DE LA SALLE EDUCATION CENTER

DELASALLE EDUCATION CENTER SEEKS TO ADDRESS THE SIGNIFICANT LIFE BARRIERS OF KANSAS CITY'S MOST UNDERSERVED URBAN YOUTH SEEKING LIFE-LONG SUCCESS THROUGH A PERSONALIZED AND RIGOROUS COURSE OF STUDY, HOLISTIC NETWORK SERVICES AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. SINCE ITS INCEPTION, DELASALLE HAS BASED ITS PROGRAM MODEL ON THREE PRIMARY INGREDIENTS FOR STUDENT SUCCESS: (1) ACADEMIC CLASSES THAT ARE SMALL, RIGOROUS AND PERSONALIZED, (2) HOLISTIC SUPPORT SERVICES SUCH AS MENTAL HEALTH THERAPY THAT PROVIDES ON-SITE INTERVENTIONS AND ADDRESS STUDENTS' LIFE BARRIERS AND (3) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT TRAINING THAT IS INTEGRATED INTO EVERYDAY LEARNING LIKE THROUGH DELASALLE'S AWARD-WINNING PRINTING PROGRAM. MOST RECENTLY, DELASALLE ALSO SERVES THE STUDENTS HOUSED IN THE JACKSON COUNTY JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER. DELASALLE HAS SERVED MORE THAN 12,000 STUDENTS. NEARLY ALL THESE YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT SUCCESS WHILE ENROLLED AT DELASALLE, AS MEASURED THROUGH MULTIPLE VARIABLES. THESE INCLUDE STUDENT AND GRADUATE SATISFACTION, ENRICHED SENSE OF STUDENT HOPE, ACADEMIC GAINS, ATTENDANCE GAINS, INCREASED RETENTION IN SCHOOL, IMPROVED GRADUATION RATES AND EVIDENCE OF CAREER AND POST-SECONDARY SUCCESS. FROM ITS FOUNDING, DELASALLE HAS EMPLOYED A COMPREHENSIVE AND INDIVIDUALIZED APPROACH TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE. MORE THAN ANY OTHER CHARACTERISTIC OF THE PROGRAM'S EFFECTIVENESS, STUDENTS HAVE CONSISTENTLY REPORTED DEEP SATISFACTION IN RECEIVING SUCH PERSONALIZED AND HOLISTIC SERVICES. THE BELIEF IN THE VALUE OF DELASALLE'S SERVICES ON THE PART OF ITS STUDENT BODY, AND THE DESIRE TO REMAIN IN DELASALLE EVEN IN THE FACE OF SOMETIMES OVERWHELMING PERSONAL AND FAMILIAL PROBLEMS, HAS BEEN, AND CONTINUES TO BE, THE FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENT FOR ALL STUDENT SUCCESS. REPORTS OF STUDENT SATISFACTION WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN THE DISSEMINATION OF DELASALLE'S PROGRAM MODEL THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY FROM 1989 TO 1993. AT THE TIME, THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOUND DELASALLE TO BE "A PROGRAM OF CONVINCING EFFECTIVENESS" THAT IMPROVED STUDENT SELF-ESTEEM AND SATISFACTION AND FUNDED ITS REPLICATION AND DISSEMINATION IN OVER SEVENTY SITES DURING THAT PERIOD.