Navigator Newsletter

Black United Fund Awards Exec. Dir. Sheila Venson

YCCS Executive Director Sheila Venson received the 2011 Torch Flame of Excellence award for her leadership at Youth  Connection Charter School from the Black United Fund on October 8 at the Parkway Ballroom. The Black United Fund is a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the African-American experience through community partnership. The award honors individuals who have found exceptional success and made a significant positive impact in mentoring African-American youth. Read more

YCCS Students Meet African American HistoryMakers

Students at five YCCS campuses participated in The HistoryMakers 2nd Annual Back to School program on Friday, September 23rd. The HistoryMakers is a nonprofit organization, which archives interviews of influential African Americans. The Back to School Program gives students an opportunity to hear from renowned leaders from around the country. Read more

SPED Boot Camp Prepares YCCS Teachers for Increased

Enrollment of Students with Special Needs

Special needs students currently make up 20-22% of YCCS’ total enrollment – a number that has grown steadily in size, in complexity of service requirements, and in expense each year since YCCS received its charter in 1997. There are 665 special needs students enrolled this fall in the 23 YCCS campuses. From August 15th - August 26th, 2011, YCCS held a “boot camp” at the Hype Park Ramada Inn for the 35 teachers who need to meet and exceed the challenge of providing high-quality, regulation compliant services to these students. Read more

Friends Advocate YCCS Mission

One of the greatest risks to the economic vitality of the Chicago community is the lack of young people graduating from high school and without the required skills to be successful. Since its inception in 1997, YCCS has endeavored to provide a quality educational experience for those students that have dropped out or are at risk of dropping out of high school. Read more

Miss Jean Awards to 16 YCCS Grads

Sixteen YCCS 2011 graduates will receive financial support during their first year of college as recipients of the Miss Jean Award. Named in honor of former (and now deceased) YCCS board member Loretta Jean, the award provides a stipend and year-long mentoring to the following YCCS grads to assist their success in college. Read more

YouthBuild Spotlights YCCS

The National Schools Initiative will spotlight two YCCS campuses during their 2nd annual YouthBuild USA conference held in Chicago this year on November 17. Attendees will visit Youth Connection Leadership Academy (YCLA) and Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School for presentations on their programs. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Schools Initiative strives to prepare high school age students to transition successfully to higher education and careers. YouthBuild USA is collaborating with 40 schools and programs throughout the United States and in the U.S. Virgin Islands to provide grants for technical training and professional development for educators.

Media Links

YCCS Executive Director Sheila Venson and Truman Middle College were featured in a Chicago Tonight segment on Monday, November 7th at 7 p.m. on public television station WTTW/Channel 11. Investigative Reporter Elizabeth Brackett and crew interviewed and filmed Venson, Truman Middle College High School Principal MaryAnn Soley, faculty and students on October 28 as part of WTTW’s The American Graduate Initiative, a series of programming and online media activities addressing the high school dropout crisis. Read more

K-12 at Malcolm X a charter school success story Read more

Scholastic Administrator Late Fall 2011 “Dropouts” follows YCCS and two other school districts’ blueprints for success. Read more

Interviews

WBEZ tells the story of Davonte McMullen and his search for alternative education. Read more

NPR addresses the drop out crisis in Chicago. Hear the story of Youth Connection Leadership Academy’s Patrick Lundvick. Read more

WBEZ Interviews Innovations student Chanel Sosa-Strain Read more