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OYC Programming | Student Program Updates |Parent Outreach Program |Success Stories
Our programming focuses on the following: In-School Program - OYC’s In-School Coordinators provide daily case management of and advocacy for OYC participants within their schools and within the community, tracking scholastic achievement, attendance, and behavior of the students. OYC coordinators build one-on-one relationships with students and develop Individual Success Plans for each student. After-School & Weekend Program - The after school programming is broken into several periods. During the first period, students work on homework in a classroom setting with their In-School Coordinator and receive tutorial help as needed. During the second two periods, students elect activities from the options listed below. If a student is not performing at benchmark levels in math or reading or another basic academic skill, it is mandatory that s/he attends an enrichment class during the second period. After School Options include: Summer - OYC's summer program offers daily educational enrichment activities designed to maintain and/or increase student grade level and motivation, with the understanding that children’s scholastic levels often can decrease during the long vacation. In addition, we provide daily physical activities, creative arts, community service, character-building, and regular field trips to venues where children can be exposed to different types of environments and activities. Read about our students experience with Mr. Young
Our Parent Outreach Program has been reaching out to the parents whose children attend the OYC program. There are weekly parent meetings held on Wednesday nights from 7:00-8:00 pm. The mission of the parent outreach program is to encourage parental involvement in their child’s educational, recreational and social activities. Our two Parent Coordinators, Mrs. Lomax and Mr. Frazier, facilitate the classes teaching and empowering parents to become self-sufficient as well as share tips on how to bond with their children. We recently launched the Education Awareness Class, which includes providing GED services for adults taught by Overtown resident and former school teacher – Mr. Smith. In the past few months, we’ve presented a variety of topics during the weekly meetings including: employability skills, entrepreneurial workshop, Credit Repair prorgram, Financial Stability, Homeownsership, and many more. We recently began offereing our weekly classes on Wednesday mornings as well. Parent Outreach Meetings Charles Fashaw or “For Showtime”, as he is affectionately called by his peers and coaches, was first introduced to the Overtown Youth Center during an annual youth basketball league. The youth basketball league provides not only a safe place to play basketball, but it also teaches them the discipline of the game and how they can apply these basic principles to every day experiences. When Charles started coming to OYC he attended Allapattah Middle school and was in the seventh grade. He was a shy and withdrawn low C student who was developing disciplinary problems at school due to the death of his grandmother. He was the tallest seventh grader, standing six-foot two inches weighing one hundred seventy pounds. He had never played basketball before because foot ball was his first love, but after growing eight inches in two summers his body became a little uncoordinated. I saw something special in this young man and believed with the right support he would be able to be successful in whatever he chose to do in life. I took Charles under my wing and our relationship began. I not only became his personal coach but a mentor and friend. After meeting his mom, I gave her a tour of OYC and she fell in love with the place. At the end of the school year she transferred him to Saint Francis Xavier School which is located two blocks north of the OYC so that he could attend the center on a daily basis. Since Charles started the program he has become a model student maintaining a 3.3 grade point average in school. He learning anger management and developing effective social skills. Charles has become a true leader among his peers. He has been rated one of the top eight graders in the state of Florida for basketball and is looking forward to attending college at the University of North Carolina when he graduates from high school. Most of the accomplishments that Charles has experienced have been made possible due to his involvement and connectedness to the Overtown Youth Center. He is just one of the many diamonds in the ruff just waiting for someone to help them shine. |
