun things to do. A little better school district (even though it is very good now) and maybe
more parks
More teen shops and locations meant to attract our youth
Better school food options and events encouraging multi-cultural acceptance.
That every student is enjoying their high school experience
For youth to be able to have an open forum during SYCA meeting, to discuss what they would
like to be seen done.
Youth Master Plan 28
SKIL Survey
The same survey taken by SYAC was distributed to SKIL during their January 22, 2018 meeting. There were
twenty (20) responses to the survey by members of SKIL. Note: responses to this survey represent verbatim
comments.
Q1. List four (4) words that you would use to describe Southlake
Word 1 Word 2 Word 3 Word 4
Town Square Smart kids Affluent Residential
prosperous homogeneous conservative isolated
Welcoming Amazing Beautiful Clean
Wealthy Academically-oriented Consumer hub Football
affluent notorious competitive busy
Safe Stimulating Resourceful
Specialized, where
students can’t pursue
multiple things at once
(theatre, band, sports,
etc)
Luxury Education Development Opportunities
Family-friendly Privileged Community Organized
Clean Tradition Success Limiting
wierd safe for the most part interesting cool
Well rounded Clean Developed Friendly
Privileged Community Education Crowded
dragons pride family togetherness
Hubris Academic Prestigious Homogenous
High-Achieving Smart (good
education) Wealthy Developed
Utopia Wealthy Privileged Opportunity
Insular Productive Opportunities Wealthy
Clean Competitive Gorgeous Best
Important Efficient Variety Tradition
Bubble Clique Dragon Good
Q2. What is your favorite thing about living in Southlake?
Attending school
sense of community and functional community space
I love the fact that everyone in southlake is a dragon.
Easy access to town square shopping and activities
the competitivness pushes me to be better
When I have the desire to work hard, I’m met with opportunities that genuinely interest me and
force me to work harder.
The well knit community type feeling that our city has and the large variety of businesses and
such.
The very good education and the pride
My favorite thing about living in Southlake is the amount opportunities and programs that are
available to citizens, as well as academic opportunities for students in CISD.
There is easy access to everything
It has given me alot of opporunities through Carroll ISD and for the most part is safe and secure.
I like just living in Southlake, it feels safe
The qualified teachers
Youth Master Plan 29
I love that everyone is invested in the students and kids. From parents to teachers to city council
members, everyone wants to see the students succeed and put in hard work to allow that to
happen.
I like having access to an endless amount of opportunities. Southlake is really good about offering
a multitude of various activities and organizations so people really have the chance to do
whatever they want!
The vibes
The opportunities that are presented to us
I love the school district and being right between dallas and fort worth.
Lots of sufficient food
Nice city
Q3. If you could choose for the City of Southlake to focus on one thing for youth
(ages 0-18) in the next year, what would it be?
Robotics + Comp Sci facilities
focus on academia and arts as well as sports in city funded and focused projects
Focus on the outdoors and have more outdoor events.
Parks and Recreation activities for youth within the city such as revamping the family camp out
Involvement within the city and school district
I think it would be beneficial for Southlake to focus on making sure students who are involved in a
variety of activities (such as doing a sport and fine art, etc.) are recognized and not hindered by
being pressured to commit to one.
Fine Arts
Emphasizing more on trying as many things as possible and being exposed to different routes
one can take
Discourse. I think good clean democratic engagement is the solution to the apathy and
polarization among students. backpac.org
More youth art programs
More outdoor activities
Safety
EDUCATION
To get kids- especially younger kids- more involved. It would be great for younger kids to have
more volunteering opportunities, and more chances to get involved with leadership and politics
(like SYAC and SKIL for older kids).
Involvement in the decisions the city makes. SKIL is a great first step, but more students must be
included in the decision making process in order to quell the growing discontent that is often
expressed.
I think that Southlake should place more emphasis on career readiness. There are a few
programs like CMA and the new CTE program at school but Southlake should have more career
based academic options and community services. (i.e. internships)
Making everyone feel safe & welcome
I know this is the school board’s jurisdiction but diversifying classes and creating new programs to
specialize is extremely important.
But for city jurisdiction would be setting up an in depth internship program for every student with
all of our businesses, giving us life experience is key.
Computer Science
More places to go for fun
Youth Master Plan 30
Different ways of educating
Q4. If you woke up tomorrow and five (5) years had passed, and it was suddenly the year
2022 in Southlake, what are a couple things you hope are offered for youth that may
not be offered today? This could include programs, facilities, amenities, etc.
More scholarship opportunities, more academic competitions
more psychological support, more social outreach programs to surrounding districts
I would love A water park somewhere in the city, and a community theater where concerts and
plays can be held.
I wish Southlake had a recreation center with a pool and gym similar to Grapevine and Keller.
Also, Southlake needs to open the tennis courts at the senior high for public use.
Refillable water bottle stations at water fountains, an orchestra program that incorporates all
levels
More youth-involved activities such as SKIL and a more available tutoring (student and/or adult
based) program
I would love more voter enfranchisement, earlier civic classes, continued emphasis on public
speaking, and in general opportunities for the leaders of future to learn from the leaders of the
present and past.
I would like to see an honors program for more fine arts programs like band, and an increase in
diversity among the youth body.
An orchestra, more equality/opportunities for athletics and the arts, more volunteer opportunities
with businesses, more activity based places for teenagers
• Youth Community theatre program in southlake
• Internships available in city and education jobs
•A GT esque school through Carroll ISD
•More public trails and parks
•Community events highliting youth talent
More biking or running trails, more activity based places
I would say that we are likely to have much better education system
In 2022, the thing that I hope for the most is a better library! The southlake library is currently
small, dark, and in a basement. I think kids would be more interested in the events at the library if
it were nicer. Also, I hope that there will be more chances for kids to get to know kids from other
schools before high school. Finally, I hope that a program can be developed that will allow
students to get help in school if they need it, rather than assuming every student learns quickly
and in the exact way that a teacher explains it.
I would hope that Southlake would have more public transportation or accessability. Southlake
Town Square is amazing because everything is in one location and I believe it would be beneficial
to have more centralization - this could help promote local business and it would be a great
opportunity to introduce more parks.
An expanded focus on STEM in Southlake, a diversified demographic base, computer facilities,
traffic improvements.
Orchestra, PreAP fine arts and athletics classes
Basically what I wrote in the box above: citywide internship program and new specialized
programs in our school.
A fine arts school would be absolutely amazing... considering the amount of musical, artistic, &
theatrical talent just in Southlake
More places to go like urban air and maybe a water park
New renovations of all the schools
New programs
Youth Master Plan 31
Tabletop Exercises
Staff wanted to ensure that the methods in which ideas were garnered from the SYAC and SKIL were not
only engaging, but also productive, and gave the participants a real feeling of ownership in the Youth
Master Plan. Unlike the surveys taken by SYAC and SKIL, each group had a tabletop exercise unique to them.
SYAC Tabletop Exercise
At their November 8, 2017 meeting, City staff had SYAC thinking in terms of the future for their tabletop
exercise. To start, SYAC separated into two smaller groups and were challenged to imagine it was five years
in the future, and the City of Southlake had achieved its goals with regard to youth initiatives. Each group
was then tasked with creating news headlines, a cover story, and selecting images to illustrate the successes
of Southlake. One goal of this exercise was to find out the topics and issues most important to SYAC. Further,
by creating headlines that speak to these topics, staff was able to better understand just how success can be
measured. The following images show the final “cover stories” from each group. Each group presented their
cover story once the exercise was completed.
Once their cover stories were finalized, SYAC reconvened and staff worked on another exercise to pull key
themes from each group’s cover story. A staff member took notes as the groups discussed their main
takeaways from the exercise. This discussion was significant, because these themes were then used to
inform the tabletop exercise that would eventually be conducted during a SKIL meeting.
The image below represents the final Cover Story Vision document created by Group 1. The key themes from
their exercise centered on parks, mobility, volunteerism and youth entertainment. The images on this page
show the group engaging in their tabletop exercise.
SYAC Group 1
Youth Master Plan 32
SYAC Group 2
The image below represents the final Cover Story Vision document created by Group 2. The key themes from
their exercise centered on education and various opportunities offered within the community. The images
below show the group engaging in their tabletop exercise.
Cover Story Vision Themes -- SYAC Tabletop Exercise
The image below shows the chart that was created as a result of the group discussion. Staff facilitated a
discussion about key themes gleaned from each group’s tabletop exercise, and encouraged the members of
SYAC to expound on why they identified certain topics. Some of the main categories that were created in
terms of capturing focus areas from the youth perspective include: volunteering, mobility, parks, and
art/beauty. Again, this exercise had the members of SYAC thinking in terms of Southlake once the City had
achieve its’ goals, which explicates the “we have” language.
Based on the feedback from this activity, the City may consider intentionally reaching out to and including
youth in public processes such as the commissioning of public art. There was a specific reference made to a
potentially iconic piece of artwork, such as the City’s zip code (76092) placed at some location in the future.
The Leadership & Engagement Section of this plan will speak more to the potential role of the youth in the
City’s comprehensive planning process.
Southlake Strengths and Opportunities -- SKIL Tabletop Exercise
Similar to the SYAC group activity, students from SKIL also participated in a tabletop exercise. The tabletop
exercises for the two groups were different. Given that the SYAC activity preceded the SKIL activity, staff built
on the insight gained from SYAC to inform the SKIL exercise. SYAC also thought about Southlake in terms of
Pictured above: One of the three SKIL groups
participating in the tabletop exercise
Pictured above: Chart created during the SYAC tabletop exercise
Youth Master Plan 33
what the City would look like if all of the goals for the next five years were achieved. The SKIL tabletop
exercise ultimately asked for the students to think of Southlake’s strengths, and where there are
opportunities. This exercise was not quite as myopic as the SYAC activity, given that the focus was not
necessarily limited to youth initiatives.
At their January 22, 2018 meeting, SKIL separated into three (3) groups of students where they were given
their assignment; conduct a strengths and opportunities assessment for the City of Southlake. Each group
was given two large sheets of paper to document their responses with the same exact categories listed on
the strengths and opportunities pages. These categories, as gleaned in part from the SYAC tabletop exercise
were: Economic Development, Volunteering, Sustainability, Library, Youth Programs, Parks / Open Space,
Mobility / Sidewalks, Art / Beauty, and Safety / Security. A synthesis of the activity based on the presentation
from each group is shown on pages 31 and 32.
Group Discussion and Synthesis
After the groups completed their exercises, they were all asked to present their findings. Each group
presented one-by-one, which led to further discourse on the identified strengths and opportunities. Staff
took some notes during the dialogue, highlighting themes that appeared during the conversation. Below is
a synthesis of the conversation separated by identified strengths and opportunities for Southlake from the
youth perspective. In several instances the students of SKIL echoed some of the ideas. The following lists are
not comprehensive, but represent a summary.
Strengths As Discussed by SKIL
Topic Strengths
Sustainability
Electric vehicle charging stations
The Marq
Culture of community
Library Accessible
Youth programs
Youth Programs
SKIL
Summer Camps
Sports (GSSA)
Teen Court
Parks / Open Space
Neighborhood parks
Bicentennial Park
Bob Jones Park
Mobility / Sidewalks A lot of sidewalks
Good parking in Town Square
Art / Beauty
Art in the Square
Holiday Lights
Different Festivities
Roundabouts
Murals
Safety / Security School Resource Officers (SRO’s)
Police presence
Economic Development
Town Square
Park Village
Kimball Oaks
Great retail
Youth Master Plan 34
The previous list demonstrates key strengths as noted by SKIL related to the nine subject areas identified.
The table following table highlights key opportunities discussed by the students of SKIL across the same
nine subject areas discussed as “Strengths” previously.
Opportunities As Discussed by SKIL
Volunteering
Teen Court
Senior Center
Miracle League
Topic Opportunities
Sustainability
Program to increase understanding of culture
Green architecture
Water bottle fountains
Tax breaks for solar panels
Subsidizing recycling for businesses
Library
Conference Space
Increase Awareness
Library not in a great spot
Upgrades
Youth Programs
Broader classes to choose from
Internships
Civic Responsibility
Parks / Open Space
Gardens
Dog park
More public athletic facilities
Promote the tennis center
Integrate parks into daily life
Mobility / Sidewalks
Shuttle system is inefficient
Bike share
More access to DART
Bike lane
More consistent sidewalk system
Art / Beauty
Gardens
Orchestra programs
Encourage community art
Art on electrical boxes
Expanding Art in the Square
Safety / Security
More solar powered speed monitors
Security stations in Town Square
Higher speed limits
Speed limit sign timing
Economic Development
Activities on weekends
Recreation
Concerts / Amphitheatre
Hiking
More breakfast places
Youth Master Plan 35
The tabletop activities and discussions SYAC, SKIL and the CEC were instrumental in developing the Youth
Master Plan. The conversations held during those meetings provided staff with direction in terms of where
to focus research efforts. A takeaway from these conversations was the important role the youth can have in
the future development of City policy documents, such as the comprehensive plan.
The following sections delve into the primary focus areas on the Youth Master Plan.
Volunteering
Animal shelter
Big Brothers / Big Sisters
Language opportunities
Possibility of volunteering in other communities
Youth Master Plan 36
Youth Master Plan 37
Leadership & Engagement
The introduction for the Youth Master Plan included a section titled Purpose of the Youth Master Plan in which
the National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education, and Families Creating a Youth Master Plan Action
Kit was mentioned, and some of the benefits of a youth plan were noted. This section of the plan highlights
youth leadership & engagement, therefore it is appropriate to once again allude to some of these benefits,
and the relationship between a youth plan and an engagement youth community. Per the Action Kit, “The
development of a youth master plan can also transform how the community perceives – and how cities and
schools work with and for – young people. By involving youth in the local decision-making processes that
affect their lives, they come to be seen more clearly as valuable assets and partners working to improve the
quality of life in their schools and neighborhoods (4).”
