Simon Youth Foundation best practices featured at series of national and state conferences

Simon Youth Foundation President and CEO J. Michael Durnil, Ph.D., was a featured panelist at the University of Indianapolis Center for Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) Conference, Nov. 14-15, 2011.

Durnil at the 2011 CELL Conference

More than 800 teachers and administrators from Indiana and throughout the country gathered at the conference, Indiana's Future: Navigating New Demands & New Directions, for a series of lectures and panel discussion on best practices for the future of education in the state.

Durnil and three other panelists led a discussion with an audience of more than 30, talking about the importance of community partnership and resources in student success.

"SYF has found great success in cultivating national and local partners in our communities of service to benefit our Simon Youth Academy students, whether it's in the form of internship and professional development programs or the funding of collegiate scholarships," Durnil says.

Simon Youth Academies, which operate in partnership between SYF and the local public school districts where they are located, are non-traditional high schools in 13 states that serve students who are at risk of dropping out of high school. The 23  nationwide Academies enjoy strong local partnerships that bring additional learning and development opportunities to students.

"It was an honor to be asked to share the Foundation's strategic successes with others, and I hope our examples benefit educators in their communities," Durnil says.

The CELL Conference presentation was the third in a series of national presentations made by SYF in the Fall of 2011. The Foundation also was asked to present at the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities National Conference and the Kappa Delta Pi International 48th Biennial Convocation in October.