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Flintridge Center Serving Youth
Education Jun 08, 2017
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This week, local nonprofit Flintridge Center celebrated the success of their Youth of Promise (YOP) program and launched a new session of SKILLZ Summer School.
Through YOP and SKILLZ, Flintridge Center serves over 100 young people at risk of dropping out of school and/or becoming involved in the juvenile justice system every year. Youth can join the YOP program to get one-on-one mentoring from caring adults, academic support, life skills, community service experience, fun field trips, and more. Community leaders from the Pasadena Fire Department, Police Department, and other sectors volunteer to mentor youth and help guide them through life challenges, while Flintridge case managers help youth set goals and meet their needs. SKILLZ is an intensive summer school program that helps struggling students improve the math skills they need to raise their grades, while also supporting them with life skills and emotional guidance.
Thanks to over 50 donors from the Pasadena community and beyond, Flintridge Center recently raised over $8,000 to buy backpacks and school supplies for youth, and to fund field trips and leadership development opportunities.
The youth Flintridge Center serves, face immense barriers to academic success and emotional safety. Challenges include incarcerated family members, community violence, low family income, and a lack of affordable housing options.
Despite these challenges, Flintridge Center’s Youth of Promise had a particularly successful academic year. Of the 30 youth enrolled in the year-round program, 25 participated in weekly tutoring, 15 improved their grade point averages, 20 improved their behavior in school, and 2 long-term participants graduated from high school and will be pursuing higher education in the fall. A critical component of YOP’s academic success this year was our partnerships with Pasadena City College’s (PCC) Transfer Office and community organization Aspires West Student Success Center. PCC provided tutors to work with high school students twice a week at Flintridge Center, as well as providing tutors to support Aspires, who worked with YOP middle school students twice a week. This unique partnership allowed the 25 YOP students and an additional 35 students from the community to receive tutoring services at little or no cost to the families.
On Monday, Flintridge welcomed over 80 youth to SKILLZ Summer School at Lake Avenue Church, coordinated in collaboration with Lake Avenue Community Foundation, Day One, College Access Plan, and Pasadena Unified School District. In addition to working on math and life skills, students have the opportunity to hear from inspirational community leaders who visit the program weekly. The program lasts through July 6.
Learn more about Flintridge Center’s youth and adult programs at their website.