This section of the Youth Master Plan will go into more detail about how to engage the youth of Southlake in
a meaningful way.
3.1 Personal Development for Youth
The website Youth.Gov was created by an Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs (IWGPY), which
consists of representatives from 20 federal agencies that support programs and services focusing on youth.
They coined the term Positive Youth Development (PYD), as well as the following definition:
PYD is an intentional, prosocial approach that engages youth within their communities,
schools, organizations, peer groups, and families in a manner that is productive and
constructive; recognizes, utilizes, and enhances young people’s strengths; and promotes
positive outcomes for young people by providing opportunities, fostering positive
relationships, and furnishing the support needed to build on their leadership strengths.
The description and explanation for PYD can be illustrated as follows:
Positive Experiences + Positive Relationships + Positive Environments = Positive Youth Development
While the study of PYD began in terms of prevention, “Over time, practitioners, policymakers, funders, and
researchers determined that promoting positive asset building and considering young people as resources
were critical strategies. As a result, the youth development field began examining the role of resiliency —
the protective factors in a young person's environment — and how these factors could influence one's
ability to overcome adversity. Those factors included, but were not limited to, family support and
monitoring; caring adults; positive peer groups; strong sense of self, self-esteem, and future aspirations; and
engagement in school and community activities (Youth.gov).” The concept of “resiliency” will resurface in
Section 4.1 of the Youth Master Plan.
In terms of youth leadership, the City of Southlake has taken steps to help grow the next generation. In
terms of the future, Southlake should continue investing in the youth, and allowing and encouraging youth
contribution to the public process.
Youth Leadership
Southlake Kids Interested in Leadership (SKIL)
Youth Master Plan 38
The Southlake Kids Interested in Leadership (SKIL) program was discussed earlier in Section 2.4. This
program represents a partnership between the City of Southlake, the Southlake Chamber of Commerce, and
the Carroll Independent School District (CISD) which provides engagement opportunities for interested high
school juniors. Started in 2015, SKIL is different from the Southlake Youth Action Commission (SYAC) in that
the former represents a leadership program, selected by CISD. Students must attend CISD, whereas in
members of SYAC must only live in Southlake. This program, started in 2015, illustrates a concerted effort to
provide leadership and engagement opportunities for the next generation. Topics at SKIL meetings are
broad, ranging from City administration, safety & security, infrastructure, development, and more. Students
gain a better understanding of the decision-making process, and learn more about the reasoning behind
why certain choices are made at the governmental level. The SKIL group also regularly meets with the
Southlake Chamber of Commerce and CISD administration.
The City should continue investing in the development of leadership qualities in the younger generation by
facilitating a group such as SKIL Not only that, but the City should continue identifying new and innovative
methods for teaching and engaging with the youth, as well as including the youth in various City decision-
making processes. As the program continues to grow, City staff should survey the group annually to
determine the level of engagement, interest and satisfaction in the program so that the leadership program
stays relevant and applicable to students, encouraging participation.
Day of Internship
One of the goals of SKIL is to engage with the local business community. It is important for them as future
leaders to become knowledgeable about how businesses operate and provide services to their community.
The “Day of Internship” is meant for a business owner/CEO/manager to have the opportunity to educate and
engage one of the SKIL youth leaders and mentor them about leadership in their profession for that one day
at the place of business. Students express interest in certain industries, which the SKIL City staff liaison
communicates out to the business community to determine interest levels in their participation. The format
of the program has previously been that a student is paired with a single business, allowing for more
individual attention and mentorship. Some of the industries the students have expressed interest in include
financial services, publishing, legal / law firms, banking, real estate, general small business, and more.
First held in 2016, the program was a great success. Based on this effective program, the City of Southlake
should continue participating in a mentorship program such as the day of internship in the future.
Work Experience
When discussing the Youth Master Plan with members of the Community Engagement Committee, one of
their comments highlighted the benefit of work experience for the younger generation.Youth.gov includes
the following note regarding youth employment on their website:
Nearly all young people—98.6 percent—hold at least one job between the ages of 18 and 25.
The average young person holds 6.3 jobs between 18 and 25. Some work part-time or
summers only, while others see full-time permanent employment as their path to economic
independence. Employment can be beneficial for youth by teaching responsibility,
organization, and time management and helping to establish good work habits, experience,
and financial stability. There are many advantages to working during high school, especially
for low-income youth, including higher employment rates and wages in later teen years and
lower probabilities of dropping out of high school. Knowing how to find and keep a job is not
only critical for admission to the adult world but also is an important survival skill for which
there is little in the way of formal, structured preparation.
Youth Master Plan 39
The City of Southlake is unable to create paying jobs for every member of the youth community.
Additionally, the City wants to be the employer of choice. Based on these factors and that Champions Club
at The Marq Southlake will add a number of part-time jobs to the City’s workforce, the Southlake Human
Resources department in conjunction with the Community Services department should look into hosting or
supporting a job fair to help fill some of these positions. Whether someone has recently graduated, is still in
school, or is returning home from college for the summer, this opportunity to work for the City presents a
great opportunity for someone seeking employment or work experience. There may also be opportunities
for the City to reach out to local partners to help promote a City job fair, such as the Southlake Chamber of
Commerce.
The City’s library could potentially support this effort through offering classes on completing applications,
resume building, and interviewing skills.
3.2 Youth Advisement
SYAC
As previously referenced, the Southlake Youth Action Commission (SYAC) represents the advisory board to
the Southlake City Council in all matters effecting youth programs and issues. SYAC was originally
established through Ordinance No. 610, as City Council recognized the benefit of citizen participation in
government, as well as recognizing that “youth are the foundation of our future” and that “youth issues
require public awareness, input, and support to be effective.” Since being established on June 21, 1994, the
SYAC enabling ordinance has been revised twice, most recently by Ordinance No. 969 adopted on Apri l 6,
2010.
As currently spelled out in the Southlake Code of Ordinances, the duties of the commission are as follows:
(1) Be advisory in nature, evaluating the current issues affecting youth in the city and
bringing them to the attention of city council and other boards and commissions as
necessary.
(2) Participate in the community service projects to encourage youth to make a difference
in the community through volunteerism.
(3) Prepare and submit to the city council an annual report of youth-related programs and
services.
A theme that is carried throughout the Youth Master Plan is the desire to include the youth in applicable
initiatives, programs and projects being pursued by the City of Southlake. One way this can be done is
through the use of youth focus groups, such as how the Community Engagement Committee has provided
valuable feedback to the City on a number of topics such as the trash and recycling contract, Story Maps, and
OpenGov, the City’s financial portal to help people research, find financial data, and ask questions of elected
leaders and staff.
It will be important over time and as technology changes, to make sure that the purpose of SYAC remains
relevant. The City should conduct a biennial review of any applicable ordinances or bylaws related to SYAC
to ensure the commission’s role is clearly defined, and the work being asked of SYAC pushes the City
towards a more engaged youth community.
Youth Master Plan 40
Southlake
2035 Health
& Wellness
Master Plan
Southlake
2035
Mobility
Master Plan
Southlake
2035 Parks,
Recreation
& Open
Space /
Community
Facilities
Master Plan
Southlake
2035
Sustainability
Master Plan
Facilities
Library Programming
The Southlake library primarily caters to youth that fall within the elementary age range. As opposed to
other youth programs, such as those within recreation, the youth are categorized as “teens” starting at age
11. There are opportunities to engage with members in the Southlake youth community on possible
programming for older youth. As will be discussed, there is interest in utilizing existing Southlake youth
groups such as SYAC and SKIL as focus groups for determining programming for the public library. Working
with SYAC and SKIL to develop the Youth Master Plan further bolstered the importance of the library to the
citizens of Southlake. However, there is a gap in the programs offered for older students. As part of the desire
for a “future ready” library (discussed further on page 36), the City should further investigate adding a youth
representative to the existing library board. The youth perspective could be instrumental in exploring
opportunities to increase the technology offered by the library, as well as allowing for the group to provide
feedback on the type of programming that would attract youth to the library.
3.3 Youth Involvement
The sections of the Youth Master Plan are largely categorized based on three main topic areas: Leadership &
Engagement, Safety and Health & Wellness, and Partnerships & Volunteerism. There is overlap in the
structuring of the plan, given that a topic discussed in the Leadership & Engagement section may emphasize
the community’s youth as a partner. Conversely, a recommendation that appears in the Partnerships &
Volunteerism section may have a direct link back to youth leadership. That said, the City of Southlake
understands the value of the youth perspective, and wishes to partner and collaborate with the younger
generation to ensure that perspective is not dismissed or forgotten.
Southlake Comprehensive Planning
As noted, the Southlake 2035 Youth Master Plan represents a brand new plan element in the Southlake
comprehensive planning effort. The youth perspective had a definite impact on the development of this
plan element, and the City wants to ensure that the youth perspective is included in future planning
elements. Over the course of the next several years the City of Southlake will develop updates to master plan
elements previously adopted by City Council. Based on discussions held with the youth and feedback
received by the youth, there is an inherent interest between students and parks, mobility and wellness
initiatives. Therefore, as the City works toward adoption of these four (4) plan elements shown below, the
youth perspective should be a factor in this process. Given the engagement between City staff, SYAC and
SKIL, the comments made during the formulation of the Youth Master Plan led to some salient points that
should not be ignored.
Youth Master Plan 41
Parks, Recreation & Open Space / Community Facilities
Given the levels of interest expressed by SKIL and SYAC regarding various community services, it is worth a
standalone subsection in the comprehensive planning portion of Youth Involvement Section 3.3. Southlake
City Council adopted the 2030 Parks, Recreation & Open Space / Community Facilities Master Plan (PROSCF)
on March 19, 2013 as Ordinance No. 1060. This master plan element was amended on February 20, 2018 to
include a number of changes to various park properties in the City of Southlake. The purpose of the Parks,
Recreation and Open Space Master Plan / Community Facilities is twofold: to implement the Southlake 2030
Plan recommendations for parks, recreation and open space and community facilities by better integrating
parks planning with the land use and mobility elements and to respond to the needs expressed by
Southlake citizens in their desires for leisure services and community facilities.
The Youth Master Plan does not include recommendations for park land, open space, or even facilities for
that matter. However, as the City begins pursuing development of the Southlake 2035 Parks, Recreation &
Open Space / Community Facilities Master Plan, it is recommended that the youth perspective be included
in this process. Based on the surveys completed by members of both SYAC and SKIL, there is intrinsic interest
in park land, activities and the outdoors. One thing that City staff should seek during the update of the
Southlake 2035 Parks, Recreation & Open Space / Community Facilities Master Plan is the input of the youth
community. City staff should make sure to review the comments and feedback provided in the Youth Master
Plan, as well as possibly holding a focus group with SYAC or SKIL to get additional comment. In addition to
comments made about the desire for more parks, there was also mention of more opportunities for arts,
trails, outdoor activities, athletic facilities, and others. One example of a vision for Southlake’s future made by
SYAC was that every kid could walk to a park in Southlake. The youth interest in parks and open space is
clearly evident based on the exercises conducted with SYAC and SKIL. The City should ensure this
perspective is included when developing the next Southlake 2035 PROSCF plan, as well as the Health &
Wellness Master Plan and the Mobility Master Plan.
Parks, Safety, Health and Wellness
It is worth noting that this section of the Youth Master Plan, Leadership & Engagement, references a number
of comprehensive planning efforts. The purpose of including this information in Section 3.3 is to ensure that
the desire for youth involvement in the future of the comprehensive planning process is captured.
Additional discussion about these topics will also take place in Section 4; Safety and Health & Wellness.
Youth as Focus Groups
Along the same wavelength described with including youth in the comprehensive planning process,
Southlake youth should also be engaged as the City pursues certain projects or initiatives. There may be
projects pursued by the City with a direct link to the community’s youth, and this viewpoint should be
consulted and integrated as necessary and if applicable! Exam ples of this engagement may include the
Southlake Public Library. At some point, the City of Southlake library will expand. As this occurs and
programming is added, the youth perspective should be considered. Based on discussions with SYAC and
SKIL, there is already interest in adding conference or creative space. There may also be a need for the youth
to provide input into future programming in the library for tweens or teens.
The library is not the only arena where the youth perspective can be valuable. Regarding the comprehensive
planning process, there will be value in understanding the youth needs and demands for future expansion
of park facilities, the public art program, use of the Bob Jones Nature Center, recreational programming, the
use of open space, sustainability initiatives and more.
Youth Master Plan 42
3.4 Role of Technology
Technology is constantly changing. The use of drones to retrieve aerial photography for a development
proposal was likely not even considered an option a few years prior. The manner in which people engage
with one another and their surroundings is rapidly changing. Some of the opportunities in which the City
can engage the younger generation may be through offering experiential or more hands-on learning, even
offering “adulting” skills. There might be opportunities for classes such as cooking, coding, and even
robotics. The “Future Ready” library may be a great opportunity for the City to pursue many of these
initiatives.
