Philosophy

• Coming Together - Youth come together to organize their energy and resources toward returning to school.
• Changing Our Mindsets - Youth participate in life-changing activities, such as tutoring younger youth, presenting at educational conferences, and taking college classes in order to to see themselves and their education from a different perspective.
• Speaking Up for Ourselves - Building upon the knowledge gained through school experience, youth learn to be their own best advocates and how to get the most out of their education.
• Returning to School - Youth do research, interview students and teachers, and investigate school programs to make informed choices upon returning to school.
• Succeeding in School - Youth engage in academic catch-up activities, mentoring, homework labs, and support groups to increase their success in school.
• Reaching out and Inspiring Others to Return to School - Youth returning to school reach out to out-of-school youth in their neighborhoods to inspire them to return to school.

CYC Solution to the Dropout Crisis

• Make solving the dropout crisis a state and national priority - We need a sustained effort over many years with sufficient resources to address the problem.  CYC is working with a collaboration called the Statewide Dropout Initiative to meet the Governor's challenge of halving the dropout rate by 2017.  Through a review of the investment of resources at the state and local level being spent on serving at-risk youth, we can start to look at more collaborative approaches such as data sharing, blended funding streams, and more effective and targeted approaches toward a shared youth vision.
• Strategies based on national research & local data analysis - National research is pointing the way toward looking at behavioral characteristics of students, instead of only demographics, so that systematic approaches with early warning systems and tiered interventions can be created.  CYC works with school districts to analyze data on dropouts and those still in school but substantially behind, in order to design educational programs for at-risk youth.
• Dropout outreach & recovery - Dropouts are ready and willing to return to school, but need assistance in finding a school appropriate for them, and also accessing these educational programs.  CYC has outreach specialists in DPS and APS to locate high school dropouts and help them return to school.  In 2008, CYC specialists contacted over 900 out-of-school youth and helped 175 re-enroll in high school educational programs.
• Dropout intervention - National research indicates that 9th graders not moving to 10th grade on time by credit are much more likely to drop out of school.  CYC is coordinating efforts at West High School in DPS and also in six APS high schools to intervene in 9th grade utilizing data analysis and tiered strategies to ensure that all 9th graders move successfully to 10th grade.
• New school creation - Although there are large numbers of out-of-school youth wanting to return to school, there are not enough seats in appropriate schools to serve them.  CYC analyzes the educational characteristics of students who have dropped out of school in order to create educational programs that fit their needs.  In 2007 CYC co-founded the West Career Academy, a school within a school to serve students who had dropped out with junior and senior credit, so that they could attain their diplomas and also start a career- tech training program.