YOUTH ADVANCEMENT
A Generation of Youth are in Crisis
An alarmingly high rate of New York City students do not graduate from high school nor do they have the basic skills to compete in today's information economy. As adults, many of these young people will experience irregular employment, work in low-wage jobs and live in poverty. The NYCLC seeks to create a movement of churches and Christian leaders transforming the success rate of today's youth through prayer, mentoring and service.
NYCLC Programs
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20/20 Vision for Schools: 20/20 exists to transform public education within a single generation of students by mobilizing churches to come alongside their local public schools for advocacy and service. Our vision is to reverse decades of chronic under-performance and to graduate students in record numbers, with the skills and character necessary to achieve success in life...click here for more information
Passing the Test
By Jeremy Del Rio, Esq.
Should it matter to us that the average graduate of America's city schools reads at an eighth grade level? Ironically, it matters to America's prison wardens. Each state allocates their prison construction dollars based on the reading scores of its fourth graders...click here to download article
An Engaged Leader
Louis Carlo, Abounding Grace Church - Lower East Side Manhattan
Louis and the congregation initially had limited success in working together with their local public school to serve the youth. It wasn't until they crafted a new model of engagement that their partnership with the school blossomed. They asked the school administration what their needs were and how the church could serve the school. A painting project, an annual BBQ for 7th and 8th graders and an annual breakfast for the teachers and administration have resulted. At the 2009 graduation, the school principal stated that more students were graduating than ever in June 2009 and that this was by far the most well attended graduation in her tenure. "That wasn't by chance," says Louis. "I believe the regular prayer by the church and the relationships that have been developed have resulted in kids staying in school and parents being involved."
Exponential Impact: This model of public school adoption by a local church has become known as the "20/20 Vision for Schools" initiative. The NYCLC has partnered with the Coalition of Urban Youth Workers to spread the model to churches across the Greater New York region.