Future Ready Library
With the City potentially relocating and expanding the Southlake Public Library there will be opportunities
to think holistically about the future of this type of civic center. Specifically, given the current need to
expand space for youth programming, there may be opportunities to discourse directly with younger
citizens and students about what they would like to see in their library. A “Trend” currently recognized by the
American Library Association (ALA) is the term, “Digital Natives.” According to the ALA, “[children] and young
people born into and raised in a digital world (post-1980) may work, study, and interact in very different
ways from ‘digital immigrants,’ or individuals who were born just a generation before.” This same article
goes on to state:
The advent of new digital technologies have changed young people so essentially that they
‘think and process information fundamentally different from their predecessors,’ making them
‘native speakers’ of the digital language of computers, video games, and the internet.”
("Digital Natives", American Library Association, February 19, 2015).
The City of Austin, Texas recently developed and constructed their Central Library. Though the scale of
the libraries would be vastly different, Southlake can certainly look at some of the successful elements
of this building. Some of the highlights include: shared learning rooms, gallery space for temporary art
exhibits, rooftop garden, reading porches, public art, a technology petting zoo, and space for not only
children, but also teens and tweens.
Trends
“Digital Natives” discussed above refers to one of many
“Trends” identified by the Center for the Future of
Libraries (American Library Association). Others include
things such as blockchain, connected learning, design
thinking, flipped learning, internet of things, and
many more. According to the “Trends” webpage, “This collection is available to help libraries and librarians
understand how trends are developing and why they matter. “ Futuristic thinking such as these trends will
be helpful to research and study as the City pursues a new public library. Given how quickly technology
changes, the City should position itself as an early adopter of emerging technology. Further, partnering with
librarians from CISD will prove beneficial so the City might fill in gaps or address deficiencies in the school’s
library, rather than simply duplicating technologies already offered.
Social Media
Another part of changing technology is with regard to how people communicate and receive information.
There is no question that teens are on social media. According to information published by the Pew
Youth Master Plan 43
Research Center in the article Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015, “24% of teens go online
‘almost constantly,’ facilitated by the widespread availability of smartphones. The purpose of the Youth
Master Plan is not to comment on the positives and negatives regarding the proliferation of smartphones;
however, it is clear that adolescents engage in this way. The City of Southlake should consider how the youth
in the community prefer to be communicated with. The chart below on the left from the same Pew Research
Center article illustrates the use of various social media platforms by teens, ages 13 to 17. The updated study
below on the right, also from the Pew Research Center, demonstrates the shift in teen social media use over
the course of a few years. According to the 2018 study, “This shift in teens’ social media use is just one
example of how the technology landscape for young people has evolved since the Center’s last survey of
teens and technology use in 2014-2015. Most notably, smartphone ownership has become a nearly
ubiquitous element of teen life: 95% of teens now report they have a smartphone or access to one. These
mobile connections are in turn fueling more-persistent online activities: 45% of teens now say they are
online on a near-constant basis.”
Youth Master Plan 44
3.5 Leadership & Engagement Recommendations
Leadership & Engagement Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP1
Continue a strong
youth leadership
program that engages
and promotes youth
involvement in the
community.
YP1.1: SKIL will participate in at
least one (1) focus group, joint
meeting, survey, or similar
interactive process annually. (EDT)
Continue to support the
development and facilitation of the
youth leadership program, Southlake
Kids Interested in Leadership (SKIL),
with a focus on fostering civic
engagement and involvement with
the City’s executive leadership.
The program should include direct
participation in the decision making
process related to an applicable City
policy or program. Examples of this
may include focus groups,
participation in meetings with other
City boards and/or commissions,
surveys, and other similar interactive
engagement.
YP1.2: Continue assessing the
effectiveness of the SKIL program
through a survey to determine the
level of interest and satisfaction in
the program by each class. Staff
should evaluate this feedback to
consider possible modifications to
the program depending on the
survey results. (EDT)
YP1.3: Continue implementation of
a youth leadership program (SKIL)
where at least five (5) meetings are
conducted during an academic year.
(EDT)
YP1.4: Provide an annual report at
the end of each term detailing the
topics covered and provided to City
Council (EDT).
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C6
12.1 EDT,
CMO
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 45
Leadership & Engagement Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP2
Engage Southlake’s
youth in community
issues and projects
being developed by
the City.
YP2.1: Hold a focus group on a topic
of interest with SYAC at least once
per year. (CS)
When appropriate, consult the
Southlake Youth Action Commission
(SYAC) as a focus group in
community initiatives being
considered by the City.
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C6
12.2,
12.4 CS
1
(Short-
Term)
YP3 Participate in a youth
job fair.
YP3.1: Host or support a youth job
fair annually. (HR)
YP3.2: Explore opportunities to
partner with at least one
community group or other
organization to help with the
promotion of this event.
YP3.3: After each youth job fair,
provide a report of the participation
in the event, partnerships, etc.
Reevaluate this event annually to
identify success or potential areas
of improvement. (HR)
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
B2, C6
9.3
HR, CS,
EDT,
FIN,
OMC
1
(Short-
Term)
YP4
Review, and if
necessary, update the
enabling ordinance
and by-laws for the
Southlake Youth
Action Commission to
ensure the scope,
duties and goals of
the Commission are
clearly defined and
speak to the purpose
of the Commission
moving forward.
YP4.1: Conduct a biennial review of
applicable ordinances and by-laws
to ensure the purpose of SYAC is
relevant. (CS)
If necessary, make changes that
address and strengthen the
Commission’s role regarding youth
engagement in Southlake.
Performance
Management
& Service
Delivery, B5
12.2,
12.4 CS
2
(Medium-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 46
Leadership & Engagement Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP5
Identify opportunities
to expand tween/teen
programming in the
Southlake Public
Library.
YP5.1: If the Southlake Public
Library expands, evaluate adding at
least one (1) new tween/teen
program within one calendar year
from expansion (LIB).
YP5.2: Seek out the input of at least
one of the youth groups in the City
(SYAC, SKIL, etc.) when researching
or developing new programming
for tweens/teens. (LIB)
This can include holding a focus
group, issuing a survey, or other
similar engagement opportunities.
Performance
Management
& Service
Delivery, B6,
C6
8.1,
8.4 LIB
2
(Medium-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 47
Leadership & Engagement Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP6
Research and pursue
the creation of a
“future ready” library.
YP6.1: Consider adding a youth
position on the Library Board. Bring
this item to City Council as a work
session item for further discussion.
(LIB)
YP6.2: Within three years of Youth
Plan Adoption, develop a proposal
for new and futuristic technology
for consideration as a budget
request and present to City Council
during a Work Session (LIB)
Incorporate new technology in the
library. The City should explore a
partnership with the Carroll
Independent School District (CISD) or
a local business to explore
opportunities for providing unique
and interactive technology not
offered by the school district, or
partner with and supplement one
another. If cost permissive, consider
adding technology such as 3-D
printers, virtual or augmented reality,
production studio equipment,
computer software, etc.
YP6.3: Incorporate more hands-on
learning in the Southlake Public
Library
Incorporate courses that encourage
interactive or do-it-yourself learning
(DIY), tinkering, making and/or
technology and adulting skills such
as robotics, coding and/or cooking
classes, etc.
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
Performance
Management
& Service
Delivery, C5,
B2, B6
8.1,
8.4,
9.2,
9.4,
12.1
LIB
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 48
Leadership & Engagement Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP7
As the City updates to
Mobility Master Plan,
include the youth
perspective during
the development of
the plan.
YP7.1: Seek out the input of at least
one of the youth groups in the City
(SYAC, SKIL, etc.), when developing
the Southlake 2035 Mobility Master
Plan. (PDS)
YP7.2: Provide an update to City
Council on the manner in which
youth feedback was considered in
this update. (PDS)
Review the input from the Youth
Master Plan (surveys, comments, etc.)
regarding mobility and
transportation and factor in this
feedback when developing the
update. Consider mobility from the
youth perspective by discussing
topics such as school zones, safety of
intersections near schools, safe
driving, pathways and trails.
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C5
12.1,
12.2
PDS,
PW
1
(Short-
Term)
YP8
As the City develops
the Health & Wellness
Master Plan, include
the youth perspective
during the
development of the
plan.
YP8.1: Seek out the input of at least
one of the youth groups in the City
(SYAC, SKIL, etc.), when developing
the Southlake 2035 Health &
Wellness Master Plan. (PDS)
YP8.2: Review the input from the
Youth Master Plan (surveys,
comments, etc.) regarding health
and wellness initiatives and factor
in this feedback when developing
the update. (PDS)
Consider health and wellness from
the youth perspective by discussing
City-related topics such as safe
driving, drug and alcohol awareness,
security in parking areas, emergency
call boxes in Town Square and
elsewhere in Southlake,
psychological support and social
outreach.
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C5
12.1,
12.2 CS,PDS
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 49
Leadership & Engagement Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP9
As the City updates
the Parks, Recreation
& Open Space /
Community Facilities
Master Plan (PROSCF),
include the youth
perspective during
the development of
the plan.
YP9.1: Seek out the input of at least
one of the youth groups in the City
(SYAC, SKIL, etc.), when developing
the Southlake 2035 PROSCF Master
Plan. (CS)
YP9.2: Review the input from the
Youth Master Plan (surveys,
comments, etc.) regarding parks
and recreation initiatives such as
the location, design, expansion and
programming of current and future
park facilities, as well as fine / public
art, recreation activities, outdoor
activities and programs, community
events and cultural events, athletic
facilities, the public library, etc. (CS)
Evaluate youth and teen trends as
they relate to park needs to ensure
the PROSCF Master Plan update
considers these needs in the
development of the plan.
YP9.3: As part of the PROSCF Master
Plan update, address the potential
development of an additional dog
park in Southlake. (CS)
YP9.4: As part of the PROSCF Master
Plan update, address the potential
development of a community
garden or a botanical garden in
Southlake. (CS)
YP9.5: Research the feasibility and
benefits related to water bottle
refilling stations in parks along high
traveled pedestrian / running
sidewalks and trails. Consider as
part of the PROSCF update. (CS)
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C5
12.1,
12.2
CS, PDS
LIB
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 50
Leadership & Engagement Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP10
As the City updates
the Sustainability
Master Plan, include
the youth perspective
during the
development of the
plan.
YP10.1: Seek out the input of at
least one of the youth groups in the
City (SYAC, SKIL, etc.), when
developing the Southlake 2035
Sustainability Master Plan. (PDS)
YP10.2: Review the input from the
Youth Master Plan (surveys,
comments, etc.) regarding
sustainability initiatives and factor
in this feedback when developing
the update. (PDS)
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C5
12.1,
12.2 PDS
2
(Medium-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 51
Safety and Health & Wellness
Safety and Security is identified as one of the City of Southlake’s six (6) identified strategic focus areas. The
City has invested and will continue to invest in programs, policies and assets that help reduce danger, risk or
injury to individuals who live, work or visit the City of Southlake and their property. Wellness is increasingly
becoming a larger area of interest for cities. The City of Southlake will be introducing a new comprehensive
plan element for Southlake 2035, the Health & Wellness Master Plan. Knowing this new plan element is on
the way, there is a need to set the foundation for how this future plan element will address youth issues. The
topics of safety, health and wellness are broad, and as such each of these categories are defined below.
Further, each subsection respectively will speak to the issues facing Southlake, as well as elaborating on
future recommendations regarding these topics. There are many safety programs in place already that this
plan will speak to. It is important for the City to codify some of the existing efforts to ensure their
continuance into the future. Further, the success of these initiatives should be monitored and programs
should evolve over time to reflect changes in the local, state and national environments related to safety.
4.1 Youth Safety
Merriam-Webster defines safety as shown below:
Safety: “the condition of being safe from
undergoing or causing hurt, injury or loss”
Issues Facing the Youth
While it can be uncomfortable to discuss some of the issues facing today’s youth, it is important to look
holistically at these topic areas to understand the challenges and determine how to approach these
situations deliberately.
Some of the topics brought up during the surveys taken by SYAC and SKIL include psychological support,
drug and alcohol awareness, safe driving, and general safety. A group mentioned earlier on page 21 of the
Youth Master Plan is S.P.A.R.K. (Students and Parents Against Risks to our Kids). Represented by parents,
teens, members of the business community, public safety officers, and more, the S.P.A.R.K. group works to
facilitate conversations on issues affecting children and teens, provide referral information, and host events
to advance community awareness.
As the City of Southlake pursues development of the Health & Wellness Master Plan, these safety issues
identified by the youth should be further explored. Additionally, the City should reach out to the youth
community to gain more understanding about the health issues facing them. For example, there may be a
need to investigate the impacts of bullying and cyberbullying. There may be opportunities to work with
partners, or form partnerships to help support such initiatives.
School Safety – School Resource Officer (SRO) Program
Youth Master Plan 52
School Resource Officers (SRO’s) are committed to providing a safe campus and environment for teachers
and students. Along with providing enhanced security, SRO's are also dedicated to making a positive impact
on students by investing in their lives in a variety of ways. SROs work in partnership with the Carroll
Independent School District to provide students with important messages about bullying, cyber-bullying,
alcohol and drug abuse, internet and chat room safety, bicycle helmet safety and much more. They also
serve as a positive role model to students through coaching and mentoring to help them make good
choices and learn about the consequences of negative behavior.
The partnership between the City of Southlake and Carroll ISD began in 1989 when the first DARE officer
began teaching in the elementary schools. As the Carroll Independent School District grew and the
relationship between the City and the school district strengthened, officers were also placed at other
secondary campuses. From 2005 - 2013, Southlake & CISD schools operated with three (3) School Resource
Officers. These officers were assigned at Carroll Senior High School, Carroll High School, and an officer who
divided time between Carroll Middle School and Dawson Middle School.
