YouthBuild Public Charter School
WISH LIST: $100: steel-toed work boots for two YouthBuild students; $500: 1-day conflict resolution training for 10 students; $1000: First Aid, CPR, and OSHA safety training for 10 students
A small, bilingual, alternative public charter school, YouthBuild offers young people ages 16-24 who have dropped out, aged out, or been expelled from traditional high schools, a unique second chance. In an intimate, supportive school environment they earn a GED degree, acquire the skills needed to be successful in college or the workplace, and navigate the transition to adulthood. And this is no mean feat: 100% are low-income; more than a third are parents themselves; another third speak limited or no English. Most begin with extremely low math and reading levels (often the reason they dropped out in the first place). At YouthBuild, students alternate between school (serious academics and computer, job-readiness, and life skills) and a construction site (10 affordable housing units were built this year). Community service is also an important part of the program. So building means many things: building knowledge, building character, building homes, building lives. Young people who typically feel they have nothing to offer leave YouthBuild with a different perspective: “I built that,” they say. They have built even more.
 |
 |
     |
|
Arthur Dade Executive Director |
|
 |
|
