Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the After School Youth Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hillside Works reports strong outcomes in 10th year; participants show high promotion and on-time graduation rates
Summary
Hillside Works Scholarship Connection told the Gates Chili Central School District board it served 35 middle school and 109 high school students last year, reporting high attendance, grade-promotion and on-time graduation rates and describing enrichment, tutoring and employment pathways.
Hillside Works Scholarship Connection reported to the Gates Chili Central School District board that in its 10th year the program served 35 middle school students and 109 high school students and produced high attendance and promotion rates.
Program presenters said enrolled students averaged 93% attendance at the middle school and 94% at the high school. Middle-school participants had an average GPA of 80% and high-school participants averaged 78%. Of 109 high-school participants, 107 — about 98% — were promoted; 34 of 35 seniors graduated on time, a 97% on-time graduation rate, presenters said.
The program’s core model centers on one-to-one mentoring by youth advocates, after-school tutoring in partnership with Dial-A-Teacher and enrichment activities ranging from college and trade-school visits to summer camps and career-focused workshops. Naziah McCray, a Hillside high-school youth advocate, described college tours to Monroe Community College, SUNY Brockport and Syracuse University and a mix of camps and career exposures used to develop postsecondary planning and employment pathways.
Student speakers and family members described the program’s impact. Leila Palumbo, a senior who described herself as highly engaged, said, “it’s more than just a program to me, it’s like a family.” Her mother, Katrina Palumbo, told the board she has “seen my daughter excel through the program” and praised the free tutoring and transportation that eased family burden.
Hillside staff said the program reached full middle-school caseload capacity (35 students) and by August 2024 had 34 YETTA-certified students; the number of high-school students with part-time jobs rose from an initial baseline of 38 to 61 by August 2024. Presenters noted a 35:1 student-to-advocate ratio and that their senior scholarship recipients often include the children of former participants, showing program longevity.
The presentation closed with an appeal to sustain the partnership with Gates Chili and to continue funding and referrals so the program can expand its offerings and maintain the reported outcomes.
