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American YouthWorks C-CorpsLocation:216 East 4th Street, Austin, 78701 DescriptionC-Corps is a program of American Youth Works (AYW), a charter high school for students who have experienced difficulty getting their education in Austin public schools. C-Corps trains high school students and youth who are preparing for the GED in computer use and web design, then employs them as AmeriCorps members in a variety of service learning projects that benefit the community. Members teach computer skills at other CTCs, design web sites for local nonprofits, and refurbish donated computers for sale in the Goodwill Computer Store. The majority of participants are from East Austin. What makes this program distinctive in the group?The C-Corps program is a service learning program based in a charter high school. It serves its members with technology training and also serves the community by empowering these students to help others. The parent organization, American YouthWorks, has been successful for many years at incorporating new sources of funding to expand opportunities for its participants, evolving from an outreach program to prisoners into a thriving charter high school with a health clinic. AYW owns the property it occupies, giving it a stability that positively impacts future planning. Vision and Community OwnershipAmerican YouthWorks was created not as a grassroots community organization, but as a service provider. Program staff are largely professional educators and human services professionals. However, the current organization places a high priority on student input, using such vehicles as the student Policy Council at the charter school. In C-Corps, individual and the group have choices about which community projects they pursue and which sites they teach at. The organization sees itself as responsible to both students and the communities they live in, and it fulfills both responsibilities through the community-based service learning projects. Many students are attracted to the charter school and other programs through word of mouth from other participants. At the C-Corps site, participants feel comfortable in the space and spend time socializing there as well as training and working. However, the downtown location of the school places it outside the participants' physical neighborhoods. None live within walking distance. The choice of downtown location was in part financial, but also strategic, with the goal of creating "neutral territory" where students of all ethnic backgrounds could feel comfortable. This strategy creates a feeling of ownership by the school community, rather than a particular neighborhood. Comprehensive ProgrammingAnother reason the main charter school and C-Corps project are located downtown is because of its easy access to bus lines, which most students use to get to school. This is just one example of the American YouthWorks investment in removing barriers to access - in this case, transportation. General and substance abuse counseling, job skills training, tutoring, GED and ESL classes, and health services are provided on site in an explicit effort to address obstacles that could keep participants from receiving an education. Programs have changed over the years as participants indicated that their needs were not being addressed and as staff understood more about the community's needs. For example, the original focus of the program was on outreach to prisoners, but that focus was expanded as staff began to understand that lack of education was a primary factor in many prisoners' histories. Technology education was not originally a mission of the organization, but as media attention and funding increased on the topic of the digital divide, AYW took advantage of that development. Rebecca Benz, principal of the charter school, says her dream is to find some way to establish a Tech Academy, co-located with C-Corps, where participants could earn certifications and complete diploma coursework through technology. This would provide more options, so students could find a way to pursue an education that works for their individual needs and learning style. She also wants to explore how to develop the sites served by C-Corps members into "little one-room schools" that offer more comprehensive resources for education in the communities where students live and work. Learning OpportunitiesAYW and C-Corps programs are meant to be more accessible to students than traditional public school programs. They offer shorter class days, more flexible instruction, and project-based learning. Project-based learning is stressed by staff because their students are often handling adult responsibilities such as parenting and employment. Benz says that to do otherwise is the equivalent of asking adults to "play pretend" in order to learn. Benz adds that solving problems in the community gives participants more feeling of control over their own lives. Participants at C-Corps are required to take structured classes, but also have time to learn independently or with others, and they choose which projects they want to work on. Students respond positively to less-structured learning opportunities, and few express a desire for "more structured classes." The structure of the C-Corps program comes from the service contracts signed by each member and their pledge to attend all scheduled work assignments at CTCs where they teach or act as lab monitors. Curriculum at C-Corps was initially purchased, but then modified as staff gained experience using it with each group of students. One example of C-Corps flexibility is the way teaching assignments are handled. Once placed in teaching location, there is no set schedule for when and how members move from observing a teacher to team teaching to teaching alone. Students decide when they are ready to move to the next level, and they are not required to "finish" the program by teaching alone. The emphasis is on comfort and confidence in using the technology and sharing it with others. Another example is the extensive availability of free time in which to use computers. Participants are welcome in the lab when they are not in class or working, and they are able to use the lab without constant staff "monitoring." Youn has a degree in Social Work as well as several years experience in the high tech industry, which makes him ideal for both teaching and supporting the students. The C-Corps students' schedule includes one day per week where they stay at the building instead of working at other sites. This day is used to "reconnect" and involves planning around work tasks as well as general time for staff and students to talk. There are certain tasks that must be accomplished during this day, but staff maintain an easygoing, flexible atmosphere. Their style of leadership mixed with support weakens the barrier of hierarchy that can make public school structures difficult