Simon Youth Foundation awards more than $1 million to college-bound students

The Simon Youth Scholarships program, an initiative of Simon Youth Foundation, has announced $1.15 million in awards to benefit more than 260 nationwide recent high school graduates, many of whom will be first-generation college students when they attend the 2- or 4-year institution of their choice this fall. A list of the 2011 Simon Youth Scholarship winners is available online for viewing or download.

“The mission of Simon Youth Foundation is to ignite hope in students through education,” says J. Michael Durnil, Ph.D., the foundation’s President and CEO. “Our scholarship awards help us meet this goal by removing some of the financial obstacles that would otherwise have prevented post-secondary education opportunities for our recipients."

Simon Youth Foundation, or SYF, is a national 501(c)(3) public charity that supports 24 Simon Youth Academies, which are alternative schools that serve youth who are at risk of dropping out of high school, in 14 states.

SYF’s second major mission initiative is the Simon Youth Scholarships program, which has awarded more than $9.6 million to more than 3,200 students since 2000. The scholarship program’s 2011 recipients received either one-time or renewable awards that ranged in value from $1,400 to $28,000.  

“Students from all walks of life have the potential to do great things, some just need an extra push to begin believing that they can go anywhere their dreams lead them,” Durnil says.

Many Simon Youth Scholarships are awarded in partnership with Simon Property Group malls, outlets and centers, and scholarships are granted to students in any community that is home to an SPG property, including some who also are graduates of a Simon Youth Academy. Awards are granted based on criteria that include financial need, academic performance and an applicant family’s education history.

“I am so excited to start college. I never thought I could go this far, but here I am, starting college,” Simon Youth Scholarship recipient Olga Courtney, of Youngstown, Ohio, wrote to the SYF Board of Directors and staff. “Words cannot explain how thankful I am.”

“Because the economy has had difficulties lately, many foundations have ceased to offer scholarships,” Simon Youth Scholarship winner Kerri Walker, of Brandon, Miss., wrote in a letter of thanks to SYF. “I, along with students across the nation, am very grateful for the Simon Youth Foundation and similar organizations that help fund our futures.” 

Durnil says 2011 award winners will be attending a broad range of post-secondary institutions that include some of the country’s top colleges, such as the University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, Emory University, New York University and the Berklee College of Music. They’ll be majoring in biomedical engineering, neurobiology, biochemistry and computer science.

 

Simon Youth Academy graduation in Knoxville featured by two local TV stations

A lot can happen in a single year, just ask Tracy Poulsen, the director of our Simon Youth Dr. Paul L. Kelley Volunteer Academy at Knoxville Center, a Simon Property Group mall in Knoxville, Tenn.

In less than a year after opening the academy's doors, Poulsen, her team and the local SYF partner in education, Knox County Schools, ignited hope in 49 students, guiding them to their high school diplomas. All 49 kids were at risk of dropping out due to a range of personal challenges, but they all persevered and received their diplomas in a ceremony on May 20, 2011.

The event makes for 49 young people who will now go on to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars more in their lifetimes and better contribute to their communities along the way, because they have earned a high school diploma. The students' stories of hope attracted the attention of two Knoxville area television stations, which covered the graduation ceremony.

The first story on Simon Youth Foundation's graduation ceremony in Knoxville is from WBIR-TV, NBC 10.



The station has removed its video but you can still read the second story on Simon Youth Foundation's graduation ceremony in Knoxville from WATE-TV, ABC 6.

Amid cuts, Simon Youth Academy students put on fundraiser

Beth Brunton, a coordinator and educator at the Simon Youth Academy at Northgate Mall in Seattle, Wash., is like a lot of nationwide teachers, facing reduced budgets and program cuts.

What’s different is that Brunton and her students are taking action to offset the cuts.

“Our students took all the initiative and came up with the idea for what turned out to be a delightful event that raised funds and the profile of our school,” Brunton says.

The event, hosted in March at Northgate Mall, a Simon Property Group development, was dubbed the Spring Fling Silent Auction. Brunton says mall vendors and other supporters donated dozens of desirable items, ranging from a gold-and-diamond pendant valued at $400 to $50 gift cards to event tickets and group dinners.

Attendees also heard from the academy’s at-risk students, who are on their way to earning their high school diplomas thanks to the school’s unique and flexible learning environment. Academy tours also were part of the event.

