Program

Career Planning Program

After almost four summers of programming, staff has learned that it is very important to maintain year-around contact with participants. Many require on-going tutoring, mentoring and continued career planning/preparation for college, technical school or pre-apprenticeship training programs in the construction industry.

After the Summer Program, Rangers return to a tough, dangerous world. Without continued support and positive experiences, a Ranger could backslide. Many return to a school which may be failing them or to a neighborhood of the underemployed and unemployed persons who might chip away at their new found confidence and vision. Even those in school can drift into seriously at-risk behavior.

The year-around program (cPREPc) is designed to encourage Rangers to continue to work on their planned post-high school pathway. Staff, mentors and tutors encourage the students to attend the after school activities. The cPREPc program will conduct the tutoring, mentoring, career planning and exploration activities necessary to achieve the career planning goals for each youth. These program activities will help the youths we serve to:

• Achieve and maintain grade-level performance in mathematics and reading leading to a high school diploma,
• Obtain a G.E.D. certificate for out-of-school youths, and
• Prepare and implement a post-high school career path.

Examples of assistance regarding post-high school career paths would include journeying with a youth in the process of preparing for the college ACT examination, working closely with parents and school counselors to identify career paths and appropriate colleges, technical schools and programs, helping the youth complete applications for financial assistance and scholarships, visiting not-to-distant college and community college campuses, etc.

A post-high school area in which we intend to specialize is in developing a “Construction Workforce Career Path,” such as, enrollment in programs offered at the Construction Apprenticeship Tech Prep Consortium. This program is supported and operated by The Builders’ Association and Associated General Contractors (Kansas City Chapter) and it located in North Kansas City. In this effort we would journey with youths focusing on the needed math and reading skills, visiting the training site(s), visiting actual job sites, inviting guest speakers, assistance with transportation

In addition to serving summer program Urban Rangers, the center will be open to all high school youths living in the neighborhood(s) in which the Urban Ranger Corps operates.