for many students. Self-RelianceAmerican YouthWorks is a model organization in terms of funding diversification. Rebecca Benz attributes their current strong mix of funding sources to the foresight of their Board. The Board had called for change when 80% of the AYW budget was funded by the Job Training and Partnership Act and BEFORE the program ended and caused a crisis. AYW is now sufficiently large and well-funded to support a development department, and it receives funds from the city, county, Department of Education, Corporation for National Service, private foundations, and other sources. One example of AYW's constant search for resources to sustain and build the organization is the organization's 2001 receipt of a TIF grant. Its eligibility for this grant is based on its charter school status, and it wouldn't have been eligible if it had stayed "just" a nonprofit. The evolution into a charter school created new opportunities. The TIF funds will be used to hire personnel for intensive teacher training in using technology in the classroom. Laptops will also be purchased for teachers, to help them get familiar with new technology and teaching approaches. AYW owns the main downtown buildings it uses and has been able to renovate them for its purposes. In addition to the stability a permanent space provides, Youn feels that moving into the downtown sites was a good move to increase the visibility of the organization. Visibility is always good for reasons of funding. The sites where C-Corps members work, in contrast, are owned or rented by other organizations. C-Corps staff do not have as much control over those spaces, and there they are providing services under the auspices of another organization. The C-Corps program is currently facing uncertainty about its major source of funding, the Department of Education, but a backup plan is in place that would preserve the program. However, the other large source of funding is from the AmeriCorps national service program, and its loss would damage the program because so many students rely on their stipends for living expenses. Other funded service programs within AYW might be able to absorb some of the students, but those programs have a different focus and the interruption would be detrimental to students' progress. American YouthWorks is also a model program for maintaining in-house technical expertise. AYW has had no difficulty in retaining their in-house technical staff over the years, and Benz attributes this to the constantly expanding and evolving use of technology in the organization - she believes tech people like to be constantly learning, and AYW provides a setting where that's necessary to do the job. Staff turnover at C-Corps was initially high, but Youn credits this to the earlier Program Managers' discomfort with running a new program - a discomfort which he does not share. Technology upgrades at C-Corps are always in short supply, but there is considerable technical expertise within C-Corps staff and participants for repairs and installation of computers and software. Benz described AYW as historically ahead of technological trends. They were the first organization in Central Texas to use computers in GED Study, and a CD-ROM project that used participants and community members as Subject Matter Experts in substance abuse won Best of Show at Comdex several years ago. Social CapitalAmerican YouthWorks is also a strong organization in its development of bridging social capital, but it does not have as much of a focus on developing bonding social capital in the neighborhoods where students live. Participants in C-Corps serve as teachers and mentors in CTC projects in East Austin, but they seem more connected to other AYW participants and the other non-CTC organizations they work with (Goodwill, the Humane Society, Casa Marianella) than they do with their home neighborhoods. Students feel comfortable talking with C-Corps staff about computer, work, and personal issues. They also ask other students for help with computers and other matters. However, they don't feel they can get help from people in their neighborhoods. The location of the center and its primary focus on students, rather than a specific neighborhood, explains this effect. Also, C-Corps participants are working in lower-income neighborhoods in East Austin, but they might not necessarily be working near their homes. The definition of "community" that AYW uses when selecting projects is not tied to geography, but rather encompasses all of the groups in Austin that their students have come from. This is a positive example of bridging social capital, where people from several groups are connected. The most important point to remember is that students arrive at the charter school because they were at risk of dropping out of public school and becoming disconnected from the educational system. American YouthWorks has a 70% retention rate, keeping these students connected to an educational institution with a variety of support services and staff who can help them find opportunities. Students take more control over their education in this setting, developing confidence by giving feedback and input into a program where their ideas are valued. Students report increased participation in community events after joining C-Corps, showing a spillover effect from this increased confidence. The organization itself has funding and program partnerships with other organizations in Austin. They are linked to all the sites where participants work, and the health clinic is operated in cooperation with People's Community Clinic. C-Corps is currently looking for new ways to connect with other technology programs in the city. Youn also expressed a desire for more corporate partnerships and a stronger relationship with the Austin City Council, as recognition of the resource AYW is to the community. Final ThoughtsAs was discussed in our research group's discussion with CTCs at the Barbara Jordan Forum, the primary desire expressed by C-Corps participants was for "more": more kinds of classes, more tools and supplies, more materials, more computers, and more volunteers and staff. They also expressed a desire for child care, which is a barrier that AYW hasn't yet been able to address. Youn's goal for the C-Corps program is to expand into increased development of the economic factors of social capital for students: job training, entrepreneurial training, increased technical training, and ultimately employment. He envisions the program providing "complete self-sufficiency tools" for students. This vision is a perfect complement to AYW and C-Corps because it builds on their strengths - creating opportunities and connections for students with all available resuorces, respecting youth as people and as learners, and providing a range of learning opportunities so students can find a path that works for them. |
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