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Kailey Reinboth has won and lost many elections. In fact, her political resume is stacked — and she hasn’t even gone to college yet.
Through the Greater Philadelphia YMCA’s Youth and Government program, she served as a two-time committee chair in a student version of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, as well as chief of staff to a teenage governor. And she recently added still more to her budding government resume.
Reinboth and nearly 100 of her fellow high school students and recent graduates spent a hot summer Wednesday in the historic chambers of City Hall to participate in the Philadelphia City Government Youth Summit. The program is a full-day “civic immersion experience” hosted by the YMCA in partnership with the Mayor’s office and City Council.
The students elected their own mayor — Cristo Rey High School graduate Jada Fagan — and assumed roles in the mayor’s cabinet, the City Council, press corps, and community advocacy groups. Their tasks were to debate, negotiate, amend, and vote on proposed legislation.
The program is a response to findings from experts like those at Tufts University that young people, especially youth of color, don’t feel qualified enough to participate in politics. It aims to build students’ civic awareness and foster skills like public speaking and critical thinking. Although Pennsylvania students are required to pass a civics test in order to graduate high school, the state has never required school districts to offer a civics course.
This was the first year the summit came to Philly. In previous years, Reinboth and other high schoolers have experimented with governing at the state level in Harrisburg.
Throughout the day, Lindsay Doyle Director of Youth Civic Engagement at the YMCA urged students to remember respect and decorum. “We are debating the ideas, not the people,” she said.
Reinboth, who will start her freshman year at Gettysburg College this fall, said her biggest takeaway from the experience was being able to communicate and talk to her peers in a respectful manner even when they disagree.
“Being able to have not just a conversation, but a civil, productive conversation, so that you can both benefit, is one of the biggest and most important things I’ve learned from this,” she said.
The Philly-area students received advice from real-life Mayor Cherelle Parker, and adult City Council President Kenyatta Johnson.
Fagan, the mayor for the day, said the summit taught her that writing sound policy and passing legislation is not a one-person job.
“No one person could get blamed for the decisions being made. It’s a full team,” she said.
Nyjera Choice, 15, a ninth grader at the Philadelphia High School for Girls and a member of the youth government press corps, also came away from the summit with a more empathetic view of her elected officials.
Having to write the legislation, consider amendments, and weigh everyone’s different interests “gives you a broader perspective of what they have to handle,” Choice said.
In their session Wednesday, the students debated legislation they’d drafted about the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Students had to consider public transit, stadium projects, policing, trash pickup, cultural beautification efforts — and budget constraints. The result was a proposed $72 million bill that would fund various priorities.
In a lively City Council session, they expressed concerns about SEPTA’s “fiscal nightmare” and debated how to keep the beleaguered transit agency solvent while allowing for city residents and tourists to easily and affordably move around. They found errors in the legislation and asked for clearer definitions of abstract concepts.
Ja’kiyah Wright, a rising senior at Universal Audenried Charter School and Youth City Council President, presided over the session. She wielded her gavel to keep councilmembers within their time restrictions and worked to ensure everyone was heard.
Ultimately, the council rejected the bill. Members agreed it needed more work in committee — and a spelling and grammar check.
Wright said even though the legislation, which she sponsored, was rejected, “It just showcased how determined we are and how engaged we are, because we can have these conversations and understand the problems with the legislation.”
Wright said she would love to be a part of Philadelphia’s local government in the future.
Actual Council President Kenyatta Johnson gave the students a passing grade on Wednesday. He said seeing them in action made him feel like the city’s future will be in great hands.
As for failing to pass their bill, Johnson said: “That’s the democratic process.”
Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.