High School Completion & Lifelong Learning

United Way connects the efforts of families, volunteers, school personnel and out-of-school program staff to create community solutions that support youth at all times. We work to ensure the important adults in a youth's life have the skills they need to keep youth engaged in learning and feeling good about the future, so they will succeed in school and in life.

 

 

The 2010 Community Assessment identified critical needs in these areas:

    ·   Parent education & engagement;

    ·   Services to support learning success across the educational continuum;

    ·   Adult education & literacy;

    ·   Teen pregnancy prevention.

A few examples of how we’re setting goals and taking action.

Support school success by improving student attendance, behavior and course performance. 

 

Our strategies:

·    Provide elementary & middle school students with services that remove barriers to learning;

·    Increase evidence-based mentoring and volunteering opportunities for students & families.

 

The United Way of Lancaster County supports Project Learn, a program of the Boys and Girls Club of Lancaster. This evidence-based program works to improve the academic performance of at-risk youth through High Yield Learning Activities. Collectively, these activities help encourage children to attend school, achieve academic success and graduate from high school. 

 

    •        76% of students maintained or improved their school attendance.

    •        80% of students maintained or improved their grades over the course of the school year.

 

In our conversations about education with community members, we heard the need to create opportunities and paths for students to acquire skills needed to be successful.

 

We responded by launching Youth Venture with the School District of Lancaster, Compass Mark, and support from a local donor. Youth Venture is a youth-led program that benefits kids, the community, and schools.

In the Youth Venture program, students work with an adult mentor, community businesses and volunteers in small teams to use their passions, skills and interests to address a need they see in their school or community. All ventures must have a social purpose and a social impact. They develop a sustainable plan, present it to a panel of volunteers that will award up to $1,000 for each approved venture. The teams implement the plan, and measure the results.

 

Find out what you can to to ensure the future success of our youth by clicking here, and e-mail our Director of Education, Judi Anderson, to get involved.