Research suggests distinctive characteristics of young adolescents (middle school aged youth) regarding their physical, cognitive, moral, psychological, and social-emotional development, as well as spiritual development (Scales, 2010). Young adolescents (middle school aged youth) warrant educational experiences and schools that are organized to address their physical, intellectual, emotional/psychological, moral/ethical, spiritual, and social developmental characteristics (Caskey & Anfara, 2014). Kentucky 4-H Summit seeks to engage middle school aged youth and retain their involvement in 4-H activities through the middle school years, along with empowering youth to become active 4-H leaders on the local and state levels. Objectives of Kentucky 4-H Summit are centered on the developmental needs of middle school aged youth: 4-H Summit aims to provide youth from across the Commonwealth with the opportunity to develop leadership skills through acquiring new knowledge to take back and implement within their local communities, youth have the opportunity to belong to a group of peers and expand teamwork skills, exercise communication skills through networking with other 4-H’ers, experience generosity by giving back through a community service project, and develop relationships with role models through the Kentucky 4-H State Teen Council.
In 2018, 89 counties from across Kentucky participated in Kentucky 4-H Summit. Five (5) middle schoolers from Powell County participated in this event which is notable because this is more than double the number of youth that participated in 2018. These youth also attended D4 Middle School Retreat and have been more active in the Powell County 4-H Program in 2019 than previous years.  This is a huge success as the need to get and keep more Middle School Age youth is great in Powell County.