Greater Sacramento UL - Serving High School Youth

Rebecca Mosley, age 19, grade 12, attended Grant Union High School. Rebecca had a hard time focusing on school so she signed up for the after school program, where she can be tutored and mentored. Rebecca started focusing. She got her grades up and graduated high school. Rebecca is the first in her family to attend college.

Lamar Sample, age 17, grade 12, attended Grant Union High School. Lamar joined the program not knowing what he wanted to do after high school. After joining the program Lamar got the chance to go on field trips to different colleges. Soon after Lamar graduated he enrolled into a college in LA.

James Sample, age 18, attended Grant Union High School. James is a highly recruited athlete who came to us for tutoring. He needed help passing his SAT to get into the college he wanted. James came to the program three times a week and received tutoring from one of our mentors. James got the score he needed and is now attending Washington State.

Houston Area Urban League - Working with 32 early child care centers in the Greater Houston area

Robert Buggs is an African American two year old boy who attends Precious Jewels School. When we first started working with Robert he was new to Precious Jewels, and was not used to sitting for long periods of time, but was always excited to learn and use the computers. As time progressed we could look to Robert to show and help teach other student in the classroom. Robert has become such a classroom leader, that he no longer argues or impatiently waits but uses every opportunity to help and teach his peers.

Urban League of Detroit & Southeastern Michigan - Project Ready and Youth Development Pilot Site serving High School Students

Community Partnerships provide the Urban League with the opportunity to recruit students outside of our in school program. Community partners help to provide resources such as curriculum material and leverage services and resources in order to help us effectively fulfill our mission in empowering communities and changing lives. Through several different projects that we have done with our students, we have been able to solidify several community partnerships. These partners have either offered in-kind service, given students career, life skills, or post-secondary educational information, or facilitated tours.

GLR Recycling Solutions facilitated a tour with our summer program students, offering not only information on community service projects where they could partner with us, but also career information. GLR offers several opportunities to visit as well as recycle.

Macomb County Community College has also been a partner who has offered their resources to our program participants. Several of our participants who were graduating seniors were able to gain admission and move successfully through their academic programs. Their School of Technology is at the forefront of the Green Technology & Renewable Energy initiatives and trainings in our state. The students had an opportunity to find out about their Renewable Energy, Battery Testing, and Green Technology programs on their south campus. We toured this facility in May 2010 and had the opportunity to view the workforce development center, as well as the schools classes of graphic arts and design, video editing/animation, harmonics, renewable energy, battery testing, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. We also had an opportunity to see the hybrid vehicles that the students are actually rebuilding and disassembling.

Through our students at Osborn High School we facilitated a purple ribbon campaign supporting non-violence in the city of Detroit. Through this connection, we gained new connections with the Better Detroit Youth Movement, St. Joseph Health Systems, & University of Michigan Law School.

Northern Virginia Urban League - Serving Middle to High School Students

The Northern Virginia Urban League has successfully integrated the Math & Science Technology Academy into its Youth Development out of school time program, serving youth in grades 6-12. The Math and Science Technology Academy is a supplemental academic service, providing additional academic support to low- to moderate-income youth, while encouraging youth to actively engage in STEM related subjects in school.

Ambriel Hurst, age 12, 6th Grader at Jefferson Houston Middle School. Ambirel is a participant in our Math & Science program at the Charles Houston community center. Ambriel has persevered through the harsh conditions of her community and surroundings to continue being an absolute peer role model for the other youth struggling with their surroundings in this low income neighborhood. Not only does she maintain a high standard of etiquette and age appropriate behavior, she maintains an 'A' average on her report cards. She is an awesome student who is constantly involved in our STEM activities and is always readily available to learn. Recently, she was chosen to be filmed alongside the Program Coordinator of the Northern Virginia Urban League in the Computer Lab working on a STEM activity, for the Annual Scholarship Awards dinner for which the theme this year is STEM.

