RATED T FOR TEEN: Baton Rouge Youth Coalition
Date: March 31, 2009 Section: People
Need advice and help with applying for and paying for college, managing your money, and even starting up a business with other local teenagers? Help is just an application away. The founders of the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition listened to the private stories of challenges facing public high school students.
They used their findings to craft a hands-on program focusing on leadership, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and college preparation for public high school students.
Coalition co-founders Daniel Kahn and Sam Joel, Teach for America educators at East Baton Rouge Parish public schools, are seeking out new 11th-grade students to join the Youth Coalition.
“Most of the students in Baton Rouge Youth Coalition live in worlds in which financial matters are poorly understood. These students do not have bank accounts and have to keep large quantities of cash on hand,” Kahn said.
The program will help students create a road map for their finances and prepare for college and a career, he said.
Students will take intensive ACT and SAT preparation courses offered through the Princeton Review. Students will also receive college plans to help them identify what schools they might consider pursuing.
“The market for college services and resources needs to exist in our public school community accessible to all free of charge,” Kahn said.
Kahn said students will also learn how to fill out college applications and essays online as well as apply for financial aid. He said the idea is to help teens become workforce ready.
Students will also participate in the Youth Entrepreneurship program. Students will set up a store from which they can sell various wares including iPod accessories or other products or ideas that they generate on their own, he said.
High school juniors can request an application by writing Daniel Kahn at daniel@thebryc.org. Students will be selected in May.
Programming will begin in the fall, and students will meet weekly.
- Chante Dionne Warren, Advocate staff writer
