New Heights Youth, Inc.

1
New Heights Youth, Inc.

• Nick Blatchford
• Ruben Montilla
• May 11, 2005

2
What is New Heights?

• Community-based education organization
• Provides rigorous high school and college
  preparation and placement and leadership
  development for promising NYC student-athletes
• Targets youth ages 11-18 from Harlem, Washington
  Heights and the Bronx
• Leverages sports to engage youth in learning and
  leadership development

3
Why do we exist?

• In the New Heights target community
• Talent pool exists but is not cultivated
• Limited educational pathways
• Uneven educational playing field

4
What does New Heights do?

• Engage
• Sports as hook
• Synergistic
• programming
• emphasis on
• education
• leadership
• development

• Identify
• Promising
• young student
• athletes
• (5th grade)
• Harlem,
• Washington
• Heights,
• the Bronx

Invest Long-term, individualized
investment Create educational pathways(middle
school to high school to college) Whatever it
takes approach
Support Empower - help people help
themselves Catch you when you fall approach
5
Successes (2001-2004)

• 70 student-athletes currently attending college
  prep high schools throughout NYC and the US (e.g.
  FDA, Phillips Exeter Academy, St. Albans School
  for Boys).
• 45 graduates currently attending college (100
  matriculation and retention rate for boys).
• 5,755,000 total scholarship and financial aid
  dollars awarded to student-athletes from the
  nations finest high schools and colleges (e.g.
  Georgetown, Howard University, Columbia).

6
What makes our approach effective?

• Synergistic programming
• Intensive investment
• Access and opportunity

ACADEMICS
7
What can WE do?

• Re-frame our thinking
• Talent pool exists
• Invest rather than save
• Re-frame our approach
• Prevention rather than intervention
• Identify hooks that engage youth in learning
• Long-term commitment