Lacy Parker, age 18, Graduate, TC Williams High School. Lacy has truly been an inspiration to the Youth the Math & Science Technology Academy serves through our partnership with the Juvenile Justice. Lacy originally came to the Youth Services division of the NVUL through an infraction with the law and a court mandate. This was 4 years ago, 2007. He has been the keynote speaker at the DTRT honors event and has spoken on behalf of the services received from the NVUL before the Alexandria City Council. Lacy has since graduated from high school and, through assistance from the Youth Services Coordinator, has begun the YEAR Up program of the National Capital Region. Within a year, Lacy will have received his certification and college credits that are transferable to Northern Virginia Community College.

Akron Urban League - GED Program/Alternative School (Serving the drop out population from ages 16 – 24 years old)

Derrick Stevens, age 22, Gabrielle Strickland, age 22, and Taylor Thomas, age 18, are all Akron Urban League GED graduates who are all currently enrolled in the University of Akron.

All three of the students participated in the program and gained knowledge of becoming college ready. Through their participation, they were exposed to resources and information to enhance their college awareness. All three are in their second semester in post secondary education and doing very well.

Columbus Urban League (OH) - Serving Middle and High School Students

Jazmine Kee, age 16, sophomore, attends the Wellington School. Jazmine is an outstanding student with a grade point average of 4.0. Jazmine has been an inspiration to the other students. She volunteers effortlessly in the program and also tutors other students. Jazmine has been presented with a wonderful opportunity to be an exchange student for her spring break in Chile. Jazmine was our teen presenter at the Columbus Urban League's city wide talent show this year. Jazmine has improved throughout the four years she has attended our youth programs. Her self-esteem has improved greatly. She now knows who she is and where she wants to go. Jazmine is an artist of music and poetry. She wrote and showcased one of her poems at the Town Hall meeting which set the tone for the evening. Jazmine is a positive young lady and is ready to show the world what she can offer.
 

What is Youth Development?

Excellent programs in youth development should provide participants with the knowledge, skills and dispositions to be successful in school, in their communities and in the world at large. The National Urban League’s Signature Program in Youth Development developed the Framework and Guide (YDFG) is a research-based resource that to helps Urban League affiliates to build or enhance their youth development, out-of-school time and afterschool programs. The YDFG allows for a range of different approaches and focus areas, because affiliates work best in relation to local opportunities.

The goal of YDFG is to develop fully prepared, engaged and empowered young people with the cognitive, social and cultural skills needed to compete and succeed in the 21st century. Our approach achieves this by promoting and supporting meaningful professional development, capacity building and program development throughout the Urban League movement.

Youth success is often chiefly attributed to school-based factors, when in fact it depends on an array of educational and developmental opportunities. As experts such as Karen Pittman of the Forum for Youth Investment rightly suggest, “problem-free” does not mean “fully prepared” youth, nor does it equate to being “fully engaged.”

The National Urban League’s YDFG programs are appropriate for children in three age groups: elementary school, middle school and high school. YDFG describes skill-building programs in three areas:

Intellectual

• Early & Sustained Literacy
• Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM)
• Postsecondary Success (Project Ready)
• Artistic Expression & Literacy
• Entrepreneurship
• Media Literacy

Social

• Social & Cultural Identity
• Service Learning
• Environmental Advocacy

Physical & Relational

• Health & Wellness
• Fitness & Recreation

Each content area connects across age-spans. For example, the Media Literacy content area will have a P-5th grade component, a 6th-8th grade component and a 9th-12th grade component that can link together to form a developmentally appropriate 13-year pathway.

How big is it?

More than 1,200 youth were served in 2010.

What have YDFG participants achieved ?

Youth Development success stories abound throughout the movement. Click here to read just a few, from a two-year-old who became a classroom leader in Houston to 22-year-olds who went from high school dropouts to college students in Akron.

Who sponsors it?

Sprint / Nextel
U.S. Army
Praxair
Verizon Foundation