Simon Youth Foundation approach to teaching at-risk students applauded by academic

While Simon Youth Foundation has the same goal - earning a high school diploma - for every one of the students enrolled in its national network of 23 Simon Youth Academies, our amazing teachers use different approaches, unique to each classroom and student, to get there.

Extended one-on-one time with teachers, computer-based curriculum, shortened school days, giving classroom credit for time spent perfecting skills at a full-time job, and performing community service and outreach are just some of the different strategies that teachers in our Simon Youth Academies use to engage students who had struggled to connect with course work in a traditional classroom setting.

Courtesy IUPUI

The approach of putting a student's unique needs first is winning the support of academics like Sheila Kennedy, a Professor of Law and Policy in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.

In a new post to her blog called One Size Doesn't Fit All, Kennedy writes about SYF's cumulative graduation rate of 90 percent since 1998, explaining that flexible learning environments have led to the foundation's success.

"It is their focus on the individual needs of the students they admit. No rigid ideological framework that students must fit within, no 'secret formula' that must be imposed," Kennedy writes.

You can use this link to connect to Kennedy's blog page and read her full post on how Simon Youth Foundation is serving as a model for successful student instruction.

The web address for IUPUI Professor Sheila Kennedy's blog site is http://sheilakennedy.net.

Simon Youth Foundation President: corporate support of public alternative education is good business

Simon Youth Foundation President and CEO J. Michael Durnil, Ph.D., was a featured guest on Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick for the week of August 21, 2011.

The program, which is broadcast on a network of 15 local affiliate television stations, is Indiana's only statewide business news program. During his interview, Durnil explained that students who dropout of high school will earn nearly $300,000 less over their lifetime and are twice as likely to be unemployed.

"If business is about the bottom line then there is incentive for businesses to invest so that these students have the resources and programs necessary to graduate and become a strong citizenry for the local community," Durnil said.



The above video appears on the Simon Youth Foundation blog courtesy of the Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick website.

Simon Youth Foundation student starts at his Academy, goes on to dream job

Zachary Nordyke, like a lot of 18-year-olds, has big dreams for his future, and they begin with service to his country and the U.S. Marine Corps. Nordyke, who lives with his mom in Northwest Phoenix, Ariz., says he’s always considered a military career.

“I have family and friends who have served in the military, and they are good, respectable people,” Nordyke says. “I wanted to pursue a career that would give me the same qualities that I admired in others.”

Zachary Nordyke

Nordyke is set to report to Marine boot camp on Sept. 6, 2011, but has faced having to delay his enlistment, putting his dream job on hold, until he earns his high school diploma, something that Nordyke has long struggled to do.

“High school had been a challenge since freshman year, because I could never find the right atmosphere for me to focus on learning. I bounced around to four different schools before I came to the Simon Youth Academy at Metrocenter Mall in August, 2010,” he says.

These days, Nordyke no longer worries about delaying his military service, because the flexible learning schedule and the dedication of the educators at his Simon Youth Academy have put him on track to complete before Sept. 1 his last required credits for graduation. Additionally, Nordyke’s diploma will come from the Glendale Union High School District, the Phoenix-area school system that partners with Simon Youth Foundation to sponsor the academy.

“Other alternative programs that serve our community are not aligned with local public school districts and may not be accredited as a result,” says Janet Johns, a teacher at the Simon Youth Academy at Metrocenter Mall. “The academy’s connection to an accredited school system was essential for Zach if he was going to pursue his dream.”

“One of the Marine Corps’s basic requirements for enlistment is a high school diploma from an accredited school,” says Marine recruiter Sgt. Marvin Lewis, whose office also is located in Metrocenter Mall. “Zach is going to get his high school diploma because of the second chance the Metrocenter Academy offers students, which makes him a better person and a better Marine Corps applicant.”

“The teachers here have really made the difference, because they really care and have made me understand the importance of earning my diploma before starting a professional career,” Nordyke says.

Nordyke says he had tried online high schools and other alternatives before the Simon Youth Academy was recommended to him.

“I’ve been kept on track, and I am enjoying school for the first time, because the system here works for students who have had a hard time finding the right fit,” Nordyke says. “The academy teachers have refused to let me fail.”

