History of SOUTHEAST Youth Academy

Southeast Youth Academy grew out of an intense community planning process undertaken in 1993 for the Southeast Baltimore area. The planning process underscored the near-absence of services for the then 6,000 teens in Southeast Baltimore. Services existed for young children and their families, but adolescents had little support from the community, despite the dangers they faced from illicit drug use, premature parenthood, poverty, low academic performance and violent crime.

To fill the gap in services, SEYA was created with the intensive involvement of The Julie Community Center, Jubilee Baltimore and the Southeast Youth and Family Coalition, a union of parents, teachers and youth. Originally called the Southeast Teen Center, SEYA opened in temporary quarters in St. Elizabeth’s Church in early 1996. In 1998, SEYA acquired a permanent site, a three-story, 10,950 sq. ft. vacant beauty school located at 3301 Eastern Avenue. Programs were held in this building until 2000 when SEYA responded to the Family League’s invitation to take over the Police Athletic League (PAL) Center in the rear of Canton Middle School where programs are currently conducted. This was convenient for SEYA because major renovations to the building were necessary to bring the building up to code and only the first floor was functional for programming. At this time, SEYA offered academic enrichment, career development, cultural and recreational activities to a membership of 140 youth ages 12-19.

Today SEYA is an after-school program serving both Middle School and High School students (programs for high school students ended this past summer). Our mission is to provide a safe and supportive place for young people to gather after school to participate in programs that address personal development, academic success, artistic and cultural enrichment, recreation and community service. SEYA is designated as a YouthPlace by the Family League of Baltimore City and participate in the After School Strategy of the Safe and Sound Campaign. SEYA has also been awarded funding through the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to as 21st Century CLC in partnership with Canton Middle School, Sylvan Educational Solutions, Enough Pratt Free Library, The Family Tree, Campaign for Our Children, Creative Alliance, Genesee Valley, Wholistic Life Foundation and the International School of Protocol. The MSDE grant cycle will run from September 2004 through June 2007. This grant serves fifty Canton middle school students and their families. SEYA’s high school program will resume once we gain full access to the Eastern Ave. building.

Goals at SOUTHEAST Youth Academy

Proposed Programming for Future Growth With funding support, new enrichment programs will expand our teens' creative, academic and work skills as well as involve them in the community in productive ways. The following are programs that SEYA plans to develop:

1.ACADEMIC: An expansion to the Area Middle and High School Youth of SEYA's "5th period" program to improving academic and social performance as with Canton Middle School. The program is a 2.5-hour after school package, which includes supplemental academic tutoring by volunteers and Sylvan Educational Solutions from 2:30-3:30 p.m. followed by enrichment and recreation activities from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.

2. ARTS: An expansion of the SEYA arts program through a continuing collaboration with the neighboring Creative Alliance. The expansion will offer the teens greater opportunities to express themselves creatively and display their accomplishments publicly. At some future time, SEYA hopes to add an art teacher to its staff.

3. JOB SKILLS: An expansion of the staff's capacity to utilize the computer equipment we own to teach job-related computer skills to teens. This new capacity will also help us to get local businesses involved in SEYA to teach various software programs, facilitating an expansion of our volunteer program.

4. EASTERN AVENUE BUILDING: Greater and more productive use of our already renovated and enlarged Eastern Avenue building. Funding will enable us to develop new activities in the building, such as partnerships between teens and local businesses. For example, one idea under consideration is an incubator for teen businesses. This has been successfully pursued and implemented with other youth programs in Baltimore. Funding is also needed toward renovated the second and third floors of this building.

5. YOUTH LEADERSHIP: A campaign to involve our teens in one or more of the many youth leadership initiatives that already take place in and around Baltimore by expanding the Leadership Society. The desired outcomes for this program are to have youth graduate as productive citizens ready for work, higher education, entrepreneurship and leadership. To have youth involved in the community for purposes of improved and well-maintained open spaces. Youth will achieve at high levels and foster a sense of neighborhood action and community through building relationships with local organizations and businesses. The populations the program will impact are youth ages 13-18 that reside in the Southeast Baltimore specifically the Highlandtown and Canton communities of the city.