Young Peoples Project Inc

THE MISSION OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE'S PROJECT (YPP) IS TO USE MATH LITERACY WORK TO DEVELOP THE ABILITIES OF ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO SUCCEED IN SCHOOL AND LIFE. IN DOING SO, YPP INVOLVES THESE YOUNG PEOPLE IN EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE INSTITUTIONAL OBSTACLES TO THEIR SUCCESS. YPP ENVISIONS A DAY WHEN EVERY YOUNG PERSON-REGARDLESS OF ETHNICITY, GENDER, OR CLASS-HAS ACCESS TO A HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION AND THE SKILLS, ATTRIBUTES, AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT S/HE NEEDS TO SUCCESSFULLY MEET THE CHALLENGES OF THEIR GENERATION FOUNDED IN 1996, YPP IS A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION WITH SITES AND PROGRAMS IN CHICAGO IL, BROWARD COUNTY FL, MANSFIELD OH, BOSTON MA, CAMBRIDGE, MA, SOMERVILLE, MA, LOS ANGELES CA, CLAYTON COUNTY AND ATLANTA, GA, PETERSBURG, VA. YPP INHERITED ITS WORK FROM BOB MOSES AND THE ALGEBRA PROJECT (AP), WHICH IS ROOTED IN OVER 40 YEARS OF CIVIL RIGHTS WORK AND EDUCATION LEADERSHIP. AP ENSURED THAT ALL CHILDREN HAVE ACCESS TO A HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION BY PROVIDING CULTURALLY SENSITIV

OVER THE PAST 25 YEARS YPP HAS DEVELOPED EXPERTISE IN ENGAGING AND EMPLOYING YOUNG PEOPLE TO WORK OUT OF SCHOOL TO LEARN, TEACH, LEAD, AND ORGANIZE MATH LITERACY ACTIVITIES FOR AND WITH EACH OTHER. WE'VE LEARNED THAT THERE ARE HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS IN EVERY COMMUNITY WHO ARE INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING THE SUCCESS OF THEIR YOUNGER PEERS; AND THAT WITH TRAINING, COACHING, AND DEVELOPMENT, THESE HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE MENTORS, WHO WE CALL MATH LITERACY WORKERS (MLWS) CAN HAVE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNGER PEERS WHILE ALSO DEVELOPING THEIR OWN SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES. THE WORK THAT THESE YOUNG PEOPLE DO IS ONE OF THE FEW OPPORTUNITIES THEY HAVE TO PARTICIPATE IN PAID ENTRY LEVEL KNOWLEDGE WORK IN THEIR COMMUNITY. THIS IS HOW MLWS DESCRIBE THEIR WORK: "WE HELP YOUNGER KIDS TO UNDERSTAND MATH IN A WAY THAT WE DIDN'T GET TO WHEN WE WERE THEIR AGE. ALL MLWS HAVE TO BE LEADERS. A GREAT MLW IS A GREAT TEAM MEMBER, SOMEONE WHO COMES TO THE WORKSHOP AND ACTUALLY GIVES ENERGY. KIDS LOOK UP TO TEENAGERS, WHAT THEY SEE FROM US, THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO. FIRST, WE ALWAYS START OUT WITH AN ICEBREAKER. AFTER THAT WE ALWAYS PLAY A GAME THAT'S ABOUT THE CONTENT. AND THEN AFTER THAT WE DEBRIEF. AND THE WAY WE KNOW WE ARE BEING GOOD MLWS IS IF THE STUDENTS ARE GETTING IT AND IF THEY ARE HAVING FUN." FROM 1996 - 2022 YPP WORKED IN 18 COMMUNITIES, WITH OVER 100 SCHOOL, COMMUNITY, AND ORGANIZATIONAL PARTNERS; HAS RECEIVED SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM MAJOR FOUNDATIONS, INCLUDING FOUR AWARDS FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. SELECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND