YouthBuild Charter School of California

YouthBuild Charter School of California (YCSC) holds a unique place in the landscape of California’s public charter schools. As a competency-based dropout recovery school, it seeks to provide a high school education that leads to a diploma for a distinct group of students. YCSC students, who are all between the ages of 16 to 24 years old, come from low-income families and underserved communities, and have previously left or been pushed out of the traditional school system without a diploma. They enroll at YouthBuild programs over-aged, under-credited, or both, in order to receive vocational training, counseling, leadership development and an education. In order to meet the unique needs of its students, YouthBuild Charter School of California uses a project-based, inter-disciplinary curriculum model that relies on authentic assessments and applied learning. Students are empowered to take what they learn in the classroom into their communities to promote social justice through volunteerism and advocacy. At the end of each trimester, YCSC students work together with teachers to create a culminating community action project. These projects have included a Health Fair in Lennox, adding fresh food options to a liquor store in East Los Angeles, and a Town Hall event in Boyle Heights calling for an end to sheriff violence in L.A. County jails. Unlike traditional schools that employ standardized curriculum and classroom practices that often disempower and alienate marginalized students, YCSC’s project-based approach allows young adults to take ownership of their education. In addition to providing a rigorous education, YCSC partners with local community-based organizations to provide students with counseling services, college preparation, leadership development, vocational training, and the unique opportunity to revitalize their communities while earning school credit by building low-income housing.