Project PREPARE
Today, inner-city youth face bleak job prospects due to a lack of basic business know-how. Project Prepare offers a solution to this problem by engaging inner-city high school youth with essential work skills and job experiences. This enables them to ultimately lead productive and self-sufficient lives.
Project Prepare is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but a dynamic program that differentiates by school and grade level. This ensures that each unique student will gain the tools necessary to succeed in their professional life. At the same time, Project Prepare promotes productivity leading at-risk youth away from destructive lifestyles and toward brighter futures.
Introduced in 1986, Project Prepare is active in high schools across Chicago reaching hundreds of students. Implemented through a four-year Career Readiness Curriculum, Project Prepare includes an 18-week workshop on counseling and case management, career awareness, job readiness training, job placement, job retention, and a follow-up seminar. Project Prepare also introduces topics such as job sectors, conflict management, resume writing, communications skills, and employer expectations.
YG’s philosophy of individualized care is one component that makes Project Prepare such a successful initiative and the results speak for themselves; Project Prepare students are less likely to drop out than any other student in the city of Chicago. In 2005, the graduation rate of Project Prepare seniors was 85.9%, while the graduation rate for Chicago Public School seniors was 56%.
Drop out Rate Data for Project Prepare: Shows that Project Prepare Students Are Far Less Likely to Drop out Than Their High School Peers Both at Their School and Other Chicago Public Schools in General.
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