Prepared 4 Life will offer programs at six HISD middle schools this year
HOUSTON (August 21, 2006) – On Friday, students at Ortiz Middle School will crowd into the gym not for a pep rally or an assembly, but to sign up for fun and exciting after-school activities being offered by Prepared 4 Life, a 501(c)(3) organization instilling life skills, character education, self-reliance and ingenuity in Houston middle school students through lively, enriching after-school programs. With a diverse assortment of programming ranging from school park design to soccer, science labs to low-rider construction, the non-profit organization hopes every student on campus can find something that will appeal to him or her.
Prepared 4 Life’s unique curriculum exposes young people to important life skills and business know-how through activities students select for themselves. Working with leading researchers and partners with proven experience teaching hands-on educational courses, Prepared 4 Life will offer programs on six HISD campuses during the 2006-2007 school year. Prepared 4 Life Co-founder and Board Chair Michael Holthouse said the organization’s post-school day classes complement HISD’s current academic offerings and the school district’s ever growing push for a college-bound student body.
“Giving kids something productive and fun to do after school is really just the beginning of what Prepared 4 Life is doing,” said Holthouse. “Because each class is fully integrated with Prepared 4 Life’s curriculum which teaches students the fundamentals of owning and operating businesses and emphasizes character education and critical life skills through opportunity based learning, every student is gaining invaluable experience and exposure to values that will not only help them stay in school, but will, based on our research, provide a foundation that inspires them to become the business leaders, social advocates, volunteers and forward-thinking citizens of the future.”
Financial support secured by Prepared 4 Life to fund the after-school program comes from businesses, government, foundations, individuals and public sources. Contributions to offset program and research costs for the current academic year total more than $1.5 million with approximately half of the underwriting coming from private donors, while funding from the 21st Century Community Learning Center, obtained in collaboration with Harris County Department of Education-CASE, makes up the remainder. According to Holthouse, this means Prepared 4 Life partners teaching after-school sessions on campus no longer have to exhaust their resources looking for a way to cover program costs.
“We find out what kinds of classes our program partners already have to offer and determine how their programs can be integrated into the Prepared 4 Life curriculum. Through our partnership with HISD, we have a place for them to teach the innovative courses they’ve developed,” said Holthouse. “It’s the kind of collaboration funders want to get behind because it eliminates redundancy in administrative work and cost and helps ensure more resources are being allocated to programs, directly for the kids.”
HISD Executive Manager of Strategic Partnerships Gasper Mir III said Prepared 4 Life is a welcome addition to the school district’s on-campus offerings. Like Holthouse, Mir made a decision to transition from a successful business career to focus his energies on education improvement by forming new affiliations between HISD and outside partners.
“Through innovative and strategic collaborations, Prepared 4 Life is bringing together non-profits, the business community, concerned individuals and educators to build on existing academic programs, adding critical character and life-skills development to students’ aptitudes,” said Mir.
“It’s our hope that, through the opportunity-based learning and real-life experiences students experience in the Prepared 4 Life program, academic education will become more relevant and students’ performance in the classroom will benefit from what they’re doing after school,” said Holthouse.
Courses on each campus are overseen by a Prepared 4 Life site leader – an “after-school principal” – who ensures consistency in programming. Throughout the year, students’ progress toward understanding the core Prepared 4 Life values is measured using pre- and post-testing, shifts in classroom attendance and test scores, life skills learning, changes toward positive behaviors and many other criteria assessed through quantifiable metrics and evaluations from program administrators and the students themselves.
In each Prepared 4 Life after-school program, students develop and implement a business venture. “For example,” said Holthouse, “kids who sign up for urban dance classes, may choose to stage a performance at the end of the year. Not only will they be responsible for choreographing the show, but will have to manage the project budget and market their event. We’re making sure students have the support they need to do this through program instructors and on-campus banking services, but it’s the youth themselves who are taking initiative and making decisions about what they want to do and how.”
A Youth Advisory Council, which is comprised of members nominated by their peers and selected by teachers and administrators, works with the organization to determine which programs Prepared 4 Life will host and how data on the success of the program is gathered.
“Prepared 4 Life gave me a head start on life,” said Keyoliver Criff, an Ortiz eighth grader, second-year participant in the after-school program and Youth Advisory Council member. “I know people really do care about me and that’s why I like Prepared 4 Life.”
“Middle school is a very important time in a child’s life,” said Holthouse. “It is at this crossroads kids’ characters are largely shaped and a foundation for a productive future can be laid down.”
Search Institute, an independent non-profit research organization focusing on the health of children and communities and a Prepared 4 Life partner, has been studying what it takes for kids to become responsible, caring adults for more than 15 years. The Institute has determined that, of 40 experiential and value-oriented competencies identified as key to achieving this outcome, the majority of youth are exposed to less than half.
“Most children are raised by parents who work outside of the home and, often, are left to fend for themselves between 3 and 6 p.m. Sometimes this is an opportunity for kids to get into trouble, but we know it’s also an opportunity for them to do some good in their schools, communities and their own lives. The life-outcomes of our kids depend on exposure to positive experiences and reiteration of values. In large part, this is why Prepared 4 Life provides the oversight and funding for after-school programs,” said Holthouse. He notes few organizations have focused on middle-schoolers and after-school programming in an active way before he partnered with Sara Speer Selber in 2005 to launch Prepared 4 Life.
Holthouse, founder of several successful technology start-ups, brings extensive business organizational framework experience to Prepared 4 Life’s administration and program development. As an entrepreneur, Holthouse has focused on developing companies that are highly scalable and replicable – a practice that is also at the center of the Prepared 4 Life model. As a volunteer leader, he has gained hands-on experience with youth programs at the Children’s Museum of Houston and Boys and Girls Clubs of Houston.
Prepared 4 Life President Sara Speer Selber is an organizational program development and funding expert and former AIDS Foundation Houston CEO, Dynegy Foundation director and non-profit consultant. She takes a collaborative approach to community problem-solving and is known for bringing educational and social-service organizations, funders and academic institutions together, helping to eliminate redundant, needless investment of energy and dollars and leverage the best capacities that each brings to the table.
Imelda Medrano, principal of Hogg Middle School – another campus where Prepared 4 Life is offering programming this year – said she feels the collaboration has all the right components to be successful
“Prepared 4 Life is going to change the course of kids’ lives. Not only will it give them a safe and productive way to spend their afternoons, but it will teach them values and get them thinking about how to earn enough money to own a piece of the American Dream,” said Medrano.
“Prepared 4 Life helps me in so many different ways,” said Ortiz eighth-grader Monica Barahona. “Last year I learned things I didn’t think were possible; how to play new sports, how to show others what I learned and help them do things they can’t – yet. And, I learned that, with team work, we can all reach the finish line together.”
Both Criff and Barahona said Prepared 4 Life helps them tackle life’s challenges head on. The first test they face this year? Choosing which after-school classes they want to sign up to take.