PYN

Section I: Organization Information

Agency Mission: As a catalyst for collective action, we make connections among individuals, organizations and systems. We increase capacity and resources in order to provide world-class preparation so our City's youth can thrive in a regional and global economy.

Name/Title of Contact: Tyrone Manning, Director, Student Success Centers

Address: 714 Market Street, Suite 304 Philadelphia PA 19106

Phone Number: 267-502-3

Website: http://www.pyninc.org/

Email: tmanning@pyninc.org

Total number of agency staff members: 55

Agency Budget: 26,000,000

Section II: Community Need

Please state in measurable and quantifiable terms the specific community need that the Philly Fellow will address, including the number of people in the community directly affected by the problem.

A recent data analysis was conducted by the School District of Philadelphia to better determine the number of its students who were matriculating and graduating from college after high school graduation. This analysis helped the City to better understand the scope of work needed to ensure that more young people graduate from high school prepared to succeed and take advantage of post-secondary opportunities. The data-set included 17,000 first-time ninth graders. Of the 17,000 students only 10,000 graduated from high school; 6,000 actually matriculated into college; and only 1,700 actually graduated from college. These numbers help to paint the story behind Philadelphia’s sobering statistic—only 24% of Philadelphia residents have a bachelor degree. This continues to pace our City at a disadvantage when competing in the national and global economy.

Describe how your agency addresses this need, and how the new capacity created by this fellow will help alleviate the problem.

The Philadelphia Youth Network is intermediary organization for public and private investments targeted toward improving the educational and workforce development outcomes of Philadelphia’s youth. The majority of PYN’s work is aligned with two city-wide initiatives that the organization manages: WorkReady Philadelphia, the citywide network of day-long, summer and year-round youth workforce preparation services founded in 2003, and Project U-Turn, a citywide collaborative of leaders and stakeholders initiated in 2004 and designed to bring much-needed attention to the City’s dropout crisis and to develop strategies to resolve it.

PYN also manages 11 Student Success Centers that are housed in public high schools, to support the School District of Philadelphia in equipping students with 21st-century workforce skills and helps to ensure more youth apply, transition, and succeed in college. The Philly Fellow will support all efforts related to the Student Success Center project. Specifically, the Fellow will help to document the implementation strategy and support the expansion; as well as help to develop evaluative tools used to streamline protocols and processes.

Describe the level of community involvement in the fellow’s project.

The Philly Fellow will have ample opportunities to work with various stakeholders within the Student Success Center Project as well as be directly involved with the 11 Student Success Centers at Philadelphia High Schools. The Fellow will be responsible for helping to coordinate meetings, co-conduct site visits, and administer and interpret evaluative tools. In addition, the Philly Fellow will have unique opportunity to work with SSC Providers and schools to develop a parent engagement strategy.

Section III: Job Description

Please outline in list form the fellow's duties and responsibilities.

• Schedule meetings, trainings, and all conferences for SSC Providers, Schools, and Stakeholder groups; Conduct all follow-up, manage logistics
• Develop and maintain relationships with SSC Program Staff and Principals to help document progress and streamline protocols
• Document Student Success Center implementation strategy; conduct research on best practices in project management
• Co-design and implement parent engagement strategy; including the development and facilitation of focus groups to inform the work
• Draft quarterly reports
• Provide overall administrative support to Student Success Center Director

Please outline in list form the skills/qualifications a fellow should have to succeed in the position.

• Proficient in MS office
• Familiarity with database management
• Demonstrate interested in youth development & programming
• Some experience working directly with youth
• Attention to detail
• Ability to communicate with community stakeholders, youth, and parents

Please describe your agency's plan to orient and train the fellow.

During the fellows first week, they will meet with their direct supervisor and receive an overview of their roles and responsibilities; they will be introduced to the all the staff in the organization; and undergo a series of trainings including:

• Overview of organization history, vision, & mission
• Introduction to various department within the organization and their role in helping to achieve the mission
• Policy & Procedure Protocols
• Technological & Information management training

The Philadelphia Youth Network, implemented the PYN Academy which offers a series of professional development opportunities to all staff throughout the year. The Philly Fellow is eligible to participate in any training of interest to them.

Section IV: Project Plan

Please describe the proposed project goal(s) you expect the fellow to achieve. These should relate to your community need and reflect the long-term impact of the fellow’s project.

At the close of the Philly Fellow’s full year of service, they would have helped to document the implementation strategy of the current Student Success Centers which we will utilize to expand the project to four more schools by 2012. Thousands of young people will benefit by having more access to support systems that help to prepare them for high school graduation and transition into college. Ideally, they would have also co-created a parent engagement strategy for Student Success Center Centers.

Section V: The Nitty Gritty

Will fellow be working at the same address listed above?

Yes

Please describe the fellow's work environment.

Fellow will have a shared office.
Fellow will have their own desk.
Fellow will have their own computer.

Please list the name and title of the fellow's immediate supervisor.

Tyrone Manning, Director, Student Success Centers

Please approximate the percentage of time fellow will work:

Independently: 35%
As a team member in a group setting: 50%
As a team leader in a group setting: 15%

Travel:

Will the fellow be expected to travel as part of the position?

Yes

If so, how often and where?

The fellow will attend offsite meetings and conduct site visit to the 11 Student Success Centers located within Neighborhood highschools.

Will the fellow need the following to carry out the position?

A driver’s license: No
Their own car: No

Section VI: Supervison/Resouces

Please briefly describe plans for supervision of fellow:

The fellow will receive a work plan outlining project goals and highlighting monthly milestones to help them work toward accomplishment. The Fellow will attend meeting b- weekly team meetings with the supervisor to report progress on project initiatives, receive feedback, and support in managing unexpected challenges. The Fellow will work closely with the Director of Student Success Centers and receive a tremendous amount of support and mentoring from the Education Department overall.

What methods, information, or data will you use to evaluate the fellow’s success in their position and your agency’s success in meeting your community need?

We will ultilze the Philly Fellow work plan to document successes and their overall contribution to the project.