THE YOUNG PEOPLE'S PROJECT INC

THE MATH LITERACY WORKER (MLW) DEVELOPMENT MODEL THE HEART OF YPP IS ITS CASCADING NEAR-PEER INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL, WHICH RECRUITS AND TRAINS HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS FROM UNDER-RESOURCED COMMUNITIES TO SERVE AS MATH LITERACY WORKERS (MLWS). THESE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE NOT JUST TUTORS; THEY BECOME "AGENTS OF EMPOWERMENT" WHO PROVIDE MATH DEVELOPMENT AND LEADERSHIP FOR THEIR YOUNGER PEERS IN GRADES 3-8. THE DEVELOPMENTAL PIPELINE INCLUDES: INTENSIVE TRAINING: ALL MLW'S RECEIVE A MINIMUM OF 20 HOURS IN THEIR INITIAL TRAINING. LEAD MLWS RECEIVE 60 TO 120 HOURS OF HANDS-ON LEARNING WITHIN THE MATH AND COMPUTATIONAL THINKING LAB (MCTL) IN CAMBRIDGE, OR IN YPP TRAINING CENTERS NATIONALLY, FOCUSING ON PEDAGOGY, COMPUTATIONAL THINKING, AND WORKSHOP FACILITATION. PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION: MLWS EARN DIGITAL BADGES FOR COMPETENCIES LIKE CONCEPTUAL FLEXIBILITY, LEADERSHIP, AND EMPATHY, EXPLICITLY LINKING THEIR WORK TO HIGH-DEMAND STEM CAREER PATHWAYS. PAID EMPLOYMENT: RECOGNIZING THAT FINANCIAL SECURITY IS A BARRIER, YPP PROVIDES PAID STIPENDS OR HOURLY WAGES, WHICH HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BENEFIT "AT-RISK" YOUTH EVEN A DECADE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL. MEASURABLE OUTCOMES AND IMPACT METRICS YPP UTILIZES A COMBINATION OF SATELLITE, MAP, AND STREET DATA TO PROVE THE EFFICACY OF ITS MODEL. RECENT OUTCOMES INCLUDE: ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE: 100% OF HIGH SCHOOL MLWS GRADUATE ON TIME AND 85% ENROLL IN COLLEGE. MATH MASTERY: 90% OF MLWS IMPROVE THEIR OWN MATH CONTENT SCORES AFTER PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAM. STUDENT GROWTH PERCENTILE (SGP): IN 2024, YPP 8TH GRADERS ACHIEVED AN MCAS GROWTH PERCENTILE OF 83.1, VASTLY OUTPERFORMING NON-YPP PEERS WHO AVERAGED 68.1. MCAS GAINS: LOW-INCOME YPP 7TH GRADERS OUTPERFORMED THEIR DISTRICT PEERS ACROSS ALL FIVE MCAS MATH DOMAINS, WITH DIFFERENCES RANGING FROM 6 TO 21 PERCENTAGE POINTS. MINDSET SHIFTS: OVER 70% OF MLWS REPORT A POSITIVE AFFECT FOR MATH, REPORTING REDUCED MATH ANXIETY AND INCREASED SELF-CONFIDENCE. STREET DATA: HIGHLIGHTS AND NARRATIVES THE "STREET DATA" FRAMEWORK CAPTURES THE QUALITATIVE SHIFT IN IDENTITY THAT OCCURS THROUGH THE PROGRAM. AN MLW, HIGHLIGHTED THIS TRANSFORMATION: "YPP HAS TAUGHT ME THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING-NOT JUST HEARING, BUT TRULY UNDERSTANDING... BEING A LEADER HERE MEANS MORE THAN MAKING DECISIONS; IT'S ABOUT STEPPING BACK, LETTING OTHERS SHARE IDEAS, AND DOING WHAT'S BEST FOR THE GROUP". OTHER HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: TEACHER OBSERVATIONS: EDUCATORS NOTE THAT MATHEMATICAL PRACTICES, SUCH AS "CRITIQUING THE REASONING OF OTHERS," OCCUR NATURALLY IN YPP'S PEER-TO-PEER SETTINGS WHERE MLWS FRAME QUESTIONS RATHER THAN JUST PROVIDING ANSWERS. ?PARENTAL FEEDBACK: ONE PARENT OBSERVED THAT HER DAUGHTER, WHO PREVIOUSLY VIEWED MATH AS A "NIGHTMARE," BEGAN "THINKING LIKE A MATHEMATICIAN- AND REGAINED HER CONFIDENCE AFTER JOINING YPP. ?LEADERSHIP LEGACY: THE ORGANIZATION'S SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM IS COMPOSED OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE BEEN WITH YPP FOR 10 TO 26 YEARS, MANY STARTING AS MIDDLE OR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THEMSELVES, ILLUSTRATING