With a passion akin to drill instructors, the lessons in dedication and loyalty provided by his SYF teachers may serve Nordyke well as a Marine. He’ll return to the academy in December after boot camp is complete to graduate with classmates who also will complete their required course work in the fall.

“He’ll be here in his uniform, and we will all be so proud of him,” Johns says. “We are so proud of all of our students.”

UPDATED: Raising $5,000, Simon Youth Foundation fundraiser is a slam dunk

Indiana Pacers Head Coach Frank Vogel participated
in the California Pizza Kitchen fundraiser for SYF

UPDATE  ON TUESDAY, AUG. 23
The total numbers are in, and Indiana Pacers Head Coach Frank Vogel and the hundreds of other Simon Youth Foundation supporters who dined in at the California Pizza Kitchen at Circle Centre on Tuesday, Aug. 16, raised $5,000 for SYF programs.

ORIGINAL POST ON TUESDAY, AUG. 16
We are posting this at nearly the half-way point of the Aug. 16 Simon Youth Foundation fundraiser being hosted by the newly opened California Pizza Kitchen at Circle Centre in Indianapolis, Ind. The restaurant is donating 50 percent of all the day's dine-in sales to SYF.

Hundreds had already enjoyed their CPK favorites by the end of the lunch hour, and the guests included Indiana Pacers Head Coach Frank Vogel and his staff as well as SYF Board of Directors Chairperson Deborah J. Simon and other board members.

We'll update the blog when a total donation amount is announced. The money will support the national network of Simon Youth Academies, which are alternative schools that serve at-risk students who may be homeless, seriously ill, facing parenthood, or otherwise unable to attend their traditional high school, as well as the Simon Youth Scholarships program, which helps send hundreds of high school graduates throughout the country to college each year.

SYF board members and supporters

SYF supporters from the Simon headquarters

The Circle Centre team supports SYF

SYF staff members enjoy lunch at CPK

A table full of Simon employees eat for SYF

Denim does it again for Simon Youth Foundation

Free Coca-Cola products? Check.

Free California Pizza Kitchen pizza samples ? Check.

Free SYF T-shirt? Check.

Another great Simon Youth Foundation Jeans for Teens fundraiser at the Simon Property Group headquarters in Indianapolis, Ind.? Check.

On Friday, Aug. 12, our great partners in education, the employees of SPG, raised an amazing $2,401 to benefit SYF programs, including our Simon Youth Academies, which are alternative schools that operate in partnership with public school districts to serve students who have dropped out or are at-risk of dropping out of their traditional high school due to homeless, parenthood, illness, or other personal circumstances that demand a unique learning environment.

For a five dollar donation to SYF, SPG employees were able to wear jeans into the office and received a peace, love, and SYF.org T-shirt as well as a sample slice from California Pizza Kitchen and a free Coca-Cola beverage of their choice.

The Jeans for Teens event included a Coke-bottle-cap toss, which teased ahead to our upcoming partnership with My Coke Rewards (much more on that right here on the blog in the coming weeks). Those who could put their cap through holes cut in gameboards were entered into a drawing for California Pizza Kitchen gift cards.

We were very proud to have some of our Simon Youth Academy students from the Indianapolis area in attendance to help serve pizza to their supporters as well as SYF Board of Directors member Bob Estes, who encouraged the players in the Coke-cap toss.

SYDNEY ACHIEVERS INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS (UNDERGRADUATE & POSTGRADUATE STUDIES)

The University of Sydney takes great pleasure in announcing the Sydney Achievers International Scholarships for new international students commencing at the University in 2012.

These prestigious scholarships are aimed at attracting high achieving, academically meritorious, international students to enjoy the ‘Sydney experience’ at one of the finest institutions of higher education in the world.

Details are as follows:


SYDNEY ACHIEVERS INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS (UNDERGRADUATE)

Benefits
30 scholarships of AUD$10,000 each per annum, available for a maximum of three years, (total value AUD$30,000) for any Undergraduate program offered at the University of Sydney (subject to the recipient maintaining satisfactory academic progress each year).

No living allowance is payable.