At the beginning of the 2013-2014 schoolyear, a School Resource Officer was placed in every CISD
school. The City of Southlake invests one million dollars ($1,000,000) per year to have a SRO placed at each
CISD campus. The SRO program also represents a partnership between the school district and the City of
Southlake. As such, the SRO program is also referenced in the Partnerships & Volunteerism section on page
65 of this plan.
Safety with Regard to Mobility
As discussed earlier, the position of the City is that the youth perspective should be sought out and factored
in as a component in the development of the Southlake comprehensive plan elements. While covered
previously in the “Leadership & Engagement” section, it is worth noting that upon meeting with SYAC and
SKIL during the development of the Youth Master Plan, there was an inherent interest in mobility initiatives,
some related directly to safety. For instance, in the SYAC survey one of the respondents stated that if they
could choose for the City of Southlake to focus on one thing for youth in the next year, it would be safe
driving. In the SKIL tabletop exercise, some of the safety / security opportunities discussed related to directly
to mobility such as the request for more solar powered speed monitors and speed limit signs that monitor
how fast a motorist is driving. This feedback should be discussed as part of the development of the
Southlake 2035 Mobility Master Plan. There may be opportunities to hold a focus group on mobility topics
with the Southlake youth programs (SYAC, SKIL) to better understand the perceived needs. Another
relevant topic is the access to public transportation. There may be future opportunities to evaluate whether
or not the City should look more into adding a DART station within the City limits. Additionally, as part of the
Mobility Master Plan, staff may want to investigate the needs for assisting students get to and from school.
There may be opportunities for partnerships between the City and school district to help students get
between schools while at the same time improving mobility.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “Distracted driving is any activity
that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking
to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system—anything that takes
your attention away from the task of safe driving.
Texting is the most alarming distraction. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds.
At 55 mph, that's like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.”
The NHTSA also notes that in 2015 alone there were 3,477 people killed in motor vehicle crashes involving
distracted drivers. The City of Southlake public safety team should continue to work with CISD throughout
the year regarding the promotion of distracted driving awareness, and other pertinent youth mobility topics.
Youth Master Plan 53
Public Education & Community Outreach
The City of Southlake public education team consists of a partnership between the Police and Fire
departments. The programs offered by this team includes the previously discussed car seat safety program,
as well as initiatives related to drowning prevention, fire extinguisher training, distracted driving, bicycle and
helmet safety, and others. Many of these programs illustrate existing partnerships maintained by the City of
Southlake, and will be discussed further in the following subsection and later in the Partnerships &
Volunteerism section of the Youth Master Plan (Section 5). The City should continue promoting safety
programs and initiatives by providing information and resources to the public. As technology changes, the
City should monitor these trends to determine not only how to communicate this helpful information, but
also to understand the reach of the communication efforts. Clear communication targets need to be
established to help dictate future efforts.
The public safety team should ensure that when promoting public safety initiatives or participating in
campaigns related to safety, that communication is easily accessible by the public. Additionally, the team
should stay vigilant about potential public
safety topics, such as emphasizing heat
safety as the summer months get closer,
and kids spend more time outside. The
Office of Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion has a website (healthfinder.gov)
that lists National Health Observances
(NHOs). Some of these relate directly to
safety, such as National Safety Month in
June, and others are more related to health
initiatives, such as National Childhood
Obesity Awareness Month. When
determining which observances to
recognize, the City should consult this
listing to use any relevant and applicable resources and toolkits to broaden the reach of these efforts.
Women’s Self-Defense & Awareness
Another training opportunity offered by the City of Southlake is the women’s self-defense & awareness
course. This free course was first offered in October of 2016 and is open to youth and women ages 13 and
over. The course is taught by Southlake Police Department Self-Defense Tactic Instructors and covers topics
such as situation awareness, overall safety tips and reminders, and defense tactics.
Southlake Fire and Police Youth Academy
A program offered by the City of Southlake is
the DPS Citizens Academy. The Citizens
Academy is designed to provide members of
the community with a working knowledge of
the Police and Fire Departments. Academy
graduates gain valuable insight into each
department while having fun and meeting
new people. Once a person completes the
Citizens Academy, they are then able to
continue volunteering in the Police or Fire
Departments through programs such as
Youth Master Plan 54
Citizens on Patrol (COP), Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and more. That said, in order to
complete the Citizens Academy you must be at least 18 years of age. Recognizing the significance of our
community’s youth understanding safety, the public safety team organized and held a version of this
program specifically designed for youth. Some of the topics covered in this program included physical
training and education, K9 demonstration, ropes and knots demonstration, fire extinguisher demonstrations,
fingerprinting, and of course displaying police and fire department vehicles. The City should continue
developing this program, evolving it as necessary to meet the demands for participation as well as the
changing trends in public safety. In the future, this may change to be more of a program supported by the
City, rather than hosted by the City. Further, City staff needs to continue testing with classes to determine
the appropriate age range to include, as well as the scope of the program.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Automated External Defibrillator (CPR / AED)
The Southlake Fire Department is a certified American Heart Association training site and teaches classes to
the public. The department uses the American Heart Association Heartsaver CPR/AED certification course.
The course is a classroom, video-based, instructor-led course that teaches adult, child and infant CPR and
AED use, as well as how to relieve choking. This course is for anyone with limited or no medical training who
needs a course completion card in CPR and AED use to meet job, regulatory or other requirements.
The classes are held on the third Saturday of each month from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Department of
Public Safety Headquarters located at 600 State Street.
Staying Informed
The Safety Spotlight is a monthly newsletter that features valuable safety information. Topics range from flu
prevention, traveling in winter weather, common car seat mistakes, back to school tips and more. The
newsletter is produced by the Public Education Team from the fire and police departments in the City of
Southlake. A number of previously sent newsletters have been archived and are available on the City’s
website.
If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter to share with friends and neighbors, please send an email to
publiceducation@ci.southlake.tx.us.
Community Participation
One way the notion of safety can stay at the forefront of people’s minds in Southlake is by the active pursuit
of programs, policies and public safety initiatives that the community finds valuable, relevant and necessary.
In the past, the City’s Community Engagement Committee has hosted Town Hall Forums on topics of
interest such as development, water and public safety. There is an opportunity to host a forum focusing on
“youth” in the future. This forum could include working with Southlake leadership and advisory groups such
as SYAC and SKIL, and could highlight important safety, health and wellness topics relevant in Southlake. A
forum such as this, if pursued by the City, could also represent an effort to partner with CISD or other
organizations to help coordinate and promote a forum dedicated to youth topics.
The City should also continue participating in National Night Out (NNO), and highlighting safety initiatives
during Southlake Summer Kick-Off. The past several years, the Southlake Building Inspections division has
hosted a booth at Summer Kick-Off to promote safety initiatives, such as backyard swimming pool safety.
Other examples of community events and programs focused on the youth include Fireman of the Day,
Lunch with a Police Officer, and Story Time at the Station. The City should continue offering these programs
Youth Master Plan 55
that strengthen community relationships, and provide an avenue for a direct audience with residents to
discuss matters related to public safety.
Parents and Caregivers
Building Resiliency
The American Psychological Association (APA) created The Resilience Guide for Parents & Teachers. The
introduction to this guide states that “[children] can be asked to deal with problems ranging from adapting
to a new classroom to bullying by classmates or even abuse at home.” The guide goes on to speak to
building resilience skills, stating:
Building resilience — the ability to adapt well to adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or even
significant sources of stress — can help our children manage stress and feelings of anxiety and
uncertainty. However, being resilient does not mean that children won't experience difficulty
or distress. Emotional pain and sadness are common when we have suffered major trauma or
personal loss, or even when we hear of someone else's loss or trauma.
This guide, available online, provides tips for building resilience in children and youth across a variety of life
stages, such as pre-school, elementary school, middle school and high school.
The Carroll ISD Resiliency Project represents an effort by the school district to address some of the issues
facing students in Southlake. Some of the topics with resources include self-care & mental wellness and Drug
& Alcohol Education.
4.2 Youth Health & Wellness
The next important topic area in this section is youth health and wellness. Given the City will be pursuing the
development of a Health & Wellness Master Plan, this subsection is not intended to be a comprehensive
evaluation of health and wellness in Southlake. However, upon developing the Southlake 2035 Health &
Wellness Master Plan, the City should incorporate comments, recommendations and feedback from the
Youth Master Plan regarding these topics.
Merriam-Webster defines health and wellness separately as shown below:
Health: “the condition of being sound in body, mind
or spirit” especially “freedom from physical disease
or pain”
Wellness: “the quality or state of being in good
health especially as an actively sought goal.”
Youth Master Plan 56
Sidewalks
Sidewalks are important to the youth community, just as they are to the parents and older residents of
Southlake. Based on the 2017 Citizen Satisfaction Survey, the second highest priority for the City to focus on
is Provide Pedestrian Pathways, Sidewalks, and Trails. In fact, this is one of the City’s two gap issues along with
Manage Traffic Congestion (for a full explanation of gap issues and to view the 2017 Citizen Satisfaction
Survey please visit CityofSouthlake.com/CitizenSurvey). The tabletop exercises conducted by the members
of SYAC and SKIL each mentioned mobility improvements. Below is a summary of the opportunities listed
during the SKIL strengths / opportunities tabletop exercise, as shown in Section 2.5 of this plan.
As discussed earlier in Section 3 of the Youth Master Plan, when developing the 2035 Mobility Master Plan,
City staff should ensure the youth perspective is included. Whether seeking feedback directly, holding a
focus group, bringing proposed recommendations to the SYAC or SKIL for comment, or some other method,
members of the Southlake youth community should be included in the comprehensive planning process.
Life Skills
Equipping the youth for tomorrow is crucial. While living at home, a child may not need certain skills readily
available to them, such as the ability to change a tire. A parent or caregiver may not think to explain credit to
their dependent. However, an understanding of these concepts will prove beneficial as youth transition to
college or the work force. These “life skill” topics should be factored in to the development of the 2035
Health & Wellness Master Plan. Additionally, the City should host or support at least one event annually
where life skills are taught. Examples might include automobile maintenance, taxes, government and
finance, and others.
As has been mentioned, once the Southlake Public Library expands, there may be opportunities for helping
teens with soft skill building, in addition to life skills. Examples of this include communication, creative
thinking, teambuilding, and conflict resolution.
The following items represent topics germane to life skills either mentioned by kids from SYAC and/or SKIL,
or illustrate other relevant topics the City may want to further explore as focus areas for such an event.
Financial Capability & Literacy
One topic that was mentioned specifically during the SYAC survey in terms of a program hoped for in the
future was related to government and finance. According to Youth.Gov, “Financial capability and literacy is
the capacity, based on knowledge, skills, and access, to manage financial resources effectively.” The Financial
Capability & Literacy webpage contains a number of resources for youth to learn more about financial well-
being. The webpage continues by describing financial capability:
Financial capability is knowing how to spend wisely, manage credit, and plan for the future.
Financial capability is an effective way to help youth, no matter their circumstances, avoid
common financial vulnerabilities and build economic stability. Youth should be educated
Mobility / Sidewalks
Shuttle system is inefficient
Bike share
More access to DART
Bike lane
More consistent sidewalk system
Youth Master Plan 57
about finances early in life and at pivotal points in their development and financial
lives. Having a higher financial literacy early in life is associated with:
o less credit card debt,
o higher savings rates,
o and fewer personal bankruptcies.
Career Readiness
Another important topic for youth is in regards to being ready to enter the workforce. The United States
Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) at the United States Department of Labor (DOL) developed a
curriculum called Soft Skills to Pay the Bills to teach skills necessary for those entering the workforce.
According to Youth.Gov, the program is “created for youth development professionals as an introduction to
workplace interpersonal and professional skills, targeted at youth ages 14 to 21 in both in-school and out-of-
school environments. It is a modular, hands-on curriculum with engaging activities and fun games that focus
on six key skill areas: communication, enthusiasm and attitude, teamwork, networking, problem solving and
critical thinking, and professionalism. The curriculum can be used to supplement existing soft skills exercises
or used on its own.” Below is excerpt from the introduction of the Soft Skills to Pay the Bills document that
speaks to the need for this skillset:
According to the 2007 Every Promise, Every Child: Turning Failure into Action report, a large
percentage of young people preparing to enter the workforce over the next two decades are
significantly lacking in the “soft” or applied skills — such as teamwork, decision-making, and
communication — that will help them become effective employees and managers. In
addition, in a Job Outlook 2008 survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges &
Employers (NACE), the top characteristics looked for in new hires by 276 employer
respondents were all soft skills: communication ability, a strong work ethic, initiative,
interpersonal skills, and teamwork. Lastly, the Indiana Business Research Center (IBRC) found
that while credentials (degrees and certificates) are important, it is the development of soft
skills (those that are more social than technical) that is critical to developing a strong, vibrant
workforce.
Interestingly, research also suggests that soft skills are not just important for first-time
employees. According to a poll released in June 2008 by the Society for Human Resource
Management (SHRM), many workplace soft skills have become more important for the
experienced professional. These skills include critical thinking/problem solving, leadership,
professionalism/work ethic, teamwork/collaboration, and adaptability/flexibility.
Earlier in Section 3 of this plan holding a youth job fair was recommended and the Library may be best
equipped to help support the youth in
preparing for career readiness.
General Vehicle Maintenance and Safety
Aside from the importance of routine
maintenance such as changing tires, there is
also something to be said about understanding
the equipment on the car itself. The National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
website has a number of road safety and
automobile equipment information available.
