Posts Tagged ‘program’
Tyrone Manners – Making a Second Chance Count
The beginning of secondary school did not go as planned for Tyrone. A combination of factors, including situations outside of school that would be difficult for anyone to endure, got the best of him.
Absences and lates piled up, grades declined, and credits slipped through his fingers.
With most of the close friends that he came into grade 9 with at different schools or not in school at all, motivation to graduate was fading.
When Tyrone was hired as a Mentor for SBL, there were many that questioned whether he was a role model. In that first summer, and in the summers that followed, he thrived in a leadership role. His ability to understand where youth facing difficulties were coming from, his way of presenting options in a way that is not telling you what to do, and the respect he had built with youth in the community made him a fundamental part of the success of SBL. As much as Tyrone was helping others, things got worse before they got better. After a few substantial set-backs, his desire to succeed only grew stronger.
In the past year, he has completed a coop placement with SBL, participated in the completion of 3 short films (one fiction and two documentaries), presented at conferences and forums (as far away as Welland, Ontario), and represented SBL to external stakeholders.
He is now a running a weekly film and photography workshop, he works in SBL as a Senior Mentor, he is a part of The Remix Project, and he is on track to complete secondary school with a goal post-secondary education so that he can continue to work with youth.
Mariah & Precilla – Building a Career from a Passion
Mariah came into SBL as a mentee, fresh out of grade 8, nervous and
excited about entering secondary school. That summer, she built bonds and
connections to other students, mentors, and SBL staff.
Over the course of the following two school years, Mariah moved from
grade a 9 attending tutoring sessions where she was being mentored and was
participating in enrichment activities, to volunteering and supporting other
students.
Outside of SBL, Mariah and her friend Priscilla took advantage of the
remarkable dance program at Westview to make the most of their passion
for dance. While SBL offered dance once a week, this was not enough for
this duo, as they were taking their craft seriously and were practicing daily.
Through performances at Westview, in the community, and throughout the
city, it became clear that they had a gift – one that they could share.
This past summer, Mariah and Priscilla were hired by the SBL summer
program as dance instructors. They instructed over 100 students for 6
weeks, choreographing routines and getting even the most reluctant youth
off the wall in their sessions.
SBL will continue to stand behind Mariah and Priscilla in their vision of building a career in dance, and their goal of starting a small business that will lead into opening a dance school.
Shyanne Witter – Post-Secondary Success: Against the Odds
When Shyanne started mentoring in 2008, there were teachers that
thought it was a ‘mistake’. They were referring to issues around her
attendance, poor grades, negative associations, and an alleged ‘bad
attitude’.
As a Mentor she proved to be highly respected by the students, vital
in conflict mediation, and extremely reliable. In this role she was
voted by her peers as a Mentor Among Mentors for three consecutive
years, the ultimate compliment.
Shyanne’s sense of purpose in helping youth and the personal
success she experienced led to the field of social work. She is now in
her second year at Humber College with a full scholarship that came
with support from a mentor who has already achieved her next goal
of a Masters degree in social work. Those who doubted her now celebrate her success, and she is spoken of by youth she has mentored as a role model. In March of 2011, she was mentioned in the Toronto Star as someone to watch in Jane and Finch.
Shyanne is now working in the SBL Youth Space at Westview Centennial doing her social work placement. This success story, though amazing, is by no means finished.
SBL 2010 – 2012
• Over the course of two summers, 195 new grade 9 students have gone through the Success Beyond Limits summer program; 174 credits have been granted, giving an 89% success rate of students eligible for the credit.
• Achieved a classroom ratio of 1 teacher to 15 students.
• Additional one to one student support as each classroom has 3-4 mentors, bringing the level of support to a 1 to 3 ratio.
• 45 Mentors have been employed and trained during the summer and school year since 2010.
• All 4 of our graduating Mentors in 2010 went on to post-secondary education.
• Brought 7 external programs/organizations to Westview to provide valuable programming to Westview students.
• Worked in partnership with the staff at Brookview Middle School and Oakdale Park Middle School to offer students youth-led workshops and to conduct outreach for our summer program.
Sky Works Project
REAL CHANGE
Youth Filmmaking Mentorship Program
SkyWorks is proud to announce a new programming initiative to support youth to make their own films for social change. The Real Change Youth Filmmaking Mentorship Program is a film/video training and community engagement program which creates spaces for marginalized youth, ages 14 to 20, to make films about topics and issues that affect them, their families and communities.