Criteria for Eligibility
Applicants must have completed an Australian Year 12 qualification or an international senior secondary qualification accepted by the University with an Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) of at least 98* or equivalent.

Students who have already commenced tertiary studies, or students transferring with credit exemptions and/or advanced standing are not eligible. Students completing Foundation Studies Programs are also not eligible.

* For further information on equivalents to Australian Year 12 qualifications and a table showing standard academic requirements for some of these examinations relative to ATAR scores see:
http://sydney.edu.au/future_students/international_undergraduate/admissions/entry_requirements

SYDNEY ACHIEVERS INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS (POSTGRADUATE)

Benefits
30 scholarships of AUD$10,000 each, available as a one-off award (total value AUD$10,000) for any Postgraduate Coursework program offered at the University of Sydney.

No living allowance is payable.

Criteria for Eligibility

Applicants must have completed the equivalent of an Australian Bachelor degree qualification with a minimum high distinction average as based on the Australian grading system. Students who have already commenced postgraduate studies, or students transferring from other postgraduate programs are not eligible.

Application Procedure

No separate application for a scholarship is necessary. An Application for Admission to the University of Sydney in 2012 will constitute an application for a scholarship. All applications meeting the selection and eligibility criteria will be automatically considered.

The deadline for receipt of applications and complete supporting documentation (academic and English language proficiency results) is 31 October 2011 for Semester 1, 2012, and 30 April 2012 (for Semester 2, 2012). Applications received after these deadlines will not be considered.

Selection Criteria
Selection will be based strictly on academic merit as per the University’s admission requirements. Selection will be based on actual results (academic and English language proficiency). Predicted/forecast results will not be considered.

Only applicants with firm, unconditional offers of admission will be considered.

Selection will be made by the University’s Scholarship Selection Committee, whose decision will be final. No appeals will be entertained.

Successful candidates will be informed in December 2011 (Semester 1, 2012) and June 2012 (Semester 2. 2012). Successful candidates applying through UAC will be informed in January 2012.

Conditions
Undergraduate scholarship recipients will need to maintain satisfactory academic progress, which, for the purposes of retaining the scholarship, is defined as maintaining a credit average (at least 65%) or more each year. Failure to do so may result in the scholarship being terminated.

Successful candidates:

must not be in receipt of any other tuition scholarship;

must commence study in 2012 – commencement may not be deferred;

will be required to pay for their own airfares to Sydney, living expenses, study materials, text books, any ancillary fees (if applicable) and Overseas Student Health Cover each year;

are also responsible for paying the balance of the tuition fees each year;

are required to enrol as full-time international students and must maintain their international student status on a full-time basis throughout their enrolment at the University of Sydney; and
may not be entitled to a ‘Leave of Absence’ during the duration of the scholarship, unless it is due to extenuating circumstances.


SOURCE: CLICK HERE

MAKULILO

California, USA

Simon Youth Foundation thinks a high school diploma is a great way to top off your pizza

We need to preface this post by saying that California Pizza Kitchen is a valued partner of Simon Youth Foundation. Also, we love pizza...a lot. With that out of the way, we can now gush over the new California Pizza Kitchen at Circle Centre in downtown Indianapolis, Ind.!

SYF was honored to participate in the restaurant's preview night Monday, Aug. 8, where supporters of the both organizations as well as representatives from SYF's great partner in education Simon Property Group enjoyed an evening of food and drink.

SYF President and CEO J. Michael Durnil, Ph.D., greeted guests, and SYF staff handed out reusable SYF shopping bags filled with a frozen CPK pizza for guests to take home. The restaurant officially opened for business Tuesday, Aug. 9.



California Pizza Kitchen is the latest
SYF partner in education


As part of its grand opening celebrations, CPK at Circle Centre will donate 50 percent of ALL dine-in sales on Tuesday, Aug. 16, to benefit SYF's two major initiatives: Simon Youth Academies and Simon Youth Scholarships.

We encourage SYF supporters who will be in Indianapolis on Aug. 16 to enjoy a meal at the restaurant. The space is beautiful and packed with high-definition TVs. The staff is even better, and you'll find them to be warm and inviting.

With your support, CPK and SYF can take a slice out of nation's drop-out rate.