Interest in bridging the achievement gap is at its apogee. Regardless of race, gender, home environment, or the community or housing complex our students come from, high expectations for their behavior and academic performance will not change without action. The Young Men?s Initiative College Tour is our call to action.? It is a goal actualization process that is geared toward giving our young males the inspiration to ?live outside the block?.? On our first tour we visited Pennsylvania State, Eastern Mennonite University, Howard University, Mount Aloysius College and Georgetown.
The Young Men?s Initiative College Tours at Lehman YABC is a multifaceted program aimed at increasing opportunities for minority male students through post-secondary education.?? This program has a total wrap around approach that not only changes the physical setting but much more:
1.? Changing the Habit of Mind: Habits are an important part of everyone?s life.? We must get our young men to increase habits that will enable them to be successful in High School and most importantly in College.
2.?? Literacy:?? Studies have shown that reading builds self-esteem. The more you read, the more knowledgeable you become. With more knowledge comes more confidence.
3.? Mentorships: ?Mentors will guide and motivate participants to set and achieve academic and personal goals.? Mentors will maintain regular communication with program participants? and their families.
4.? Academics: To foster success with our young men we will identify and coordinate academic and socio-emotional resources for program participants and their families.? Students will be encouraged to think BIG outside of High School.? The students will be taught that they can be anything they want to be, ANYTHING.
5.? The Motivational Component:?We will train our young males on how to positively self-advocate and how to focus on achieving their goals in spite of all of the obstacles that they will encounter.
We must continue to increase the number of Black and Latino male college graduates.? The Young Men?s Initiative College Tours at Lehman YABC is one of many enrichment programs provided to our students.? Our goal is success!
Sincerely,
Martin Smallhorne, Site Administrator
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