Real Change encourages youth to find their voices, speak out, tell their own stories, engage positively with their communities, develop confidence and leadership skills, and acquire practical skills that will open doors to further education and career opportunities in media, journalism, the arts, community leadership and related fields.
Workshops provide youth with practical instruction in research, storytelling, planning, production and post-production. They may also include visits by guest filmmakers and community leaders, discussions about media and social change, and group outings to film screenings and film/video production facilities where youth can see professional film and television productions in the making.
Completed film projects are shown publicly at community screenings as well as being posted on SkyWorks’ web site and on YouTube. The program includes a public engagement component in which young filmmakers will appear in schools and public libraries to present and discuss their films with audiences.
Success Beyond Limits (SBL) is a youth mentorship and empowerment program that supports youth in Toronto’s Jane and Finch community. This short film was directed, shot, and edited by youth from SBL, trained through SkyWorks Charitable Foundation’s Real Change Youth Filmmaking Mentorship Program.
Real Change Partners
“Our goal is to expose youth to new horizons, new career fields, opportunities and experiences that broaden their view of how they see themselves, their communities and what’s possible. [SkyWorks’ filmmaking] workshop was a huge success. The youth accomplished something, they all had their horizons expanded. I’ve seen each of them refer to themselves differently in the school and community, in terms of the skills they have and how they define themselves. It was very beneficial and life altering for the youth who were a part of it. This is a great example of the type of investments we need to be making in youth.”
-Christopher Penrose, Executive Director
Success Beyond Limits, pilot partner in Real Change
At the heart of the Real Change program are our partnerships with community organizations who have a long-established working relationship with youth. Partners so far have included the Toronto District School Board, Success Beyond Limits, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto, and Plan Canada.
Real Change is envisioned as a permanent and ongoing program coordinated by SkyWorks in partnership with community organizations across Ontario who are working with youth and marginalized youth.
If your organization, school or school board is interested in becoming a partner in the Real Change program, please contact:
David Adkin
Community Development Coordinator
SkyWorks
dadkin@skyworksfoundation.org
Tel (416) 536-6581 ext. 224
Real Change Partners to Date:
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto
Charles Street Video
Centre for Urban Schools, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
Plan Canada
Reframe Peterborough International Film Festival
Success Beyond Limits
Toronto District School Board / Focus on Youth Toronto
Toronto International Film Festival / TIFF Bell Lightbox
Toronto Public Library
Pilot Funding for the Real Change Program has been generously provided by:
Toronto District School Board / Focus on Youth Toronto
Ministry of Tourism Culture and Sport
Generously supported by The Stodgell/Massey Commitment: Patrons of The Voices of Children Campaign
Summer 2011
• 94 new grade 9 students registered in summer program, with 80 earning their first secondary school credit, a success rate of 85%.
• An additional 12 students joined the program late and were ineligible for the credit, with all 12 expressing in a survey that they felt more prepared for secondary school as a result of SBL.
• Of 106 students, 32% were transfer students, and 50% were referred to us due to social/personal/academic concerns from their schools, parents and/or community partners.
• 25 Mentors were employed full-time (20 in the classroom environment and 5 in a documentary film training program).
• Partnership with SkyWorks Films supporting 5 Mentors in the completion of two community focused documentaries.
• Of the 25 Mentors: 15 were former Mentees and 10 Mentors were former volunteers.
• 30 Volunteers (Mentors-in-Training) contributed 1260 hours to the summer program.
• 14 Volunteers (Mentors-in-Training) were former Mentees, with 100% expressing goal of becoming an SBL Mentor.
• Since 2010 we have worked with 11 TDSB teachers and 9 of that 11 had previously taught in the Jane-Finch community.
• Of 11 teachers, 5 are from the Jane-Finch community.
• 6 of 7 SBL teachers were returning staff, with one new hire from Westview Centennial Secondary School.
• In a research study done by Social Work Graduate students, 100% of SBL teachers surveyed indicated that teaching in the SBL Summer Program was transformational in their teaching practice, brought them closer to youth in the community, and encouraged innovation in their classroom.
• 2 former SBL/Westview students worked as dance instructors and paid facilitators in the program, delivering programming to youth participants.
• Completed our first annual general meeting, adding four youth members to our board of directors.