The Student Led Arts Movement (S.L.A.M.) is a Youth Speaks program offering high school students the opportunity to build, develop, and deepen the spoken word movement in their schools and communities. Through school clubs, student-initiated projects, and other campus activities, students create new avenues for self-expression, cultural dialogue, and social activism.

Youth leaders and artists create and build student clubs at their own schools. Supported by Youth Speaks, students organize events and activities in their school and community – open mics, assembly showcases, political dialogues, etc – as well as receive special opportunities. As the club grows, it can become an official S.L.A.M. affiliate and send its president or lead organizer to represent the club on the Bay Area-wide S.L.A.M. Union. Once affiliated, the club can apply to the S.L.A.M. Union for a grant to help implement its projects

Understanding SLAM: Currently, educational and development resources inherent within Youth Speaks Chapter Programs are (at least, in the current set-up) limited to teachers and students who are part of the Chapter programs. Fact is, there are not enough poet-mentors for every class in every high school in the Bay Area. And in the same respect, it is unfair to assume every high school teacher desires a Chapter residency. But for those individual students who are interested in becoming more involved with Youth Speaks and/or spoken word outside of class, there is SLAM.