Some of the vehicle equipment discussed
Youth Master Plan 58
includes car seats and booster seats, tires and air bags. Regarding tires, the webpage covers topics such as
buying, maintenance, aging, labeling and even fuel efficiency. According to the NHTSA, there were 733 total
motor vehicle traffic fatalities in 2016 in which a contributing factor was tire malfunction.
The NHTSA website has a program about being TireWise. They developed the infographic on the previous
page regarding tips to get the most out of tires.
4.3 Youth Recreation
Physical Activity
There is no questioning the benefit of physical activity for children and adolescents. According to the
Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “Regular physical activity in childhood and adolescence is important for
promoting lifelong health and well-being and preventing various health conditions. The 2008 US Physical
Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years should have
60 minutes (1 hour) or more of physical activity each day.” And the community, though not responsible, can
play a role in promoting these activities! The CDC Youth Physical Activity Guidelines Toolkit contains guides
on the role of schools, the role of families, and the role of communities. The list below from the CDC
highlights some of the ways communities can encourage physical activity.
Some of the ways communities can encourage physical activity – Source: Centers for Disease Control
The purpose of the Youth Master Plan is not to dictate how much physical activity children and adolescents
get each day. Rather, this plan seeks to provide support for policies and programs that enable physical
activity. The City has placed a premium on the dedication and preservation of public parks and open spaces.
In fact, the Southlake Parks Division oversees the maintenance and beautification of over 1,100 acres of park
land and open space. This includes 44 athletic fields, 14 park pavilions, 8 concession/restroom facilities, 11
ponds, 21 tennis courts and 6+ miles of trails. With a variety of both passive and active recreational spaces,
the Southlake parks system offers something for the entire family.
The City should continue to explore opportunities to add programming related to youth recreation as City
facilities expand, such as with Champions Club at The Marq Southlake (Phase 2). Additionally, as the City
develops the Southlake 2035 Parks, Recreation & Open Space / Community Facilities (PROSCF) Master Plan,
input from the youth community should be sought to ensure the plan includes that perspective as
expressed.
How Can Communities Encourage Physical Activity
Conduct Community-wide Campaigns • Promote physical activity messages to youth and families
Make Changes That Make It Easier to
be Physically Active
• Provide funding to build and link sidewalks, crosswalks,
and bicycle lanes
• Install traffic signals to slow cars down and improve safety
Help People Find Places Where They
Can Be Physically Active
• Find and promote safe ways to walk and bike to school
• Let community members and organizations use school
gymnasiums, playing fields, and playgrounds when school
is not in session
Work With Schools to Increase Youth
Physical Activity
• Community organizations can support and participate in
Safe Routes to School programs, which encourage more
children to safely walk and bike to school
Partner With Other Community Groups
• Encourage local media to tell stories about physical activity
• Organize a bike rodeo to promote safe bicycling practices
• Partner with local organizations to host special activity
events, such as fun runs or field days
Youth Master Plan 59
Recreational Programs
The LiveFit Southlake Program, as mentioned earlier in Section 2 of the Youth Master Plan represents the
City of Southlake fitness and wellness initiative. As Champions Club at The Marq Southlake opens, and the
space for recreational programming and City staff expands, the Community Services department should
seek to add new programming specifically related to the youth if and when that becomes something
economically viable. Additionally, City staff should establish a go al to increase youth participation in the
LiveFit program, possibly through targeted advertising or special program offerings.
One initiative that has been pursued by the LiveFit program is in regard to Childhood Obesity Month
Awareness. The month of September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, a CDC initiative
designed to raise awareness of the growing childhood obesity epidemic in the United States. One in 3
children in the U.S. is overweight or obese. Childhood obesity puts kids at risk for health problems that were
once seen only in adults, like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and even heart disease. The good news is
that childhood obesity can be prevented! Communities, health professionals and families can work together
to create opportunities for kids to eat healthier and get more active. LiveFit Southlake will be offering to help
children and families get moving for a healthier fall!
Mentioned above, the healthfinder.gov resource provides a number of resources based upon nationally
recognized health observances. The City should reference these National Health Observances when
determining safety and security initiatives, as well as health and wellness initiatives.
Youth Master Plan 60
4.4 Safety and Health & Wellness Recommendations
Safety and Health & Wellness Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP11
Promote local or
national programs
and/or initiatives
related to youth
safety.
YP11.1: Promote safety programs
and initiatives by providing
information and resources to the
public. Participate in safety
campaigns annually. (FD)
Examples of safety programs and
initiatives include drowning
prevention and water safety, bicycle
and helmet safety, heat safety,
distracted driving and car seat safety.
YP11.2: Develop an annual public
safety communication plan. (FD)
Determine the reach of these
communication efforts by tracking
web analytics, participation in
events, and other measurable items.
YP11.3: Establish communication
targets and communication goals
for each of the identified safety
campaigns for future efforts based
on the initial benchmark in YP11.2.
(OMC)
YP11.4: Annually use the City’s
various communication channels to
promote the Southlake SRO
program, and other youth safety
programs.(OMC)
Safety &
Security,
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C1, C5
5.8,
9.3,
9.4
FD, PD,
OMC,
FIN,
PDS
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 61
Safety and Health & Wellness Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP12
Identify opportunities
to add new and/or
expand youth health
& wellness
programming offered
by the City of
Southlake.
YP12.1: If economically viable, add
a minimum of two (2) new youth
health & wellness or recreation-
focused programs one year after the
grand opening of The Marq Phase 2
(Champions Club). (CS)
As Phase 2 of The Marq Southlake
(Champions Club) opens, research
and implement programming
specifically for the youth related to
health & wellness.
YP12.2: Increase the marketing
effort for the existing LiveFit
program to youth. Establish a goal
that within three (3) years of
opening Champions Club, at least
20% of LiveFit program participants
annually are youth. (CS)
YP12.3: Produce a report annually
that details participation in youth
programming by Southlake
residents.(CS)
Evaluate the involvement and
engagement in youth programming
offered by the City of Southlake to
determine future expansion.
Performance
Management
& Service
Delivery, B4,
C3
7.2,
8,1
CS,
OMC
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 62
Safety and Health & Wellness Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP13
Promote local or
national programs
and/or initiatives
related to youth
health and wellness.
YP13.1: City staff should participate
in and promote health and wellness
programs and initiatives by
providing information and
resources to the public. Participate
in health and wellness campaigns
annually. (CS)
Examples of health and wellness
programs and initiatives include
Childhood Obesity Month, National
Physical Fitness and Sports Month,
National Parks and Recreation
Month, etc.
YP13.2: Develop an annual health
and wellness communication plan.
(CS)
Determine the reach of these
communication efforts by tracking
web analytics, participation in
events, and other measurable items.
YP13.3: Establish communication
targets and communication goals
for each of the identified safety
campaigns for future efforts based
on the initial benchmark in YP13.2.
(OMC)
CS,
OMC
1
(Short-
Term)
YP14
Hold events designed
to educate youth on
various life skill topics.
YP14.1: Hold at least one (1) event
annually related to life skills for
youth. (LIB)
This can include but is not limited to
basic automobile maintenance,
financial literacy and wellness, taxes,
cooking, government and finance,
career readiness, etc.
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C6
12.1,
12.2 LIB, CS
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 63
Safety and Health & Wellness Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP15
Educate the youth on
the role of public
safety in the City of
Southlake.
YP15.1: Annually coordinate and
host a youth academy related to
public safety in the community.
Examples of possible topics include
the role of police and fire in terms of
community safety, as well as other
identified health and wellness
initiatives.
Safety &
Security, C1,
C5, C6
5.8 PD, FD
1
(Short-
Term)
YP16
Working with youth
leadership and
advisory groups in the
City of Southlake,
host a forum that
focuses on safety
and/or health and
wellness topics.
YP16.1: Host a Youth Forum. (CMO)
YP16.2: Partner with other City
boards & commissions, community
groups, and CISD to gain feedback,
input and support. (CMO)
Before hosting the forum, reach out
to these and/or similar organizations
to determine their interest level.
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C1, C5, C6
9.4,
12.3
CMO,
PD, FD,
CS, PDS,
FIN
2
(Medium
-Term)
Youth Master Plan 64
Youth Master Plan 65
Partnerships & Volunteerism
The topics of partnerships and volunteerism are broad. They also represent one of the City of Southlake’s six
(6) strategic focus areas, established by the City Council. These are the key areas in which we must excel in
order to achieve our mission and vision, and deliver value to customers.
It is important for the City to maintain partnerships with public and private entities alike to help offset the
cost of providing services, as well as combining resources, expertise and assets to ensure the highest quality
services are provided to Southlake residents. Although the Youth Master Plan does not focus directly on
economic and fiscal health & wellness, it is still vital for the City to consider how it can maximize service
delivery without incurring additional or unnecessary costs.
In this context, the terms partnerships and volunteerism are multifaceted. This section in part speaks to
leveraging partnerships for the sake of delivering quality services to residents and the youth of Southlake. It
also speaks to the need for the City to encourage volunteerism within the City; particularly with regard to
youth. In the Social Impact of Volunteerism (2011) published by Huiting Wu of the Points of Light Institute, a
number of key findings are discussed regarding research conducted on volunteerism. These findings
include:
• Volunteering makes a significant contribution to the global economy;
• Volunteering enhances the social connections between different sectors, builds the bridges for
governments, enterprises and employees;
• Volunteering helps build a more cohesive, safer, stronger community, increase the social network
between communities and neighborhood;
• Volunteering promotes people to be more active in civic engagement and concerned of citizenship;
• Volunteering delivers some part of public services, encouraging more people work in public section,
helping raise the educational performance of youth, leading environmental movement and
adapting to climate change risk; and,
• Volunteering [has] positive effects on volunteers as individuals, increase their self-esteem, enhance
various skills and capacities, expand career paths and be healthier physically and mentally.
5.1 Existing Partnerships with School Districts and Other Public Organizations
Although the City of Southlake and the Carroll Independent School District are separate, maintaining a
strong partnership is in the best interest of both the City and school. Below are few examples of these
partnerships.
Library Partnerships
Partnerships & Volunteerism
The active promotion of alliances through
community involvement focused on giving time,
energies, or talents to individuals and groups for the
enrichment of the Southlake community and its
strategic affiliations.
Youth Master Plan 66
The Library partners with many organizations in Southlake, including CISD, Southlake Historical Society and
Southlake Sister Cities. Each partnership provides richer, more dynamic experiences for our community.
Library Youth staff works closely with CISD school librarians on assigned school projects and resource
sharing such as the Southlake Library granting schools access to Bookflix, and the schools “loaning” the
Southlake Library books over the summer. Through the City’s partnership with the Southlake Historical
Society, differing programs are offered that provide an insight into early beginnings of Southlake life. Each
year Southlake Sister Cities and the library join forces on celebrating Chi nese New Year, by offering a story
time program and Chinese Lantern Walk.
MySouthlakeNews.com
The City of Southlake and the Carroll
Independent School District have partnered
since 2009 to host and support
MySouthlakeNews.com, a joint digital news
site. The cost of hosting and maintaining this
web service is shared between the City and
CISD.
Safety
Carroll ISD
The City of Southlake provides safety
education to schools in CISD. The education
can be some of the following: bullying, fire safety, CPR, self-defense, leadership, distracted driving, impaired
driving, ride to school, or Carroll Medical Academy ride outs.
School Resource Officer Program
As mentioned on pages in the Safety and Health & Wellness section of this plan, the City invests one million
dollars ($1,000,000) each year to the school resource officer program. In addition to providing a public safety
presence at each CISD campus, the School Resource Officer is a resource for faculty and staff in the area of
crime prevention and development of security measures to make campuses safer. The Southlake Police
Department is proud of the partnership created through the SRO program and the positive impact it has
with the faculty, teachers, students and
parents within the Carroll Independent
School District.
Joint Use Facilities
The Parks, Recreation & Open Space /
Community Facilities (PROSCF) Master Plan
adopted by City Council in March of 2013
contains a section on the joint use of
facilities between the City of Southlake and
the Carroll Independent School District
(CISD). The Youth Master Plan will not go
into detail on the logistics of these
partnerships; however, this plan will echo
the importance of this relationship between
Youth Master Plan 67
the City and CISD. The following paragraphs come from the PROSCF Master Plan. This information remains
relevant today, but the City of Southlake should consider its strategy and approach to these agreements as
part of the next comprehensive update to the Parks, Recreation & Open Space / Community Facilities
(PROSCF) Master Plan.
The City of Southlake has a partnership with the Carroll Independent School District (CISD)
that enables the use of public park facilities by CISD and the use of school facilities such as
auditoriums, cafeterias, gymnasiums, and fields by the City for public parks and recreation
programs. School facilities are built and maintained with local tax dollars principally for the
use of students and they are utilized extensively for the schools’ extracurricular activities and
maintenance during non-school hours. However, at times when the buildings or fields are not
occupied for school-purposes, the community has been able to enjoy the use of these public
facilities. Likewise, park amenities are public investments which can be shared by local schools
to make more efficient use of public funds and reduce the need to build redundant facilities.
The City of Southlake should continue to consider future joint use partnerships with
neighboring communities such as Keller, Grapevine, Colleyville, Westlake, or Trophy Club, as
appropriate to meet community needs. When pursuing joint use opportunities it is important
to discuss all considerations including, but not limited to the following:
Maintenance: How can we ensure that joint use facilities are respected and
maintained? Who is responsible for maintenance, repairs and long-
term capital improvements?
Operations: Who will unlock the gate? Who will run the programs? Who has
priority?
Liability: What if someone gets hurt? Does the property have sufficient liability
insurance to cover any issues associated with joint use?
