Community Youth Advance Program

Due to the impact of the coronavirus, the United States Department of Education awarded grants to Governors for the purpose of emergency fund relief. As a result, Community Youth Advance (CYA) has been invited to work with Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) to re-engage high schools students in grades 9-12 who are identified as at-risk and have been chronically absent during the first semester of the 2020-2021 school year.

PGCPS and CYA will implement supports, resources, and outreach to more than 450 at-risk and chronically absent high school students at 15 different county high schools with the goal of re-engaging students back into the school setting prior to second semester for the 2020-2021 school year and follow-up through the end of the school year.

Program Objectives:
• Make contact and connect with 100% targeted students/families using both traditional and creative methods – while remaining in compliance with all social distancing, health, and safety guidelines;
• Re-engage and follow-up with the more than two-thirds of the students who have been “no shows” or chronically absent since school began in August 2020, by connecting the students with appropriate school placements while providing personal support so that students can return to school by the second semester of this school year; and
• Sustain engagement of re-engaged students located through the efforts of PGCPS school-based personnel, PGCPS Pupil Personnel Workers (PPW), and External Partners.

Mentor Engagement
To successfully meet our objectives, CYA is recruiting, onboarding, and training mentors to support the re-engagement of students. Mentors will each be assigned a small cohort of students and asked to contact each student on a weekly basis.
• Mentor Onboarding
o 1hr onboarding workshop (introduction to program and staff)
• Mentor Training
o Quarterly 1hr training with CYA full mentoring team
• Weekly Student Contact:
o Phone call or email
o Completion of Google contact form notes

Total mentor commitment under the re-engagement program will be a minimum of 35 hours per school year. (Commitment of one school year required September - June)
• 1 hour orientation
• 2 – 3 hours per week contact
• 4 hours training (1hr per quarter)
Mentors in the CYA re-engagement program also have the opportunity to join the full CYA mentoring program (minimum commitment of 10 hours per month including training).

Getting Started:
• Contact Kristy Ross, Case Manager KRoss@cyadvance.org
• Complete the Community Youth Advance online mentor application
• Learn more about the CYA High School Re-Engagement Program
• Learn more about CYA Mentoring Programs