Inspiring Minds

After school program to inspire youth to reach their full potential through education and real-life experiences. During the 2022-23 school year, 54 high school students, 40 7-8 graders and 70 3-6 graders benefitted from the program.Students in grades 3-12 participate in out-of-school learning focusing on: Education; College & Career Readiness; Health & Wellness, Personal Development; & Exposure to New Experiences. Space is available on a first-come, first-served basis; however high school students are able to participate from acceptance until graduation or if they choose not to continue.Education support improves academic performance, focuses on STEM concepts, reading & comprehension, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, homework completion & tutoring.College & Career Readiness activities include visits to colleges across the country, assistance with applications & scholarships, ACT/SAT prep & FAFSA completion. IM provides professional development & job training through resume building, mock interviews, proper dress etiquette & industry exploration tours.IM promotes Health & Wellness as youth learn about the benefits of leading a healthy, well-rounded lifestyle through physical fitness, nutrition & personal hygiene. Youth participate in physical activities to reduce obesity & improve self-esteem. Youth also learn about gardening & cooking in our onsite garden and training kitchen.Personal Development activities include service-learning projects to developing skills, attitudes & personal qualities that enable students to effectively navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well & achieve their goals.Exposure to New Experiences is designed to demonstrate to students how their dreams can take them anywhere. IM coordinates trips to provide new, eye-opening experiences that embrace culture, arts, hobbies, & interests to expose students to different ways of life & possibilities so they know what is available to them in the future if they set goals, work hard & persevere.To provide ongoing support to recent high school grads & young adults ages 17-25, IM provides Summer Career Development Program, an immersive workforce learning experience for young adults & to retain talent for the area.At the completion of the 2022-23 school year, all students promoted to the next grade level or graduated.To make certain that students are on track, IM programming includes: monitoring academic performance, offering tutoring/interventions for students struggling in one or more subjects, and taking students on college and college-related visits to ignite excitement for their future.During the 2022-23 school year, 200 hours of tutoring has been provided to 22 HS students in the subjects of English, history, algebra, geometry, pre-calculus, chemistry, physics, and general science. During the after-school program students use ProgressBook, a classroom management solution that integrates grade book, lesson plan development, attendance, special education, and parent communication into one comprehensive, web-based system, to review their GPA, assignments and attendance which is then checked by IM staff. Any student with grades of D or F are flagged to receive tutoring. IM mentors also reinforce with the students the concept of staying on target with academics. IM staff has built a relationship with Warren G. Harding High School and is able to participate in students Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings along with parents to help make sure that students succeed. IM also encourages parents to participate in parent-teacher conferences.In 2023 our college-going seniors have completed FAFSA, ACT/SAT testing, college applications, and scholarship applications as part of their post-high school preparations. Students have toured Kent State University, Penn State Shenango, and attended an HBCU College Fair in Cleveland and the MPower Men of Color Summit at Kent. Students also went on industry tours to: Toyota of Warren, Liberty Steel, Meijer, Staples, and Youngstown Business Incubator. For fun rewards, students got to go to a Cleveland Cavaliers game, bowling, and a YSU football game.This program was also supported during the year by in kind donations of services including classroom use valued at $20,000; transportation services to bring students to the program each day and back home that is valued at $10,000, and training services valued at $3,000, videography services valued at $5,000, Advertising services valued at $2,500 and organizational development services valued at $2,500.