Help us train peer educators to provide college preparation for young women.
Why we care: In Brooklyn, New York, less than half of high school seniors enroll in college, and only 18% are “college ready.”
How we’re solving this: The College Readiness Experience trains our alumni to provide college prep activities and critical exposure to our high school Youth Organizers.
Only 55% of high school graduates from low-income families enroll in college, compared to 84% from high-income families. The College Readiness Experience is a youth-led initiative that demonstrates peer training, education and support at its best. Last summer, 3 Sisters in Strength alumni received 26 hours of leadership training from the Brooklyn Youth Leadership Training Institute’s College Access Research & Action Creating Post-Secondary Pathways (CARA) program to help 10 current Sisters in Strength move successfully through the college application process. This summer, 3 Sisters in Strength will go through the training to provide peer leadership in facilitating four college access workshops per school year (September – June) on completing applications and writing winning essays, and three individual peer counseling sessions per participant. Sisters’ alumni will lead student-guided college tours of their own campuses to offer critical exposure and a realistic view of college life.
Since many of our Sisters will be first generation college students, this innovative assistance has proven invaluable. Pre and post-workshop surveys confirm that participants view the program as a necessary supplement to the college preparatory services available at their high schools that offers inspiration and a strong foundation for making informed decisions about their futures.
As a result of participating in CARA training and leading workshops, our alumni report:
- improved communication, facilitation and public speaking skills,
- an increased sense of efficacy in their role as youth leaders,
- and strengthened confidence in their leadership abilities that intersect with their own experiences as college students.
“(The program) allowed me to see how you can make things happen, in terms of having a vision and using information that you learned to meet community needs.” –Natasha, workshop facilitator and GGE alumni
*More information on the Sisters in Strength program can be found here.