Schuylkill County commissioners will convene the second annual Schuylkill County Youth Summit on March 20 at the Schuylkill County Courthouse.

This year's summit will again bring together youth from all county high schools to engage them in making the county a better place for them to live, work, play and raise their families.The summit has been designed with student guidance to focus on three issues that the school survey of last year identified as of high importance to students.In the morningsessions, student groups will hold discussion with community leaders to shape specific proposalsfor solutions to these issues.In the afternoon, these proposals will be presented to a mock student "borough council" and the council members will choose one to become the focus of community interaction this year.After the summit, there will be three community meetings in different parts of the county where government officials, residents and others can come to discuss the issue the summit identified. These meetings will be student-driven. This information will then be brought to the next summit which will plan a countywide student response.In addition to the day of the summit itself, throughout the year there have been ongoing meetings between the commissioners and the student Youth Ambassadors.These meetings have been productive conversations in which students' opinions are expressed on a number of issues. An active community advisory group meets monthly to provide suggestions on how to support the students in many ways.As the summit continues to develop, its basic mission to engage, equip and support local youth remains the primaryfocus.Last year's student team projects have demonstrated that students can positively impact their communities with the support of community organizations.The 2014 summit will expand the students' involvement and reach.For more information, contact Kay Jones, Schuylkill County's VISION at 570-622-6097 or

kjones@schuylkillvision.com.