Taylor Frome

YESPhilly (formerly Youth Empowerment Services) was established in June 1999 to develop opportunities for the many youth who drop out of Philadelphia Schools. For a decade, YESPhilly has designed and implemented an intensive youth development model for young adults, created innovative programs and curricula, and advocated for more and better targeted resources for high school dropouts. In our first years, YESPhilly worked with the School District of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Youth Network to establish the Youth Opportunity Centers. In 2002 we took the lead in getting public attention for the issue of high school dropouts by crafting the Blueprint for Out of School Youth. We also secured local funding for our core program, which includes GED and literacy skill development combined with counseling and educational enrichment activities, and transitioned from the Youth Opportunity Initiative. From 2004 to 2008 we offered the Digital Media Training Program (DMT), an apprenticeship model that provided advanced media arts training with an emphasis on video production skills. In 2009 we were able to further enrich our model, with curriculum development resources, and a GED to College program serving 25 youth. This program (G2C) supports students through the process of passing the GED tests and enrolling in credit-bearing college courses.