Rites of Passage Program

An exciting transformational program that encourages African-American students to learn more about themselves: personally, socially, and culturally, while empowering them to promote their unique life story.

Youth meet weekly to go on an enlightening journey of personal growth; become more proficient in literacy; and learn more about the relevance of culture and the importance of preserving it. With the recent pandemic, the achievement gap has widened and African-American students are negatively affected the most. Closing the achievement gap in school districts with disproportionate racial disparities is necessary for the future success of African-American students. Better access to opportunities for personal and financial growth increases everyone’s opportunity to be successful in our future world.

Each student will have an opportunity to learn Leadership Principles and develop the 5 Critical Social Emotional Skills outlined in the New York State SEL Benchmark Survey to become Emotionally Literate and Culturally Competent with each lesson throughout the course. With a focus on improving relationships with others: peers, educators, family, community members, business leaders, law enforcement and any other persons or groups the students interact with as they navigate through childhood in preparation for adulthood. Students will communicate with kindness and care to reach a consensus that helps move them towards achieving a shared goal and vision to increase their academic engagement, enhance their educational experience to increase engagement and ultimately, increase academic performance. The objective is for each participant to optimize their choices and understand the risks and rewards of their decisions as they see their way out of high school into the future while having an appreciation and respect for diversity during their educational journey.