FINDINGS INCLUDE: ?OVER 750 COLLEGE, 3,000 HIGH-SCHOOL, AND 12,000 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM PREDOMINANTLY MINORITY AND LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES SERVED. ?85% OF MLWS ATTEND COLLEGE AND 100% GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL. ?85% OF MLWS SHOW GAINS IN PRE-POST YPP MATH CONTENT SCORES ?MLWS REPORT SATISFACTION AT BEING ABLE TO HELP OTHERS, AND IMPROVE MATH AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS. ?A 2006 STUDY OF YPP CHICAGO MLWS SHOWED A UNIQUE POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MATH SELF-CONFIDENCE AND BOTH A SENSE OF AGENCY AND COMMITMENT TO SOCIETAL INVOLVEMENT. I.E. "MATH IS POWER." THIS FINDING DID NOT APPEAR IN THE CONTROL GROUP. ?"BUILDING DEMAND FOR MATH LITERACY" (NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ISE AWARD 05155598) SHOWS CONSISTENT IMPROVEMENT IN PRE-POST MATH SCORES FOR ALL STUDENTS INVOLVED IN YPP IN CHICAGO - ELEMENTARY, HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE - ESPECIALLY FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS. ?97% OF HIGH SCHOOL PARTICIPANTS IN YPP'S "BRIDGING MATH AND DIGITAL MEDIA" PROGRAM (NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ITEST AWARD 1031633) REPORT THAT THE EXPOSURE TO COMPUTER PROGRAMMING WAS THE FIRST THEY HAD SEEN (2011-2013). ?IN 2013 3RD GRADE MATH SCORES AT THE HIGGINSON LEWIS SCHOOL IN BOSTON IMPROVED BY 11 POINTS, THE THIRD HIGHEST INCREASE IN THE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, DUE IN PART TO SUPPORT BY YPP AND OTHER COMMUNITY PARTNERS LIKE CITY YEAR. MEDIAN STUDENT GROWTH PERCENTILES (SGP) AT HIGGINSON LEWIS INCREASED EACH YEAR: FROM 38% IN 2012, TO 48% IN 2013, TO 53% IN 2014, SURPASSING THE STATE AVERAGE IN 2014. ?4TH GRADE STUDENTS WHO PARTICIPATED IN YPP WORKSHOPS AT THE FLETCHER MAYNARD EXTENDED DAY PROGRAM IN CAMBRIDGE (2007 - 2008) SHOWED IMPROVEMENT IN ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICS MASSACHUSETTS COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM (MCAS) SCORES. SUSTAINED PARTNERSHIP WITH FLETCHER MAYNARD (2007 - 2016) IS BELIEVED TO HAVE HELPED TO IMPROVE MATH PROFICIENCY IN THE SCHOOL. ?IN 2017 YPP LAUNCHED A NEW MATH GAMES LEAGUE CALLED "FLAGWAY." 95% OF STUDENTS FROM A SAMPLE OF FOUR FLAGWAY TEAMS NATIONALLY (N=56) DEMONSTRATED A POSITIVE IMPROVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS AND FLAGWAY-RELATED CONTENT KNOWLEDGE ACROSS THE 2018-19 SEASON WITH A 21% AVERAGE SCORE INCREASE. 90% OF STUDENTS IN BOSTON AND CAMBRIDGE (N=50) DEMONSTRATED A POSITIVE IMPROVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS AND FLAGWAY-RELATED CONTENT KNOWLEDGE ACROSS THE 2018-19 SEASON WITH A 16% AVERAGE INCREASE IN CONTENT KNOWLEDGE. PARENTS ARE SEEING A DIFFERENCE IN THEIR CHILDREN. "BEFORE, SHE USED TO THINK SHE COULDN'T DO ANY MATH PROBLEM, AND MATH WAS HER NIGHTMARE. AFTER SHE STARTED YPP SHE FELT MORE CONFIDENT, AND SHE LOVED IT EVEN HER THINKING - YOU COULD SEE HER THINKING LIKE A MATHEMATICIAN." (PARENT OF FLAGWAY LEAGUE PARTICIPANT).