Photos courtesy of Simon Youth Academy
at Northgate Mall

“Our auction items raised $2,000 and individuals in attendance and our event sponsors contributed another $8,000 to benefit our programs” Brunton says.

The money will pay for a life coach to come to the academy weekly to work with students on personal and professional development. It also will fill the gaps created by budget cuts to purchase supplies and meet other daily needs.

Brunton says there is a long list of supporters deserving of recognition for the auction’s success, including the Northgate Mall management team. In an article reported by the local blog site Maple Leaf Life in the days before the auction, mall manager Matt Bourassa explained his support, saying that the mall, as a cornerstone of the community, was the best place to host an event supporting local school programs.

In addition to fundraising support, Northgate Mall, in partnership with Simon Youth Foundation, provides the academy’s classroom space in the mall at no cost.

“We deeply value our partnerships with Simon Youth Foundation and Northgate Mall,” Brunton says. “While our Seattle School District and other districts nationwide are facing difficult budget choices, education partners like SYF and Northgate Mall help keep costs down and alternative schools open.”

Simon Youth Academy teacher ignites hope and is named her district’s best

We are always proud to tell people about how dedicated and innovative our Simon Youth Foundation teachers and administrators are at our Simon Youth Academies throughout the country.

Carolyn Kelly is a perfect example.

 

Award winner Carolyn Kelly is pictured at middle
with Simon Youth Metrocenter Academy's
two other teachers, Janet Johns and Trent Grahamm

 A teacher for 24 years, the last nine with the Simon Youth Metrocenter Academy at Metrocenter, which is located in the Metrocenter mall in Phoenix, AZ, Kelly was just named her school district’s top special programs teacher for 2011.

“I began teaching in an alternative school setting after 10 years in traditional classrooms because I wanted a new challenge,” Kelly says. “I’ve stayed in alternative programs for the last 14 years because it is a great opportunity to work more directly with students and impact their development.”

On April 6, 2011, Kelly was recognized with the Achievement Above All Award as the Special Programs Teacher of the Year by the Glendale Union High School District, which partners with SYF to operate the academy at Metrocenter. The recognition came complete with a table top award that Kelly proudly displays in her classroom.

“Mrs. Kelly is a great teacher,” says academy junior student Karina Ahumada. “She has helped me so much, and she encourages me to keep coming to school and to do my best”.

Kelly says that she has helped more than 840 at-risk students earn their high school diploma while working at Metrocenter. She says there is a mutual respect between her and the students.

“Our Simon Youth Metrocenter Academy students are so motivated and strong,” Kelly says. “They inspire me each day.”

Kelly’s students will tell you that she inspires them, too, providing hope that they can go anywhere their dreams take them.

“Mrs. Kelly is a role model for me; I would like to be like her when I get older,” says academy junior student Paulina Velazco. “The more time I spend at this school, the better person I become.

“I appreciate all the teachers at Metrocenter Academy, especially Mrs. Kelly, because she makes me a better person without even realizing it,” Velazco says.

Diploma wall inspires hope in Simon Youth Foundation students

Seith Bedard remembers his parents tacking his A+ papers to the refrigerator when he was a kid.

Now an adult and working as the director of Simon Youth Peabody Learning Academy at Northshore Mall, which serves high school students at risk of dropping out, Bedard remembers how seeing his school work prominently hung at home pushed him to work hard in the classroom.

"This is the same idea behind our academy's diploma wall," Bedard says. "The wall is a daily reminder for the students of what they are working for and what they have achieved."

Not too long ago, Bedard came upon his old high school diploma from Peabody Veterans Memorial High School - the high school and Peabody Public Schools system are partners that support the academy in partnership with Simon Youth Foundation. Bedard thought he could use the image of his diploma as motivation for his 30 students, so he ran off 30 photo copies of it with the name section left blank.


"I added a different student’s name to each diploma copy, and I've had them laminated and added magnets so that they could be attached to one of our classroom white boards, which we now call the diploma wall," Bedard says.

Underneath each student’s diploma is a column of other laminated cards bearing symbols that represent each of the required courses students must complete to graduate. As students complete a required course, Bedard pulls that card down off the wall.

"This is a visual way to show students how far they've come and what they have left to accomplish," Bedard says.

