NYU CPA/1199 WorkForce 2000 Program has been successful in helping young people transition to post-secondary education while strengthening their academic, career, and social/emotional skills. Initially founded in 1984, as the Metro Center Upward Bound Program, the first in the nation to target the inclusion of low-income, first-generation high school students with disabilities, was effective in developing partnerships with public and private sector resources that fostered connections with students and families.
Successfully Transitioning From High School to College
Since 1997, Metro Center has collaborated with the 1199 SEIU Child Care Corporation to provide a dynamic opportunity for members and their teenagers to participate in a yearlong program providing youth leadership and development services needed for the successful transition from high school to college while making informed career choices with a high focus on healthcare careers.
This partnership has been successful in adapting to the changes in funding since 2012 when TRIO funding ended(1), as well as, in meeting the needs of our youth as they confront the challenges of the ever-changing landscape of career development and college admissions.
A Focus on Foundational Skills Needed for Success in High School and Beyond
CPA/1199 WorkForce 2000 Program uses a high-touch, holistic approach to providing tailored enrichment, academic support, and college and career readiness services.
Program activities emphasize foundational skills including core academics needed for success in high school and beyond along with early career and college exploration and preparation. Enriching students’ development through a broad range of life skills, and an emphasis on self-assessment and goal attainment are crucial to each student’s program plan and implementation.
Ensuring Pathways to the Future
Core and elective instruction across STEAM fields provides skill development in computational thinking, blending creativity with critical thinking and analysis, research, technology, media fluency, communication, and financial literacy.
Continuity of programming, staffing, and student engagement fosters connections with students and their families. Integrating wellness and mindfulness fosters social-emotional growth, which combined with community service, field visits, cultural events, in-person and virtual career networking, and hands-on experiences such as summer employment ensure opportunities to connect school experiences to career and college exploration. Ensuring pathways to the future, the program provides individualized college advising and planning for youth and their family, from initial research to essays and application filing, combined with extensive financial aid/scholarship assistance culminating in transition workshops focused on college success.
CPA/1199 Workforce is a supplemental college-preparatory program that enables roughly 300 high school students from high-needs communities to attend our Central NYU campus for intensive Saturday and summer sessions, focused on academic enrichment, tutoring, mentoring, college readiness, career planning, and professional internship experience.
Program Impact:
The impact of the program's Saturday and summer programming on students' academic performance for the 2021-2022 Academic Year is both impressive and transformative.
424 Students and Families Served during the Program Year
- 171 participated in the Saturday Academic Year Component
- 253 participated in the Summer Component- 100% of seniors successfully graduated high school and matriculated to a post-secondary college or trade school with many earning Advanced Diplomas.
- 73% matriculated to a 4-year college or university
- 24% matriculated to a 2-year college
- 2 seniors went on to enter 1199 WF program
- 99% of College Prep Academy seniors completed the application for Federal Students Aid (FAFSA) (Note: One of the students entered Trade School under a scholarship and later completed the FAFSA application.)
- $356,100 in scholarships, in addition to the Federal and State Financial Aid and grant award, received by CPA/1199 participants with the assistance of CPA/1199 staff
The College Prep Academy/1199 WorkForce (CPA/1199WF) at NYU Metro Center is committed to supporting students and their families to post-secondary school success. A significant factor in the success of this program, is due to the flexibility of services provided to students and parents through funding from the Meringoff, Winston, and Pinkerton Foundations and the ongoing collaboration with 1199/Child Care Corporation (CCC).
References
1. TRIO or (TRiO) Programs are federal outreach and student services programs in the United States designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. TRIO or (TRiO) Programs are administered, funded, and implemented by the United States Department of Education.