Yes Academy
YES Academy hosts four unique experiential educational programs throughout the year. Detailed information about each of programs can be found below. Youth must apply and be eligible for each program.
Girls Outdoor Adventure Leaders (GOAL)
Experience girl power – and sharing
Girls, like boys, need time together. To talk, to share, to grow. Our Girls Outdoor Adventure Leaders (GOAL) program gives middle-school girls (ages 10-14) the opportunity to kick up their heels with shared experiences. GOAL uses outdoor sports and in-house workshops to promote physical activity and strength, nutrition education and positive behavior.
GOAL is a year-long program that meets weekly. It offers progressively challenging opportunities to develop a variety of skills such as responsibility, self control, self-confidence and leadership. We focus on the joy of outdoor sports like rock climbing, kayaking, and power walks through the neighborhood. Our Sisters on the Slopes program invites other groups to join us for a girls-only ski trip. Plans are also underway for a wilderness camping trip.
Adventure happens indoors, too. GOAL keeps our eyes on the future, inviting in women who own their own businesses to share their experiences. High school girls serve as role models and chaperones — and sometimes just to hang out and be girls together.
The GOAL program meets every Friday from 4:00 – 6:30 p.m.
Learn more and apply:
Career Exploration Program
Preparing YESkids for the workplace
Our Career Exploration Program provides leadership and technical training for the workplace. The program is organized in three major parts: (1) 12 weeks of work readiness classes, (2) a week apprenticeship at YES, and (3) a paid summer job placement. The program, targeted to students 14 years of age and older begins in January and runs through the summer meeting weekly for two and 1/2 hours. Students are required to fulfill the first two parts of the program to be eligible for a part-time paid summer job.
Topics covered in Career Exploration workshops include:
We don’t rest there. Our program is created as a stepping stone to college. We fill career-awareness sessions with speakers who discuss their professions and describe how students acquire the necessary skills. We also sponsor workshops for students on filling in college applications and for parents on completing financial-aid paperwork.
Learn more and apply here: Career Exploration Program 2012 Flyer
Career Exploration Program 2012 Application and Contract
Junior Volunteer
Here’s how we prepare YES for the future!
Volunteers are the lifeblood of YES, and the Junior Volunteer program embraces ski slopes as the training ground where YES kids can carry on this all-important tradition. The JRV program trains YES kids to be downhill ski and snowboard instructors. As instructors, they teach others how to enjoy the slopes safely and also act as positive role models to peers during training clinics, working in the rental shop, and as instructors on trips. During the 2009-10 winter season, 65 youth were trained as JRVs.
JRVs go through a multi-leveled tier system called the JRV Ladder whereby youth are rewarded based on achievements. JRVs are required to dedicate a minimum of one day/month of slope time, a weekly 3-hour shift either in the rental shop or involved in community service or on-site training, and an instructional training weekend trip.
More information about our JRV program can be found in our Volunteer section of the website.
Richard Williams Memorial Scholarship
Embracing academics and community service
The Richard Williams “Believe and Achieve” Memorial Scholarship is an annual award presented to two graduating high school seniors or GED recipient. The scholarship rewards students who demonstrate leadership skills and academic promise as well as aspire to higher education and community service. The vision is to recognize students who want to challenge and inspire, as YES founder Richard Williams did. .
ELIGIBILITY
HOW TO APPLY
All applications must be postmarked by April 15, 2011. Late, incomplete, or faxed applications will not be accepted. The cover letter, personal essay, letters of recommendation, transcript, and resume must be sent to:
YES Academy Director
Youth Enrichment Services
412 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA 02118
Announcement of the recipient of the Richard Williams “Believe and Achieve” Scholarship will be made after June 1.
More information about Richard Williams can be found here: Richard Williams Memorial Scholarship 2012 Information Instruction