United Way Silicon Valley is leading this effort to improve the educational options and outcomes for disengaged and Out of School Youth. The Greater San Jose Alternative Education Collaborative is one of five district/community projects selected for funding through a national initiative by the Youth Transition Funders Group.
The Collaborative has identified the following strategies/components to this project:
- A standardized, systematic approach to planning, coordinating and evaluating the effectiveness of a continuum of alternative educational options
- A system for identifying disenrolled students in the community and assisting them to enroll in appropriate education programs
- Greater support to emerging, promising and successful educational alternatives
- Support and advocacy will be provided to school districts toward expanding successful alternative programs and support systems, and piloting new approaches to appropriate educational alternatives.
The Collaborative began its work in January 2005.
The Youth Transition Funders Group is a group of local, regional, and national philanthropies, came together in 2002 with the goal of working in partnership on behalf of at-risk youth and young adults. One of the YTFG’s three working groups focuses on struggling students and out-of-school youth. www.youthtransitions.org
Jobs for the Future is a nonprofit research, consulting and advocacy organization, works to strengthen our society by creating educational and economic opportunity for those who need it most. Jobs for the Future is the national intermediary supporting the work of the cities involved in the Initiative to Support Struggling Students and Out-of-School Youth. www.jff.org
The Coalition of Community Foundations for Youth is a nonprofit organization working with national funders, community foundations, and local communities to improve outcomes for children, youth and families. CCFY is the administrator of the Youth Transition Funders Group and the Initiative to Support Struggling Students and Out-of-School Youth. www.ccfy.org
Forming Partners
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United Way Silicon Valley
United Way Silicon Valley is leading this effort to improve the educational options and outcomes for Near Drop-Out and Out of School Youth. UWSV has formed a collaborative to expand the availability to a continuum of quality alternative educational options for youth in need. Many alternative school programs (i.e. charter school, community day school, and continuation or alternative school programs) are succeeding through sheer force of will and dedication rather than from a source of adequate support and resources. UWSV has received a 12 month planning and development grant from the Y.T.F.G. to improve the local alternative educational offering for youth. UWSV will direct the collaborative toward identifying, supporting and enhancing those programs that serve to “reconnect near-dropouts and dropouts to quality learning options.” |
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San Jose Education Foundation (SJEF)
SJEF is the leading operating foundation serving inner-city communities of San Jose. Our mission is to redefine community through the strategic support of education and youth development. SJEF creates an innovative community marketplace through the Hub & Spoke model, particularly in the area of School Readiness.
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People Acting in Community Together (PACT)
PACT provides leadership development training and support to parents, teachers, students, and other concerned community members to enable them to exercise a powerful voice in influencing public policies decisions affecting alternative education options. PACT staff provides training on access to alternative education programs and will initiate and facilitate at least one large advocacy event to build political support for the expansion and improvement of available resources.
PACT is an inter-faith, grassroots organization, representing more than 50,000 people throughout Santa Clara County. PACT initiated the Santa Clara County Alternative Schools Collaborative and has been leading the organizing effort since 2002 to call public attention to the need to create more positive alternatives to the comprehensive public high schools. |
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Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities recognizes that low-income, out-of-school youth living in the City of San Jose have limited educational opportunities, experience high crime rates, live in crowded, sub-standard housing conditions, and often have the highest child poverty rates in the County. These are primarily Latino, Vietnamese, and other youth of color who feel caught between cultures; misunderstood by their schools and families; and overwhelmed by the conflicting expectations from adults and peers at home, at school, and in the community.
Youth Outreach Services
Catholic Charities YES (Youth Empowered for Success) will provide outreach and leadership development opportunities to out-of-school youth in the City of San Jose. YES staff will work closely with the United Way and other initiative partners to reach out to out-of-school youth and provide them with the information and support they will need to get back to school.
For more information please contact Joaquin Parra Jr at 408-938-6731 or at jparra@ccsj.org. |
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