Ownership: How does joint use affect how decisions are made about the property?
Are partners involved in decisions made relative to the improvement,
change, or sale of a joint use property? How can the partnership be
mutually beneficial?
Cost/Revenue: What costs might be associated with the joint use partnership? How
much should each partner contribute? How will revenues be split?
The list below illustrates some of the parks and facilities where the City of Southlake and the Carroll
Independent School District have established partnerships for joint use that serve Southlake’s youth
population.
Facility
Eubanks Intermediate Gym and Cafeteria
Dawson Middle School Gyms (2)
Durham Intermediate Gyms (2) and Cafeteria
CISD Administration Gym
Rockenbaugh Elementary Gym
CISD Natatorium
Bob Jones Park Softball Fields
Bicentennial Park Baseball Fields
Bob Jones Park
Youth Master Plan 68
5.2 Public / Private Partnerships
Youth Entrepreneurship Program
The information below regarding the Youth Entrepreneurship Program comes from a variety of sources. A
couple of the primary sources referenced include the Michigan State University Extension Youth
Entrepreneurship Resource List and the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service.
Entrepreneurs drive America's economy, accounting for the majority of our nation's new job creation and
innovations. According to the U. S. Census Bureau's 2002 Survey of Business Owners, self-employed
individuals who have no paid employees operate three-fourths of U.S. businesses. The U. S. Small Business
Administration reports that America's 25.8 million small businesses employ more than 50 percent of the
private workforce, generate more than half of the nation's gross domestic product, and are the principal
source of new jobs in the U.S. economy.
Benefits of Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is an employment strategy that can lead to economic self-sufficiency for people with
disabilities. Self-employment provides people with disabilities and their families with the potential to create
and manage businesses in which they function as the employer or boss, rather than merely being an
employee. Oftentimes, people with disabilities are eligible and receive supplemental supports (technical and
financial) which can serve as a safety net that may decrease the risk involved with pursuing self-employment
opportunities.
Nearly 80 percent of would-be entrepreneurs in the United States are between the ages of 18 and 34! A 2005
poll from Junior Achievement (JA) found that 68.6 percent of the teenagers interviewed wanted to become
entrepreneurs, even though they knew that it would not be an easy path. In spite of this overwhelming
interest, however, youth rarely receive any information about entrepreneurship as a career option.
Entrepreneurship education offers a solution. It seeks to prepare people; particularly youth, to be
responsible, enterprising individuals who become entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial thinkers by immersing
them in real life learning experiences where they can take risks, manage the results, and learn from the
outcomes.
Advantages of Entrepreneurship Education
Through entrepreneurship education, young people, including those with disabilities, learn organizational
skills, including time management, leadership development and interpersonal skills, all of which are highly
transferable skills sought by employers. According to Logic Models and Outcomes for Youth
Entrepreneurship Programs (2001), a report by the D.C. Children and Youth Investment Corporation, other
positive outcomes include:
• Improved academic performance, school attendance; and educational attainment;
• Increased problem-solving and decision-making abilities;
• Improved interpersonal relationships, teamwork, money management, and public speaking skills;
• Job readiness;
• Enhanced social psychological development (self-esteem, ego development, self-efficacy), and
• Perceived improved health status.
Youth Master Plan 69
Ongoing research commissioned by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) to
evaluate the effectiveness and impact of its programs found that when youth participated in
entrepreneurship programs:
• Interest in attending college increased 32 percent;
• Occupational aspirations increased 44 percent;
• Independent reading increased 4 percent;
• Leadership behavior increased 8.5 percent;
• Belief that attaining one's goals is within one's control (locus of control) increased, and
• Alumni (99 percent) recommended NFTE programs.
Benefits of Entrepreneurship Education
Research regarding the impact of entrepreneurship education on youth with disabilities shows the following
benefits:
• Opportunity for Work Based Experiences
o Work experiences for youth with disabilities during high school, both paid and unpaid, help
them acquire jobs at higher wages after they graduate. Also, students who participate in
occupational education and special education in integrated settings are more likely to be
competitively employed than students who have not participated in such activities.
• Opportunity to Exercise Leadership and Develop Interpersonal Skills
o By launching a small business or school-based enterprise, youth with disabilities can lead
and experience different roles. In addition, they learn to communicate their ideas and
influence others effectively through the development of self-advocacy and conflict
resolution skills. Moreover, they learn how to become team players, and to engage in
problem solving and critical thinking -- skills valued highly by employers in the competitive
workplace of the 21st Century. Mentors, including peer mentors both with and without
disabilities, can assist the youth in developing these competencies.
• Opportunity to Develop Planning, Financial Literacy, and Money Management Skills
o The ability to set goals and to manage time, money and other resources are important
entrepreneurship skills which are useful in any workplace. For youth with disabilities,
learning about financial planning, including knowledge about available work incentives is
critical for budding entrepreneurs with disabilities who are currently receiving cash benefits
from the Supplemental Security Income Program (SSI).
The City of Southlake should create or support a youth entrepreneurship program. This may include
partnering with local businesses or the Southlake Chamber of Commerce or the Southlake Executive Forum
to promote and cultivate business education for the community’s youth.
Safety / Wellness
Drowning Prevention / Water Safety
The City of Southlake depends on partnerships to support many of the public safety initiatives and programs
offered. In terms of drowning prevention, the City has a partnership with Safe Kids of Tarrant that includes
educating groups on water safety.
Texas ranks number 1 in the nation for child pool drownings. Tarrant County is ranked second in the state.
Locally, seventy-five percent of drownings and near-drowning incidents happen in pools, with children four
Youth Master Plan 70
(4) years old or under. Active adult supervision and layers of protection, such as swim lessons and a fence
around the pool itself, can lower the risk for your child.
Game Over (Shattered Dreams)
The City of Southlake participates in Game Over (known as Shattered Dreams in other communities) every
other year. Game over is an educational program brought to Carroll High School which illustrates the
dangers and consequences of distracted and impaired driving by staging an automobile accident. The Game
Over event represents a partnership between the City of Southlake and the Carroll Independent School
District. The program started out by focusing primarily as a drinking and driving campaign, but has more so
evolved to include the current day issue of distracted driving.
The event takes place over the course of two
days. On the first day a vehicle accident is
staged in the school parking lot area. As if it
were a real accident, the Southlake Police
Department and the Fire Department bring in
emergency vehicles, and treat the scene as if
it were a real accident. A care flight is even
scheduled to demonstrate what would
happen during a crash of this magnitude.
On the second day there is an assembly
where a speaker will provide an impact story.
Students are selected to participate in this
event by the Southlake School Resource
Officers (SRO).
The City of Southlake public safety team
plays a major role in the coordination of this
event. The City should continue to prioritize
participation in events such as this that
represent partnerships with the school
district related to public safety education.
“Staying on Track”
Staying on Track represents a coalition that the City of Southlake is a part of with the goal of improving
health and safety by uniting the community in the prevention and treatment of underage drinking and
prescription drug abuse. The group meets monthly and there are many other agencies involved in the
coalition, such as the Keller Police Department, Keller ISD and many community resource agencies.
5.3 Youth Volunteerism Support
There are a number of volunteer opportunities in the City of Southlake. The City has two main categories for
volunteers: junior volunteers which are 12 – 17 years of age; and adult Volunteers which are 17 years of age
or older. The City of Southlake utilizes the VicNet online volunteer portal for all volunteer coordination.
Current and prospective volunteers can access this webpage by visiting the City’s volunteer landing page
(CityofSouthlake.com/VolunteerSouthlake). Those registered in the system can sign-up to volunteer, track
Youth Master Plan 71
their volunteer hours, and view opportunities. Volunteers under the age of 17 are required to submit a
parental consent form with their application. Those 17 years of age and older are required to have a
background check. There are different age requirements based upon where a volunteer would like to serve.
The chart below provides additional context into these age requirements for a number of service
opportunities.
Service Opportunity Minimum Age to Volunteer
Southlake Public Library 13
Metroport Teen Court 12
Southlake Town Hall 15
Southlake Senior Center 12
Special Events (Stars & Stripes, Home for the Holidays) 15
Camp Mania 15
DPS Citizens Academy 18
The section below provides additional information on the significance of youth volunteers in the City.
Youth Volunteerism in and for Southlake
To illustrate the impact of youth volunteers in Southlake, information related to the hours served by age is
provided below. The City of Southlake is also able to calculate cost savings through the use of volunteers.
Again, the Youth Master Plan intends to make the case for volunteerism from a number of different
perspectives. Financially, volunteers provide great cost savings to the City of Southlake. Also, given that
there are a number of awards and recognitions based on volunteer hours served, providing this outlet for
the community’s youth is of great interest. The Volunteers of America webpage regarding “What Types of
Volunteer Work Do Colleges Look For” shines additional light on the topic of volunteerism with regard to
college applications:
Working two hours a week for several years on a
cause that’s meaningful to you matters a lot more
to colleges than 300 services hours during a trip that
was likely paid for by the parents.
The table below illustrates the volunteer hours served by Southlake volunteers between the ages of 13 and
18, as the dollar value of the combined service.
Information courtesy of Southlake Human Resources
*This information was pulled before the end of the fiscal year
**Each hour of volunteer work is valued at $25.15 per Independent Sector
Volunteer Year Total Hours Served $ Value**
October 1, 2013 – September 30, 2014 2,202.88 $55,402
October 1, 2014 – September 30, 2015 4,768.25 $119,921
October 1 , 2015 – September 30, 2016 6,499.97 $163,474
October 1, 2016 – September 30, 2017 7,518.55 $189,092
October 1, 2017 – June 2018* 4,470 $112,421.38
Youth Master Plan 72
Benefits to
Volunteering
Solve
Problems
Strengthen
Communities Improve Lives
Connect to
Others
Transform Our
Own Lives
Promoting Opportunities
The chart above clearly illustrates the significance and value of youth volunteers in the City of Southlake.
However, there are still opportunities to promote opportunities within the City. Promoting these
opportunities for youth (junior) volunteers may also look different than promoting opportunities to adult
volunteers. The City should reach out to youth organizations such as SYAC and SKIL to glean information
about how best to reach the youth.
Another opportunity for the City of Southlake is with regard to working with school districts in Southlake
and where Southlake citizens are represented. Building relationships with counselors not only in CISD but
area school districts would be valuable in terms of promoting opportunities for local students. If the City of
Southlake has a stronger understanding of what area school districts require, they will be more equipped to
be a resource to students with questions.
In Southlake, there are a limited number of volunteer hours in a given day. This number expands during
special events such as Easter in the Park, Monster Mash, and Home for the Holidays, but these events only
occur sporadically throughout the year. The City may look to consider how to create new or expand existing
opportunities for youth volunteers. One way this could potentially occur is during work planning for the
fiscal year conducted by City departments. A possible step in this process could be a consultation with the
City’s Volunteer Coordinator for a dialogue about opportunities for junior or adult volunteers. This
underscores the mutual benefit of volunteerism in Southlake.
Recognition for Service
A key theme throughout this plan is the existence of a strong local school district in CISD, and the desire for
the City of Southlake to continually support the school district to ensure its long term resiliency and health.
One way the City can do this is through partnering with the school district regarding the joint-use of
facilities, financial support and even with regard to safety programs, such as the School Resource Officer
(SRO) program. In addition to this type of support, the City can also look to expand its support of students
achieving their goals for graduation and other service projects for school.
The Carroll Independent School District runs the Success Scholars Community Service Program which
according to the 2016-2017 CISD Academic Planning Guide (Grades 9 – 12) “encourages students to take a
challenging curriculum…and to perform 100 hours of approved community service while maintaining a 70
or higher average in each course. Students fulfilling these criterial will be locally recognized as Success
Scholars upon graduation from high school” (page 15). Without question, the success of the CISD student is
in the best interest of the City, as these students represent future
leaders, taxpayers, citizens, voters, employees, business owners
and more! There is clearly a scholastic benefit for a student
completing their community service requirement. But it does not
end there!
The Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS) lists
some of the benefits of volunteering (exhibit to the right).
Perhaps the first and biggest benefit people get from
volunteering is the satisfaction of incorporating service into their
lives and making a difference in their community and country.
The intangible benefits alone—such as pride, satisfaction, and
accomplishment—are worthwhile reasons to serve. In addition, when we share our time and talents we:
Solve Problems, Strengthen Communities, Improve Lives, Connect to Others, Transform Our Own Lives.
Youth Master Plan 73
With all of that said, the City of Southlake should look to support CISD students in their efforts to obtain their
volunteer hour requirements. This may look like finding ways to expand City volunteer opportunities for
youth, or possibly changing, updating or evaluating the
approach used by the City to promote youth volunteer
opportunities. The City currently sends a weekly volunteer
newsletter through Constant Contact to anyone within the
volunteer database; however this may not be the most
efficient, effective, or direct way to communicate with the City’s
youth community as technology is constantly changing and
social media continues to influence the manner in which
people connect with their communities. Reaching out to the City’s youth volunteers to identify how they
would most like to be communicated with would be advantageous not only in terms of recruiting volunteers
to help the City of Southlake, but also to ensure that the City was doing what it can to help youth volunteers
meet their requirements for volunteer service hours. An informal survey of SYAC during their February 21,
2018 meeting led to the realization that many students would follow a City of Southlake Instagram account
if available. The benefit to an Instagram account is that students and/or potential volunteers would have the
information come directly to them, as opposed to them having to find it on their own. The City uses
VolunteerSouthlake.com to promote volunteer opportunities. It is here that students can also access VicNet
to log hours, etc. The City may want to look into the development of a mobile application where potential
volunteers can find opportunities quickly, and simply by using a mobile device.
