Simon Youth Foundation 2011 graduation ceremonies are underway

Graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2011 have already been held at two of our 25 nationwide Simon Youth Academies as of this post on May 13. The Simon Youth Academy at Independence Center in Independence, Mo., awarded diplomas to its graduates on May 12. The Simon Youth Pacers Academy at Washington Square followed with a graduation event on May 13. The photo slideshow above is from the ceremony at Washington Square. We'll update the blog in the coming days and weeks with more photos from our network of schools. Congratulations Simon Youth Foundation 2011 graduates!!!

Simon Youth Foundation thinks every week should be Teacher Appreciation Week

National Teacher Appreciation Week comes to a close today, May 6, 2011, and Simon Youth Foundation can't let the day pass without telling teachers everywhere, including those working so hard at its 25 nationwide Simon Youth Academies, how deeply we appreciate them. The SYF staff put together the video below to say thank you.

Recycling event brings in the green for Simon Youth Foundation

You've heard it before. One man's junk is another man's treasure. Or is it one man's trash? Either way, that old proverb sums up very well a recent Simon Youth Foundation fundraiser that was sponsored by Northlake Mall, a Simon Property Group mall in Atlanta, GA.

The mall with its partner, Northlake Community Alliance, hosted an Electronics Recycling Day on Saturday, March 20. Hundreds of area residents brought in old TVs, computers and other gadgets from days gone by. The Electronics Recycling Service took the items to dispose of them in an environmentally friendly way. In all, some 32,000 pounds of electronics were collected and kept out of landfills.

As patrons dropped of their items for recycling, they also were asked to make a donation to benefit charitable organizations. More than $300 was collected to benefit Simon Youth Academies and Simon Youth Scholarships. A portion of the proceeds also benefited event sponsor Northlake Community Alliance.

Event photos courtesy of Northlake Mall

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.

Simon Property Group regional event sinks big donation for SYF

If the best score in golf is a hole in one, Simon Youth Foundation scored the fundraising equivalent at a recent annual meeting for Simon Property Group's Florida Region.

SYF's administrators were presented with a check for $131,000 dollars during a mini golf and Hawaiian luau themed event that was hosted as part of the two-day meeting.

Florida Region staff worked with more than 60 sponsor companies to raise the funds, collecting donations ranging from $200 all the way up to $10,000. Enjoy some fun event photos in the slideshow below!

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.

Simon malls hop to support SYF dropout-prevention mission

Spring is here and Easter is upon us. The season is a great metaphor for Simon Youth Foundation. Just as the season promises new beginnings, our 25 Simon Youth Academies offer hope for the future to hundreds of high school students at risk of dropping out of school by giving them a fresh start in the classroom. Similarly, our Simon Youth Scholarships over the last 11 years have helped nearly 3,000 students from 42 states begin college careers, many of them becoming the first person in their family to attend a university.

SYF can only extend these second-chance educational opportunities through the financial support of its amazing donor network, including our partners at Simon malls throughout the country and their generous patrons. Simon malls and their shoppers donated more than $1.7 million to benefit SYF schools and scholarships in 2010 alone.

On Saturday, April 2, 2011, the Northshore Mall in Peabody, MA, hosted a breakfast with the Easter Bunny for members of its kids club network. Around 200 parents and kids attended the event, and families donated five dollars to SYF to participate. SYF sponsors the Simon Youth Peabody Learning Academy at Northshore Mall, so the community's support of SYF is really an investment in its own future. You can read more about the event and see more photos like the one above, which is courtesy of Tara Vocino, by visiting the community's Peabody Patch website.

SYF President and CEO is leaving on a jet plane

Simon Youth Foundation President and CEO J. Michael Durnil, Ph.D., is trading the comforts of his office chair for the cramped confines of an airplane seat. Durnil is taking to the friendly skies as part of a tour of Simon Youth Academies throughout the country in April and May, 2011, to meet our great educators and inspiring students.

At all of his stops, which include cities in Texas, Missouri and Massachusetts, Durnil also is taking time to thank the leaders at the Simon mall locations that support so well the SYF mission with their time and treasure each year. In particular, he's attending Simon mall regional meetings, and alongside Simon Youth Academy students, he's sharing the story of how the malls' support is changing the lives of at-risk high school kids who came critically close to dropping out of school.

The praise for the Simon mall family and Simon Property Group is well deserved. Together, in 2010 alone, they generated more than $1.7 million for SYF, including coins collected in SYF wishing wells, which our mall partners graciously locate in high-traffic areas in their shopping centers.



In the slideshow above are a few photos from the Simon malls Central Region meeting attended by Durnil and SYF students. The students, from the Simon Youth Academy at Independence Center, a Simon mall in Independence, MO, are seen in a couple of pictures presenting an SYF Best Fundraising Award to representatives from Simon's Orange Park Mall, which is located in Florida.