Youth Leadership Foundation
All Youth Leadership Foundation (YLF) programs are founded on Four Pillars of Success: Challenging Academics, Character Formation, Personal Mentoring and Parental Involvement. The goal of each of these pillars, through YLF’s well- rounded academic and character programs, is to teach our students the basic human and Christian virtues that will guide them on a stable moral path.
Challenging Academics
At YLF we believe that each person has a vocation to work. For our students, their vocation is to be the best student that they can possibly be. In an effort to help them live this vocation to the best of their ability we offer challenging classes in core academic subjects that will prepare them for their upcoming academic year. As students review past material and are introduced to new material they begin to gain confidence in their ability to succeed, and this translates to a higher level of performance and better future grades.
Character Formation
At YLF every student participates in daily character talks that focus on the importance of living a virtuous life in the service of God and others. Some of these virtues include order, diligence, forgiveness, honesty, humility, temperance or self-control. Because our students are entering adolescence, some virtues that we encourage in a positive and attractive way include: respect for the individual person in all stages of life; modesty in dress; chastity (saving sex and physical signs of affection for marriage and not encouraging "safe sex"); the dignity and strength of the family, which is defined as a committed relationship between a man, a woman, and their children; and the fostering of positive relationships between parents and children.
Personal Mentors
At YLF every student has a personal mentor who works with him or her on attaining better habits and setting practical goals in an effort to become better human beings. Mentors are encouraged to teach students, both through discussion and through example, the virtues lived out in small, concrete goals. It is in setting manageable and practical goals that the student will grow in virtue. For example, a weekly goal of casual reading 10 minutes each night can help the student grow in literacy, discipline and industriousness.
Parental Involvement
At YLF we believe that parents – not teachers – are the primary educators of their children. Therefore our programs are meant to support this effort and never to become a replacement. The middle school years are a time of great change, and parents play a crucial role in their child’s development towards becoming a mature adult. To this end we value and strongly encourage parents to participate in our programs through introductory interviews, regular correspondence from mentors, parent seminars on subjects ranging from child development to assistance on high school admission, and parent clubs that provide feedback and support throughout the year.
YLF's mission is to hone basic reading, writing, and comprehension skills to enable students to perform at grade-level or better. Our programs increase proficiency in core subjects of English, math, science, and history, which improves the academic achievement of these students enabling them to enter a college-prep course of study in high school. YLF's programs also stress the importance of character development for our students so they can take what they have learned in the classroom and become future leaders who do their work with a spirit of service toward others.