Another way the City can help students to achieve their community service goals, as well as bolster their job
resumes and college applications is through promoting and encouraging participation in programs such as
the President’s Volunteer Service Award, and the Congressional Award. City staff may consider gaining more
familiarity with these and other requirements in order to be a resource for local students pursuing their
service goals. With several local chapters of the National Honor Society and the National Junior Honor
Society, the City can help promote opportunities to these local organizations to ensure their participants are
made aware of volunteer opportunities. Further, this type of support would not necessarily need to be
limited to schools in the CISD. Expanding this outreach to include students that live in Southlake but
perhaps attend one of the other represented independent school districts would be of value and worth
exploring further.
Congressional Award The Presidents Volunteer Service Award
The Congressional Award is the United States
Congress’ award for young Americans. It is non-
partisan, voluntary, and non-competitive. The
program is open to all youth regardless of ability,
circumstance, or socioeconomic status.
Participants earn Bronze, Silver, and Gold
Certificates and Bronze, Silver, and Gold Medals.
Each level involves setting goals in four program
areas; Voluntary Public Service, Personal
Development, Physical Fitness, and
Expedition/Exploration.
The President's Volunteer Service Award is an
initiative of the Corporation for National and
Community Service (CNCS) and is administered by
Points of Light. Through a shared mission of
inspiring more to answer the call to service, the
President's Volunteer Service Award celebrates the
impact we can all make in bettering our
communities and our world.
Minimum age to register is 13 ½ and goals must
be accomplished by the 24th birthday.
Awards are issued over a 12-month time period or
over the course of a lifetime. Requirements differ by
age group category: Kids (5-10), Teens (11-15),
Young Adults (16-25), Adults (26 and older). There is
also a category for families and groups.
http://congressionalaward.org/ https://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/
Above are two examples of different awards recognizing students and others for volunteer service.
Youth Master Plan 74
The City of Southlake is a certifying agency for those pursuing the Presidents Volunteer Service Award. That
said, when students apply for this recognition, the City’s Volunteer Coordinator works to confirm service
hours that occurred within the Southlake organization. As discussed above in the “Promoting Opportunities”
section, volunteer liaisons and the City’s Volunteer Coordinator should continually work to build
relationships with counselors at CISD and other school districts represented in Southlake as well as private
schools located in Southlake to ensure that students have as many opportunities as possible to volunteer.
City of Southlake Recognition of Youth Volunteers
In addition to recognition awards for youth volunteers such as the Presidents Volunteer Service Award and
the Congressional Award, there are other opportunities to engage with youth volunteers.
Lifetime Volunteer Milestone Awards
The City of Southlake recognizes volunteers during a City meeting during the year. While Presidential
Volunteer Service Award recipients receive well-deserved recognition, the City also honors those who
volunteered 500 hours, 1,000 hours, or 1,500 hours over the course of a lifetime.
Volunteer Appreciation Events
During the year 2017 there were a couple of events that took place to honor and recognize volunteers in
Southlake. This form of “pocket recognition” enabled engagement with volunteers on a smaller scale. During
the summer of 2017 volunteers between the ages of 12 and 17
years were invited to attend a free movie if they had volunteered
at least five (5) hours during the volunteer year (April 1 – March
31). Another example of this took place in December of 2017,
where City staff sent a survey to all adult and youth library
volunteers where they were asked to select between attending a
reception and seeing a movie as a group. The survey revealed
that the library volunteers were overwhelmingly in favor of seeing
the new Star Wars film! These smaller forms of appreciation not
only build camaraderie between volunteers, but also show how appreciative the City is for this service.
Based on the success of the smaller appreciation events described above, the City should continue pursuing
these smaller forms of recognition for volunteers. There may be opportunities to have similar events for
youth volunteers similar to seeing movies.
Youth Master Plan 75
5.4 Partnerships & Volunteerism Recommendations
Partnerships & Volunteerism Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP17
Continue facilitating
an “internship
program” for the
youth leadership
program
collaborating with the
Southlake Chamber
of Commerce.
YP17.1: Coordinate and implement
an annual “day of internship” for the
youth leadership program in
partnership with the Southlake
Chamber of Commerce aimed at
providing leadership skills to
students in the program.(EDT)
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
B2, C5, C6
9.3 EDT,
CMO
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 76
Partnerships & Volunteerism Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP18
Increase outreach in
terms of promoting
opportunities for
youth volunteers.
YP18.1: Evolve outreach as
technology changes to ensure that
communication regarding volunteer
opportunities reaches the youth in
the City. Track and measure the
success of current efforts and
evaluate possible future efforts
annually. (OMC) Possible future
efforts include utilizing existing
accounts or creating an additional
social media account (such as
Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter,
Facebook) for the purposes of
promoting volunteer opportunities as
well as City events.
YP18.2: Request that groups the City
partners with (Community Service
Agreements) report to the City
annually regarding youth volunteer
hours. Revise existing CSA’s to
include this request if
necessary/possible. (HR)
YP18.3: Create an annual volunteer
report that details the engagement
and involvement of volunteers in the
City of Southlake, focusing in part on
youth volunteerism. (HR)
YP18.4: Make informed outreach
decisions based upon the
information found within the annual
volunteer report. (HR)
YP18.5: Evaluate the feasibility of
developing a mobile application for
Volunteer Southlake where youth
and other volunteers can have more
readily accessible information
related to volunteering
opportunities. (IT)
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
B1, B6, C5, C6
9.2
HR,
CS,
OMC,
IT
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 77
Partnerships & Volunteerism Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP19
Where possible,
create new or expand
existing opportunities
for youth volunteers.
YP19.1: Work with CISD, local
community service organizations
and other community groups to help
promote volunteer opportunities.
Document this outreach and include
in the annual volunteer report
(YP18.3). (HR)
YP19.2: Reach out to City
departments annually as work plans
are being completed to conduct a
scan for volunteer opportunities.
Work with departments to promote
opportunities to registered
volunteers.(HR)
YP19.3: Conduct monthly volunteer
surveys to volunteers to determine
engagement levels and satisfaction
of volunteers. Analyze results to
determine youth satisfaction. Use the
survey to improve opportunities.
(HR)
19.4: Explore the possibility of
developing a day of service or other
similar event where youth and other
potential volunteers can have an
opportunity to serve either in the
Southlake area or another
surrounding community. (HR)
YP19.5: Include information
regarding the expansion of youth
volunteer opportunities in the
annual volunteer report (YP18.3)
(HR)
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C5
12.3 HR
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 78
Partnerships & Volunteerism Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP20
Seek partnerships to
promote youth safety
programs and
initiatives.
YP19.1: Work with area school
districts to promote youth safety
initiatives – hold at least two (2)
events annually in partnership that
focus on youth topics such as safety,
wellness, etc. (FD)
This could be a companion to
recommendation YP10. An Example of
a previously held event with CISD is
the “Game Over” demonstration
focused on the dangers of driving
while impaired.
YP19.2: Keep an active inventory /
database of existing partnerships.
(CS)
Create and maintain relationships
with non-profits, hospitals, CSA’s,
private businesses and other
municipalities to expand the reach of
youth safety programs.
YP19.3: Apply for grant funding at
least once annually that could be
used in part to support youth safety
programs and initiatives. (FD)
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
Safety &
Security, B2,
C1, C5, F3
5.6,
9.1,
9.2,
9.3
FD,
PD,
CS,
FIN
1
(Short-
Term)
YP21
Develop strong
programs that
promote and
cultivate business
education for the
community’s youth.
YP20.1: Create and/or support a
youth entrepreneurship program
collaborating with local businesses
and organizations including but not
limited to the Southlake Chamber of
Commerce and the Southlake
Executive Forum. (EDT)
YP20.2: Once a program is created
and/or supported, develop an annual
report detailing the scope of the
program highlighting topics covered,
community involvement, and other
applicable items. (EDT)
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
B2, C5, C6
9.3 EDT
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 79
Evaluation, Prioritization, Implementation
6.1 Plan Evaluation and Implementation
A plan is only as good as the methods by which it is used as a tool for the ultimate goal, implementation. The
Southlake Youth Action Commission (SYAC) served as the committee which reviewed every
recommendation proposed in this plan. Each of the recommendations were reviewed and evaluated based
on information provided from a number of sources. Some of these include the aforementioned tabletop
exercises involving SYAC and SKIL. In order gain a better understanding of existing programs, and
opportunities for the future, Planning and Development Services reached out to other City departments
with expertise on some of these topics. Examples of this include conversations between Planning staff and
staff from Parks and Recreation regarding recreation programming for the youth of Southlake. Further,
conversations including staff from the Southlake Public Library led to a better understanding of the scope of
summer program offerings for kids in the City. This dialogue revealed a clearer picture of not only how
important youth volunteers are to the Southlake Public Library, but also the hope that once the library
expands more events are planned specifically for tween/teenage youth in Southlake. Additionally, a number
of department directors were involved in discussions when the first drafts of the recommendations were
being developed.
Once plan recommendations are
developed, the focus shifts
towards setting clear parameters
for successful implementation.
Developing a metric to measure
the completion of the
recommendation assists the
responsible department by
establishing the baseline for
completion. These metrics also
aid departments when it comes to providing status updates on all recommendations to City leadership.
These measures validate the importance of strategy to the community, provide motivation, and allow for
follow-through and sustained attention. For each recommendation in this master plan, an implementation
metric has been established to measure its effectiveness and to ensure the City can demonstrate the
implementation of the specific recommendation. In some cases, the implementation metric may contain
more descriptive language than even a recommendation.
6.2 Prioritization Schedule
For each specific recommendation, a relative tier ranking has
been established to articulate the expected implementation
timeframe for that particular recommendation. Given that
some recommendations require inclusion in the City’s
budget, Capital Improvements Program (CIP), or even a
departmental work plan, the priority tier for all
recommendations cannot be the same. The Southlake Youth
Action Committee confirmed the tier rankings for all the
recommendations during prioritization activities which were
held for the various sections of the Youth Master Plan. The
tiers are divided into three different categories based on timeframe to implement:
Youth Master Plan 80
• Tier 1: 1 to 3 Years (short-term)
• Tier 2: 4 to 7 Years (medium-term)
• Tier 3: 8 Years and beyond (long-term)
The tier rankings are used in the development of department work plans as well as the Capital
Improvements Program. In fact, the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) planning process begins and ends
with projects recommended by all master plans in the City’s comprehensive plan. Annually, as part of the
City’s budget process, city staff analyzes the adopted master plans and develops a comprehensive list of
projects with preliminary cost estimates for inclusion in the proposed departmental budgets and the CIP.
The proposed departmental budgets and CIP are submitted to
the City Manager’s Office and the CIP Technical Committee
(department directors), who evaluate requests based on a
number of City Council priorities including this master plan. The
priority tiers that were developed during this master plan will
help guide future members of the City’s boards and City Council
when making decisions related to the adoption of the City’s
annual operating budget and the CIP.
While these tiers provide the ideal order of implementation and
desired priority for the Youth Master Plan recommendations, all
recommendations are subject to available funding during the
given budget year.
Youth Master Plan 81
Youth Recommendations
Leadership & Engagement Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP1
Continue a strong
youth leadership
program that engages
and promotes youth
involvement in the
community.
YP1.1: SKIL will participate in at
least one (1) focus group, joint
meeting, survey, or similar
interactive process annually. (EDT)
Continue to support the
development and facilitation of the
youth leadership program, Southlake
Kids Interested in Leadership (SKIL),
with a focus on fostering civic
engagement and involvement with
the City’s executive leadership.
The program should include direct
participation in the decision making
process related to an applicable City
policy or program. Examples of this
may include focus groups,
participation in meetings with other
City boards and/or commissions,
surveys, and other similar interactive
engagement.
YP1.2: Continue assessing the
effectiveness of the SKIL program
through a survey to determine the
level of interest and satisfaction in
the program by each class. Staff
should evaluate this feedback to
consider possible modifications to
the program depending on the
survey results. (EDT)
YP1.3: Continue implementation of
a youth leadership program (SKIL)
where at least five (5) meetings are
conducted during an academic year.
(EDT)
YP1.4: Provide an annual report at
the end of each term detailing the
topics covered and provided to City
Council (EDT).
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C6
12.1 EDT,
CMO
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 82
Leadership & Engagement Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP2
Engage Southlake’s
youth in community
issues and projects
being developed by
the City.
YP2.1: Hold a focus group on a topic
of interest with SYAC at least once
per year. (CS)
When appropriate, consult the
Southlake Youth Action Commission
(SYAC) as a focus group in
community initiatives being
considered by the City.
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C6
12.2,
12.4 CS
1
(Short-
Term)
YP3 Participate in a youth
job fair.
YP3.1: Host or support a youth job
fair annually. (HR)
YP3.2: Explore opportunities to
partner with at least one
community group or other
organization to help with the
promotion of this event.
YP3.3: After each youth job fair,
provide a report of the participation
in the event, partnerships, etc.
Reevaluate this event annually to
identify success or potential areas
of improvement. (HR)
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
B2, C6
9.3
HR, CS,
EDT,
FIN,
OMC
1
(Short-
Term)
YP4
Review, and if
necessary, update the
enabling ordinance
and by-laws for the
Southlake Youth
Action Commission to
ensure the scope,
duties and goals of
the Commission are
clearly defined and
speak to the purpose
of the Commission
moving forward.