THE LONG-TERM STABILITY AND DEEP COMMUNITY ROOTS OF THE MODEL. CORE PROGRAMS 1. FLAGWAY FOCUS: AN EMBODIED MATH "SPORT" PLAYED ON A GIANT FLOOR STRUCTURE WHERE STUDENTS MASTER NUMBER SENSE, PRIME FACTORIZATION, AND ALGEBRAIC SUBSTITUTION THROUGH MOVEMENT AND TEAMWORK. MISSION ALIGNMENT: DEMOCRATIZES HIGH-QUALITY MATH LEARNING BY TRANSFORMING "GATEKEEPER" CONTENT INTO A JOYFUL, COMMUNITY-CELEBRATED SPORT. OUTCOMES: AIM FOR 95% OF PARTICIPANTS TO DEMONSTRATE INCREASED MATH PROFICIENCY; ENSURE 83% HIGH ATTENDANCE FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS RECEIVING 29 HOURS OF ENRICHMENT. ?TANGIBLE IMPACT METRICS: PARTICIPANTS AVERAGE A 21% GAIN IN PRE/POST CONTENT TEST SCORES; PAUS PARTICIPANTS ACHIEVED AN MCAS GROWTH PERCENTILE OF 70.8, 14.3% HIGHER THAN PEERS. QUOTE/NARRATIVE: AN MLW SHARED: "MATH WASN'T ALWAYS MY FAVORITE SUBJECT BUT LEARNING FLAGWAY MADE IT MORE FUN... LEARNING FLAGWAY GAVE ME CONFIDENCE- NOT JUST IN MATH BUT IN OTHER SUBJECTS TOO". ?HIGHLIGHT: A CAMBRIDGE PRINCIPAL STATED: "YPP MAY NOT BE THE ANSWER FOR EVERY CHILD, BUT IT IS THE ANSWER FOR THE COMMUNITY, THAT WE BEGIN TO SEE OUR CHILDREN DIFFERENTLY, THAT WE BEGIN TO BELIEVE IN THEM". 2. MATH PLAYGROUND FOCUS: A FLEXIBLE SERIES OF INTERACTIVE MATH "LANDS" (NUMBER DISCOVERY, FLAGWAY, ALGEBRA, FRACTIONS) WHERE STUDENTS ACT AS BOTH LEARNERS AND DESIGNERS OF MATH GAMES. MISSION ALIGNMENT: CULTIVATES YOUTH AGENCY AND PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP BY ALLOWING STUDENTS TO DECIDE HOW THEY LEARN AND TEACH OTHERS. ?OUTCOMES: EXPAND REACH TO 2-6 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS ANNUALLY; ACHIEVE PARTICIPATION FROM 300+ STUDENTS AND FAMILIES IN MONTHLY COMMUNITY EVENTS. TANGIBLE IMPACT METRICS: SUCCESSFULLY PILOTED AT THE 8TH ANNUAL NATIONAL FLAGWAY TOURNAMENT WITH 25+ ORIGINAL GAMES; REACHED ROUGHLY 250 EVENT PARTICIPANTS. HIGHLIGHT: AFTER A MATH PLAYGROUND EVENT, ONE PARENT REPORTED THAT THE NEXT MORNING HER SON WAS "FACTORING HIS NUMBERS INSTEAD OF PLAYING ON HIS IPAD". 3. ALGEBRA 1 LABS ?FOCUS: A PLAYFUL NEAR-PEER SUMMER AND SCHOOL-YEAR SPACE FOCUSING ON "THRESHOLD CONCEPTS" SUCH AS RATIO, PROPORTION, AND THE CONCEPT OF FUNCTION USING ILLUSTRATIVE MATHEMATICS CONTENT. MISSION ALIGNMENT: REMOVES INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS TO ADVANCED MATHEMATICS FOR STUDENTS PERFORMING IN THE BOTTOM 40% ON STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES. OUTCOMES: SUPPORT 25 STUDENTS PER COHORT FOR 18 WEEKS (90 MIN/WEEK) TO SUCCEED IN 9TH-GRADE ALGEBRA 1. TANGIBLE IMPACT METRICS: 52 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HELPED CO-DESIGN THE PROGRAM. 200+ HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS PILOT TESTED THE PROGRAM. AT ONE TESTING SITE STUDENTS RATED THE MATH EXPERIENCE OVER 4.1 STARS (OUT OF 5) OVERALL. COMPARED TO THE PRE-SURVEY, WHERE MOST STUDENTS WERE ONLY "SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT" IN MATH, POST-SURVEY RESPONSES SHOW A NOTICEABLE BOOST IN CONFIDENCE. NARRATIVE: ONE PROGRAM COORDINATOR SAID, "I WANT TO EXTEND A HEARTFELT THANK YOU FOR CREATING SUCH AN IMPACTFUL MATH CURRICULUM FOR OUR STUDENTS THIS SUMMER. YOUR THOUGHTFUL APPROACH HELPED THEM NOT ONLY STRENGTHEN THEIR ALGEBRAIC FLUENCY BUT ALSO BUILD GENUINE CONFIDENCE IN THEIR MATH ABILITIES. IT WAS ESPECIALLY POWERFUL TO SEE HOW THE CURRICULUM CONNECTED MATH TO THE REAL WORLD."