All of the YCS programs are designed to help youth develop leadership skills, increase awareness of community issues, and come together to take action and inform others. YCS programs serve to: 1) bolster self-esteem and interest in the community; 2) increase opportunities for cross-cultural interaction; 3) give active, hands-on learning opportunities; 4) promote participation in the community and shape future adult leaders who are aware of and prepared to deal with social issues; and 5) help youth educate and inform peers, families and other community members about local needs and issues. YCS programs address the need of pre-teens and teens in diverse communities for quality youth development programs that promote emotional and behavioral health. The families in our region are characterized by wide gaps in economic and social status, by diverse cultures often marked by fear and distrust, and by extreme differences in the quality of educational and civic services provided. For young people, this can mean living in two very different worlds, right next door but nearly invisible to each other. When YCS brings youth from these communities together in well-prepared experiences of service and learning, they learn from each other and discover common core values of honesty, respect, responsibility, fairness and compassion. Together, they learn that they have the capacity to change conditions that they discover need their attention. YCS programs take a preventive, asset-based approach that connects young people to each other in positive engagement and brings them into sustained contact with adult role models who encourage them to recognize and grow their capacities. The magic of YCS is that anyone can serve. YCS programs create the winning combination that joins community service with the energy and exuberance of youth. Research shows that students who engage in meaningful service leadership can achieve significant gains in personal and social mediating factors that can lead to academic success.

Children & Youth , Youth Community Service Clubs , Youth Development Programs

Youth Community Service was founded in 1990 as a unique community education partnership among the cities of Palo Alto and East Palo Alto, Ravenswood City School District and Palo Alto Unified School District. YCS offers five programs: 1. Community-based service and leadership clubs for middle and high school age youth and quarterly YCS Youth Service Days to bring together young leaders from diverse communities. 2. YCS Summer of Service program for youth in grades 6-9. 3. YCS Freshmen Leadership Corps mentoring program for East Palo Alto youth bussed to high school outside their community. 4. Service learning training and support for educators from San Mateo to Monterey counties. 5. The YCS Watershed Education program with educators in districts within the San Francisquito Creek watershed from Portola Valley through East Palo Alto. YCS has been designated by the California Department of Education CalServe Initiative as the Service Learning Lead for one of twelve state regions. YCS is responsible for professional development for educators in service learning strategies in five counties (San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito). Young people from East Palo Alto come from a community with a per capita income of $13,774. East Palo Alto youth currently make up over 16 percent of the juvenile hall population of San Mateo County. In 2006, 73 percent of Ravenswood District students who entered Sequoia District high schools four years earlier failed to graduate, in contrast with an overall high school dropout rate of less than 4 percent. Only 27 percent of that class of Ravenswood students succeeded in graduating from Sequoia district high schools. Twenty percent were officially categorized as drop-outs and another 32 percent transferred out of the district and some may have graduated elsewhere. An additional 17 percent stayed in school for four years but failed to either pass the state exit exam or to accumulate the appropriate units needed for graduation. Of the 73 percent of students who failed to graduate, their ethic makeup is as follows: 65 percent were Hispanic, 21 percent were African American and 12 percent were Pacific Islander.