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Fresh Start Program
The Application for the Fresh Start Program is available online here. Print out the application form and upon completion call the Living Classrooms National Capital Region Office at 202-488-0627 to schedule an interview. Ask for Kira Houston or Darren Cox. Living Classrooms’ work readiness and workforce development programs assist disadvantaged youth and young adults to overcome obstacles including lack of education, lack of skills, poor work history, history of substance abuse or criminal behavior, and childcare and transportation barriers both in Baltimore and Washington, DC. Our programs help youth address these issues and become successful by developing a network of support and resources, teaching youth marketable job skills such as professionalism, communication, and problem-solving, and providing opportunities for academic remediation and continuing education. The Fresh Start program is one example of how Living Classrooms is changing lives by teaching marketable job skills. The U.S. Department of Labor and the National Youth Employment Coalition continue to recognize Living Classrooms' Fresh Start program for "best practices working with at-risk youth" and for embodying a "continuous improvement process”. The U. S. Department of Labor has awarded Living Classrooms with $1.6 million to replicate Fresh Start not only to additional neighborhoods in Baltimore, but to Washington, D.C. starting in the spring of 2008. Fresh Start is a 40-week job skills training program that serves out-of-school youth, ages 16-19, most of whom are referred by the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. The program uses metal work as a medium to teach reading, writing, math, history, and science. Students receive classroom instruction and one-on-one tutoring. The curriculum is designed to increase self-reliance, teach problem solving and academic skills, and demonstrate how academic skills and knowledge are used in a practical work environment. Students earn stipend while in the program and are able to sell metal products. The profits from all products are rewarded to the students. Fresh Start students increase their math, reading, and writing levels by an average of 1.5 grade levels while in the program. 75-80% of graduates remain employed and/or in school for three years after completion of the program.
For more information or to apply to the Fresh Start program, please contact: |
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