YP4.1: Conduct a biennial review of
applicable ordinances and by-laws
to ensure the purpose of SYAC is
relevant. (CS)
If necessary, make changes that
address and strengthen the
Commission’s role regarding youth
engagement in Southlake.
Performance
Management
& Service
Delivery, B5
12.2,
12.4 CS
2
(Medium-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 83
Leadership & Engagement Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP5
Identify opportunities
to expand tween/teen
programming in the
Southlake Public
Library.
YP5.1: If the Southlake Public
Library expands, evaluate adding at
least one (1) new tween/teen
program within one calendar year
from expansion (LIB).
YP5.2: Seek out the input of at least
one of the youth groups in the City
(SYAC, SKIL, etc.) when researching
or developing new programming
for tweens/teens. (LIB)
This can include holding a focus
group, issuing a survey, or other
similar engagement opportunities.
Performance
Management
& Service
Delivery, B6,
C6
8.1,
8.4 LIB
2
(Medium-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 84
Leadership & Engagement Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP6
Research and pursue
the creation of a
“future ready” library.
YP6.1: Consider adding a youth
position on the Library Board. Bring
this item to City Council as a work
session item for further discussion.
(LIB)
YP6.2: Within three years of Youth
Plan Adoption, develop a proposal
for new and futuristic technology
for consideration as a budget
request and present to City Council
during a Work Session (LIB)
Incorporate new technology in the
library. The City should explore a
partnership with the Carroll
Independent School District (CISD) or
a local business to explore
opportunities for providing unique
and interactive technology not
offered by the school district, or
partner with and supplement one
another. If cost permissive, consider
adding technology such as 3-D
printers, virtual or augmented reality,
production studio equipment,
computer software, etc.
YP6.3: Incorporate more hands-on
learning in the Southlake Public
Library
Incorporate courses that encourage
interactive or do-it-yourself learning
(DIY), tinkering, making and/or
technology and adulting skills such
as robotics, coding and/or cooking
classes, etc.
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
Performance
Management
& Service
Delivery, C5,
B2, B6
8.1,
8.4,
9.2,
9.4,
12.1
LIB
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 85
Leadership & Engagement Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP7
As the City updates to
Mobility Master Plan,
include the youth
perspective during
the development of
the plan.
YP7.1: Seek out the input of at least
one of the youth groups in the City
(SYAC, SKIL, etc.), when developing
the Southlake 2035 Mobility Master
Plan. (PDS)
YP7.2: Provide an update to City
Council on the manner in which
youth feedback was considered in
this update. (PDS)
Review the input from the Youth
Master Plan (surveys, comments, etc.)
regarding mobility and
transportation and factor in this
feedback when developing the
update. Consider mobility from the
youth perspective by discussing
topics such as school zones, safety of
intersections near schools, safe
driving, pathways and trails.
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C5
12.1,
12.2
PDS,
PW
1
(Short-
Term)
YP8
As the City develops
the Health & Wellness
Master Plan, include
the youth perspective
during the
development of the
plan.
YP8.1: Seek out the input of at least
one of the youth groups in the City
(SYAC, SKIL, etc.), when developing
the Southlake 2035 Health &
Wellness Master Plan. (PDS)
YP8.2: Review the input from the
Youth Master Plan (surveys,
comments, etc.) regarding health
and wellness initiatives and factor
in this feedback when developing
the update. (PDS)
Consider health and wellness from
the youth perspective by discussing
City-related topics such as safe
driving, drug and alcohol awareness,
security in parking areas, emergency
call boxes in Town Square and
elsewhere in Southlake,
psychological support and social
outreach.
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C5
12.1,
12.2 CS,PDS
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 86
Leadership & Engagement Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP9
As the City updates
the Parks, Recreation
& Open Space /
Community Facilities
Master Plan (PROSCF),
include the youth
perspective during
the development of
the plan.
YP9.1: Seek out the input of at least
one of the youth groups in the City
(SYAC, SKIL, etc.), when developing
the Southlake 2035 PROSCF Master
Plan. (CS)
YP9.2: Review the input from the
Youth Master Plan (surveys,
comments, etc.) regarding parks
and recreation initiatives such as
the location, design, expansion and
programming of current and future
park facilities, as well as fine / public
art, recreation activities, outdoor
activities and programs, community
events and cultural events, athletic
facilities, the public library, etc. (CS)
Evaluate youth and teen trends as
they relate to park needs to ensure
the PROSCF Master Plan update
considers these needs in the
development of the plan.
YP9.3: As part of the PROSCF Master
Plan update, address the potential
development of an additional dog
park in Southlake. (CS)
YP9.4: As part of the PROSCF Master
Plan update, address the potential
development of a community
garden or a botanical garden in
Southlake. (CS)
YP9.5: Research the feasibility and
benefits related to water bottle
refilling stations in parks along high
traveled pedestrian / running
sidewalks and trails. Consider as
part of the PROSCF update. (CS)
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C5
12.1,
12.2
CS, PDS
LIB
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 87
Leadership & Engagement Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP10
As the City updates
the Sustainability
Master Plan, include
the youth perspective
during the
development of the
plan.
YP10.1: Seek out the input of at
least one of the youth groups in the
City (SYAC, SKIL, etc.), when
developing the Southlake 2035
Sustainability Master Plan. (PDS)
YP10.2: Review the input from the
Youth Master Plan (surveys,
comments, etc.) regarding
sustainability initiatives and factor
in this feedback when developing
the update. (PDS)
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C5
12.1,
12.2 PDS
2
(Medium-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 88
Safety and Health & Wellness Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP11
Promote local or
national programs
and/or initiatives
related to youth
safety.
YP11.1: Promote safety programs
and initiatives by providing
information and resources to the
public. Participate in safety
campaigns annually. (FD)
Examples of safety programs and
initiatives include drowning
prevention and water safety, bicycle
and helmet safety, heat safety,
distracted driving and car seat safety.
YP11.2: Develop an annual public
safety communication plan. (FD)
Determine the reach of these
communication efforts by tracking
web analytics, participation in
events, and other measurable items.
YP11.3: Establish communication
targets and communication goals
for each of the identified safety
campaigns for future efforts based
on the initial benchmark in YP11.2.
(OMC)
YP11.4: Annually use the City’s
various communication channels to
promote the Southlake SRO
program, and other youth safety
programs.(OMC)
Safety &
Security,
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C1, C5
5.8,
9.3,
9.4
FD, PD,
OMC,
FIN,
PDS
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 89
Safety and Health & Wellness Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP12
Identify opportunities
to add new and/or
expand youth health
& wellness
programming offered
by the City of
Southlake.
YP12.1: If economically viable, add
a minimum of two (2) new youth
health & wellness or recreation-
focused programs one year after the
grand opening of The Marq Phase 2
(Champions Club). (CS)
As Phase 2 of The Marq Southlake
(Champions Club) opens, research
and implement programming
specifically for the youth related to
health & wellness.
YP12.2: Increase the marketing
effort for the existing LiveFit
program to youth. Establish a goal
that within three (3) years of
opening Champions Club, at least
20% of LiveFit program participants
annually are youth. (CS)
YP12.3: Produce a report annually
that details participation in youth
programming by Southlake
residents.(CS)
Evaluate the involvement and
engagement in youth programming
offered by the City of Southlake to
determine future expansion.
Performance
Management
& Service
Delivery, B4,
C3
7.2,
8,1
CS,
OMC
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 90
Safety and Health & Wellness Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP13
Promote local or
national programs
and/or initiatives
related to youth
health and wellness.
YP13.1: City staff should participate
in and promote health and wellness
programs and initiatives by
providing information and
resources to the public. Participate
in health and wellness campaigns
annually. (CS)
Examples of health and wellness
programs and initiatives include
Childhood Obesity Month, National
Physical Fitness and Sports Month,
National Parks and Recreation
Month, etc.
YP13.2: Develop an annual health
and wellness communication plan.
(CS)
Determine the reach of these
communication efforts by tracking
web analytics, participation in
events, and other measurable items.
YP13.3: Establish communication
targets and communication goals
for each of the identified safety
campaigns for future efforts based
on the initial benchmark in YP13.2.
(OMC)
CS,
OMC
1
(Short-
Term)
YP14
Hold events designed
to educate youth on
various life skill topics.
YP14.1: Hold at least one (1) event
annually related to life skills for
youth. (LIB)
This can include but is not limited to
basic automobile maintenance,
financial literacy and wellness, taxes,
cooking, government and finance,
career readiness, etc.
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C6
12.1,
12.2 LIB, CS
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 91
Safety and Health & Wellness Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP15
Educate the youth on
the role of public
safety in the City of
Southlake.
YP15.1: Annually coordinate and
host a youth academy related to
public safety in the community.
Examples of possible topics include
the role of police and fire in terms of
community safety, as well as other
identified health and wellness
initiatives.
Safety &
Security, C1,
C5, C6
5.8 PD, FD
1
(Short-
Term)
YP16
Working with youth
leadership and
advisory groups in the
City of Southlake,
host a forum that
focuses on safety
and/or health and
wellness topics.
YP16.1: Host a Youth Forum. (CMO)
YP16.2: Partner with other City
boards & commissions, community
groups, and CISD to gain feedback,
input and support. (CMO)
Before hosting the forum, reach out
to these and/or similar organizations
to determine their interest level.
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C1, C5, C6
9.4,
12.3
CMO,
PD, FD,
CS, PDS,
FIN
2
(Medium
-Term)
Partnerships & Volunteerism Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP17
Continue facilitating
an “internship
program” for the
youth leadership
program
collaborating with the
Southlake Chamber
of Commerce.
YP17.1: Coordinate and implement
an annual “day of internship” for the
youth leadership program in
partnership with the Southlake
Chamber of Commerce aimed at
providing leadership skills to
students in the program.(EDT)
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
B2, C5, C6
9.3 EDT,
CMO
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 92
Partnerships & Volunteerism Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP18
Increase outreach in
terms of promoting
opportunities for
youth volunteers.
YP18.1: Evolve outreach as
technology changes to ensure that
communication regarding volunteer
opportunities reaches the youth in
the City. Track and measure the
success of current efforts and
evaluate possible future efforts
annually. (OMC) Possible future
efforts include utilizing existing
accounts or creating an additional
social media account (such as
Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter,
Facebook) for the purposes of
promoting volunteer opportunities as
well as City events.
YP18.2: Request that groups the City
partners with (Community Service
Agreements) report to the City
annually regarding youth volunteer
hours. Revise existing CSA’s to
include this request if
necessary/possible. (HR)
YP18.3: Create an annual volunteer
report that details the engagement
and involvement of volunteers in the
City of Southlake, focusing in part on
youth volunteerism. (HR)
YP18.4: Make informed outreach
decisions based upon the
information found within the annual
volunteer report. (HR)
YP18.5: Evaluate the feasibility of
developing a mobile application for
Volunteer Southlake where youth
and other volunteers can have more
readily accessible information
related to volunteering
opportunities. (IT)
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
B1, B6, C5, C6
9.2
HR,
CS,
OMC,
IT
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 93
Partnerships & Volunteerism Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP19
Where possible,
create new or expand
existing opportunities
for youth volunteers.
YP19.1: Work with CISD, local
community service organizations
and other community groups to help
promote volunteer opportunities.
Document this outreach and include
in the annual volunteer report
(YP18.3). (HR)
YP19.2: Reach out to City
departments annually as work plans
are being completed to conduct a
scan for volunteer opportunities.
Work with departments to promote
opportunities to registered
volunteers.(HR)
YP19.3: Conduct monthly volunteer
surveys to volunteers to determine
engagement levels and satisfaction
of volunteers. Analyze results to
determine youth satisfaction. Use the
survey to improve opportunities.
(HR)
19.4: Explore the possibility of
developing a day of service or other
similar event where youth and other
potential volunteers can have an
opportunity to serve either in the
Southlake area or another
surrounding community. (HR)
YP19.5: Include information
regarding the expansion of youth
volunteer opportunities in the
annual volunteer report (YP18.3)
(HR)
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
C5
12.3 HR
1
(Short-
Term)
Youth Master Plan 94
Partnerships & Volunteerism Recommendations
No. Recommendation /
Policy Implementation Metric Strategic
Link
VGO
Link Dept. Priority
Tier
YP20
Seek partnerships to
promote youth safety
programs and
initiatives.
YP19.1: Work with area school
districts to promote youth safety
initiatives – hold at least two (2)
events annually in partnership that
focus on youth topics such as safety,
wellness, etc. (FD)
This could be a companion to
recommendation YP10. An Example of
a previously held event with CISD is
the “Game Over” demonstration
focused on the dangers of driving
while impaired.
YP19.2: Keep an active inventory /
database of existing partnerships.
(CS)
Create and maintain relationships
with non-profits, hospitals, CSA’s,
private businesses and other
municipalities to expand the reach of
youth safety programs.
YP19.3: Apply for grant funding at
least once annually that could be
used in part to support youth safety
programs and initiatives. (FD)
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
Safety &
Security, B2,
C1, C5, F3
5.6,
9.1,
9.2,
9.3
FD,
PD,
CS,
FIN
1
(Short-
Term)
YP21
Develop strong
programs that
promote and
cultivate business
education for the
community’s youth.
YP20.1: Create and/or support a
youth entrepreneurship program
collaborating with local businesses
and organizations including but not
limited to the Southlake Chamber of
Commerce and the Southlake
Executive Forum. (EDT)
YP20.2: Once a program is created
and/or supported, develop an annual
report detailing the scope of the
program highlighting topics covered,
community involvement, and other
applicable items. (EDT)
Partnerships &
Volunteerism,
B2, C5, C6
9.3 EDT
1
(Short-
Term)