• National Urban League Incentive To Excel and Succeed
• Young Engineers & Scientists
• CLASS: Caring Ladies Assisting Students to Succeed
• DYWTLOD Gang Prevention Program
• Youth Empowerment Program

NULITES

NULITES is a national program offered in over 26 states and the District of Columbia serving an estimated 5,000 young people. It is designed to reflect the positive aspects of youth in today’s society related to academic acheivement, community service, and leadership.

NULITERS participate in college and career counseling, college tours, educational seminars, field trips and even occasional visits to amusement parks and museums. There is also the opportunity to earn awards and attend the annual NULITES leadership summit, located in an Urban League city.

The program is available to North High students by calling 973-6242 or e-mailing Nolanna Simon, and to Southeast High students by calling 973-2746 or e-mailing Kareem Collins.

Young Engineers and Scientists

The Young Engineers and Scientists Program uses a unique approach to learning that mirrors the type learning that takes place during their school day.

Additionally, our staff of state-certified Spaght Elementary teachers puts forth great effort to attend to your child’s educational needs by answering your questions, scheduling meetings for collaboration on your child’s academic needs, and giving ongoing reports on your child’s progress. Our program provides your child with opportunities to get ahead, using the Urban League Community Learning Center’s well-equipped science lab.

Students meet four days a week — Monday-Thursday from 3:20 to 5:00 p.m. If your child is a 3rd, 4th, or 5th grader at Spaght Elementary and you want to help them learn to excel and succeed in a positive educational environment, look no further.

For more information call the Urban League Community Learning Center at (316) 683-3315 or e-mail program director Tom Dort.

Caring Ladies Assisting Students to Succeed

C.L.A.S.S. is a structured support system for young women in urban Wichita schools, consisting of qualified women from diverse backgrounds. C.L.A.S.S. provides character building workshops, mentorship, life skills workshops and educational and aspirational guidance.

The women of C.L.A.S.S. meet with groups for approximately 2 hours each week. Girls face many struggles and tough decisions during adolescent years; many urban and underpriveleged adolescents face these years without the care and guidance of concerned, available, able mentors. C.L.A.S.S. offers them that extra support during this critical period of development.

Good intentions of caring persons is not always enough; in order to provide an actionable path of hope to youths who feel, with some justice, alientated from and neglected by authority structures, there must be common origin. This is the universal framework of the role model; thus, the paths of the teacher and student have visibly same starting places. Personal identification creates common ground, and the tangible successes of the teacher give credence to her words. She is her own proof of ability and mandate for empowerment.

Yet the achievement in question is one of breaking a perpetuated cycle with poverty. The successful upward mobility of individuals from such a background removes them from that common circumstance. Seeing the effect that this natural removal of exemplars has in sustaining an environment of fatalism and hopelessness, Lynn Gilkey and the women of C.L.A.S.S. have taken on the mission of filling this much-needed role. Their eventual success in the face of the myriad adversities of poverty forms a credible resource for empowerment of these young women.

In addition to the weekly sessions, the program schedules “sisterhood”-themed events, during which educators, professionals, and community leaders participate and share their motivational stories and empowering messages of overcoming.

The C.L.A.S.S. program currently has a presence in four Wichita high schools: Northwest, North, East and West High Schools. We also collaborate with the Gerard House, Hiawatha Salvation Army program, and Wichita Children’s Home.

For more information call the Urban League Community Learning Center at (316) 683-3315 or email Lynn Gilkey.

"Do You Want To Live Or Die?" Gang Prevention Program

Gangs exist in almost every school and neighborhood in our community. This means that your child, your brothers, sisters, and friends are exposed to very real pressures to enter gang life. Youth involved in gang activity will lead to one or all of the following: jail time, drug abuse, or death.

But there is an alternative. Through partnerships with Wichita police and community leaders, David Gilkey provides youth with a first-hand "look and feel" of the consequences of gang life, while presenting alternative, positive paths. Emphasizing education and positive role models, DYWTLOD works to attract youth to the decision paths that lead to graduation, career opportunities, and a successful and fulfilling future.

David is not afraid to share his life experiences of incarceration and substance abuse. He has over eight years of sobriety and has committed his life to preventing youth from entering into gang life, the world of drugs, and the penal system. David currently mentors youth in six area high schools, two middle schools and one elementary school. His goal is to change the lives of young men who are headed toward gang life, drugs and incarceration.

For more information call the Urban League Community Learning Center at (316) 683-3315 or e-mail David Gilkey.

Youth Empowerment Program

We provide all of the tools to create a hands-on learning environment for your child. We work closely with COMCARE to assure that your child gets the best service we can provide. The program includes series of psychosocial treatment groups with objectives designed to teach youth coping skills by:

• Assisting in daily problem solving
• Improving social skills
• Promoting healthy lifestyles
• Providing leisure time training
• Enhancing personal relationships

The group will engage in activities to improve your child’s ability to learn critical thinking skills, that will empower them to make good decisions in life. Sessions meet three times a week (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Urban League Community Learning Center.

For more information call the Urban League Community Learning Center at (316) 683-3315 or e-mail Jason McKenney.