He adds that since establishing the diploma wall, strong attendance has gotten even better with students going as far as calling into the academy if they are running just a few minutes behind.

"Seeing their names on a diploma, even if it’s not yet the real thing, gives them a lot of pride," Bedard says. "And we've set up the diploma wall right at the entrance to the school so it is the first thing the students see when they come to class and the last thing they see when they leave for the day."

"It really helps me stay on track and motivates me to get what I need done," says Michael Nolan, an academy student who dropped out of his traditional high school at the start of the 2010-11 academic year but will still graduate in May because of the work he's completed in recent months at the academy. "When I get the chance to take down a class from the diploma wall, it give me a sense of accomplishment."

When a student's column on the diploma wall is clear and all classes required for graduation are passed, as was already the case for two of the academy's 30 students on April 22, 2011, Bedard pulls their diploma magnet from the diploma wall. The students can then take it home to proudly display until they receive their real diploma at a large ceremony with students from the Peabody system's traditional high school, which is planned for May, 2011.

SYF thanks you for wearing your blue jeans

Who doesn't want to wear jeans to work? I mean, for those of us stuck in the rut of business casual dress codes, a jeans day is a chance to shake things up and sit comfortably all day long. The only thing better than your average jeans day is one that also benefits a great cause, like say, Simon Youth Foundation.

As of April 7, 2011, SYF Jeans for Teens, or JFT, fundraisers supported by Simon Property Group employees have already raised nearly $5,000. For a five-dollar donation to SYF, employees at SPG headquarters are able to break free of business casual on five selected dates each year by wearing their jeans into the office. We are grateful for their support!

In recognition of their willingness to support JFT, our SYF team and some students representing Indianapolis-area Simon Youth Academies hosted a thank-you luncheon for the volunteers who coordinate selling JFT event tickets on each floor of the SPG building. The students spoke about the impact of SYF on their lives, and SYF provided free boxed lunches to attendees, which were donated by Jug's Catering.

SYF students go for win at international DECA contest

Senior high school student Amanda Miller spent much of the current academic year refining a proposal for the business she wants to start, a nonprofit that would use community donations to purchase bundles of blankets, coats and Bibles and distribute them to the needy.

Now the business she thought up to help others may actually help Miller advance her young business career with a win at a major competition.

Miller and three other students from an alternative learning academy in Missouri that is supported by Simon Youth Foundation will compete with as many as 14,000 other worldwide students in a business entrepreneur contest at the DECA International Career Development Conference, April 30-May 3, 2011, in Orlando, FL.

“You want to always do your best, but I did not expect to even be named a finalist of the district competition,” Miller says. “I ended up winning the DECA district competition, finished third at the Missouri statewide competition and earned my place in the international conference.”

Amanda Miller, third from left. Janessa Mitchell, fourth from left.
Blake Bolin and Caleb Carlisle, sixth and seventh from left.

Miller and fellow seniors Blake Bolin, Caleb Carlisle and Janessa Mitchell will represent the Simon Youth Academy at Independence Center located in Independence, MO, at the DECA international competition. The school, which operates inside the Independence Center mall that is owned and managed by the Simon Property Group, offers its students an alternative, business-focused curriculum.



Bolin and Carlisle, working as a team, and Mitchell and Miller, working independently, have spent their senior year at the academy developing their three business projects. Bolin and Carlisle went on to win the statewide DECA contest in their respective category, and Mitchell and Miller both placed in the top four of their judged events to move on to the international competition.

“Our Simon Youth Academies exist to bring hope to students that their academic and professional dreams can be realized,” says J. Michael Durnil, Ph.D., president and CEO of Simon Youth Foundation. “We are so proud of the students from the academy at Independence Center who have chased their dreams and caught them by earning a spot in the international DECA competition.”

Carol Bolin, the academy’s administrator and its single teacher, says that in addition to their DECA business proposals, the students in her program complete eight-week internships and are responsible for managing the Independence Center’s gift wrap service.

“Simon Youth Foundation’s support of our academy has given these students opportunities that most kids their age do not have access to, and they will prove very successful in their future endeavors because of their experiences,” Bolin says.

“I did not know what Simon Youth Foundation was until I began studying at the academy this last year, but I now appreciate every little thing I’ve been able to do with its support,” Miller says.

The students behind the business presentations selected as the best at DECA’s international conference could receive scholarships and trophies or ribbons of recognition.