YSLPP Abstract

The Young Scholars Program was initiated in Utica, New York, at a meeting between the Superintendent of Utica Schools and the President of Utica College. Few, if any, minority students were graduating from T.R. Proctor High school, and the two met to discuss the plight of these students.

After two years of developing and fine-tuning, the first cohort of Young Scholars students was selected. In the summer of 1993, these students attended enrichment classes at Utica College. During the 1994-95 school year, Young Scholars became part of the New York State supported Liberty Partnerships Program (LPP). [Young Scholars Liberty Partnerships Program is also referred to as YSLPP]

Still, T. R. Proctor High School was failing its students on all fronts: a high drop-out rate, a poor graduation rate, and a dismal attendance rate. The fact that the State Education Department (SED) placed Proctor on the Schools Under Registration Review (SURR) added to the seriousness of the problem. As the district worked to improve, the SED recognized YSLPP as a positive contribution to the school's removal from the SURR list.

YSLPP students are nominated by their sixth grade teachers as student that are "at-risk," but who have potential for success. A selection committee that is made up of school district and college personnel (not YSLPP staff) reviews each student and selects those students who would benefit most from the program's services.

The YSLPP continues to support program students from 6th grade into college, offering assistance for the entire 6-16 continuum. YSLPP offers:

• A full-day summer program on the College campus to students in grades 7-9,
• College tutors to all students in grades 7-12 either during the day or after school,
• Adult mentors as role models,
• A telephone help line that calls all YSLPP students,
• Summer tutorial for all Regents classes (so that any student can retake a Regents exam in August if necessary),
• A staffed resource room at each site to assist students on a daily basis to facilitate tutoring,
• Career exploration through ScholarShop,
• Enrichment, community service opportunities, and field trips.

The goal of the YSLPP is not only to prevent high school dropout, but for students to earn Regents or Advanced Regents diplomas and to see college as a viable option.

The community has supported the YSLPP in its willingness to provide financial support and in the willingness of residents to serve on the Advisory Board. The YSLPP has a working agreement with Family Services of the Mohawk Valley Inc., which provides social work services through grants from the County Youth Bureau, the United Way, and the Liberty Partnerships Program. Through a grant from the Oneida County Division of Labor, the YSLPP is involved in the Work Investment Act, allowing Young Scholars to explore a variety of work force opportunities during the summers. The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties Inc. has supported the YSLPP financially since the program's inception, funding both initiatives and scholarships for college-bound graduates. Utica College supports the YSLPP on a variety of levels: financially, opening the resources of the College to students and the Program, and by the "Utica College Promise." YSLPP students who successfully graduate with a Regents Diploma and a C average are guaranteed acceptance to Utica College with 100 percent of the financial aid met (including loans and federal college work-study).

The demographics of the YSLPP are reflective of Utica itself. Students in grades 7-9 attend either James H. Donovan Middle School or John F. Kennedy Middle School, while students in grades 10-12 attend T.R. Proctor High School. The ethnicity of the 330 YSLPP students is as follows:

• 48 percent African-American
• 17.6 Percent Hispanic/Latino
• 25.7 percent White/Non-Hispanic, including recent immigrants from Bosnia, Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine
• 8.4percent Asian
• 0.3 percent Native American

Teaching about diversity is easy since the YSLPP lives it everyday.

Young Scholars efforts have had encouraging results with a 95 percent graduation rate from the last nine years of graduating classes and more than 80 percent of the YSLPP high school graduates are attending college. Ninety-three percent of Young Scholars have received Regents or Advanced Regents Diplomas as opposed to Proctor High School's 64 percent of graduates. Eighty-three percent of the Young Scholar graduates enrolled into college in 2007 (in New York State 77 percent of graduates earn a Regents Diploma).

The anticipated goal will be to graduate 100 percent of each cohort with no drop outs; increase the number of students scoring 85 percent or more on Regents exams, have 50 percent of YSLPP students earning Advance Regents Diplomas; and continue to place 80 percent or more of the student in college and keep them there.

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