Our society renews itself when children graduate from high school. Graduating from high school opens doors to post-secondary education and to living wage careers. The direction in which education starts a person, will guide her well into the future.
Get Ready!™ is The Fedcap Group’s signature online learning tool to assist young people to graduate from high school, go to college and graduate. Get Ready! is taught in small groups and includes the following modules critical to long term success:
Using a combination of testing, written materials, video presentations, role playing and employer presentations, Get Ready!™ prepares workers to identify their own resources to solve issues, overcome personal barriers and achieve their goals.
PrepNOW!™ is our web-based curriculum and interactive learning tool that enhances the capacity and motivation of caregivers to prepare children in their care to graduate from high school, enter college and graduate. Studies show that 70% of young people in foster care say that they want to go to college, but only 10% get into college.
By helping foster caregivers create a college-going culture, we are giving young people an opportunity to greatly improve their ability to succeed. PrepNOW!™ is the only formal curriculum in the country specifically designed to help foster parents prepare youth in their care to get into college and graduate.
Foster parents are deeply committed to youth in their care but often lack the requisite skills and knowledge to create a college-going culture within the home, or to navigate college entry and financial aid processes. PrepNOW is taught individually and in small groups and includes the following critical skill building modules: Values, Motivation, Resilience, Knowledge and Skills and College Persistence. Through PrepNOW!™ foster parents gain the confidence and knowledge to mentor the children in their care on how to gain admission and succeed in college.
Greenleaf Neurodiversity Community Center (NCC), an innovative project of Easterseals Central Texas and the Austin, TX Independent School District. Greenleaf offers educational programming for young adults ages 18-22 who have autism or related neurodivergent conditions and struggle with the transition from high school to adulthood. The need is great, as there are few services available to this growing population. Autism is the fastest-growing developmental disability—about one in 54 Americans will be diagnosed with autism.
This new educational program offers young adults a robust menu of social and creative programming that includes performing arts, creativity clubs, cooking classes, yoga, mindfulness, a music club, a nature club, podcasting, storytelling, and poetry. “As these young people get older the number of services available to them is less and less,” said Randi Shade, Greenleaf NCC Co-Chair. “There are very few extracurricular activities or programs that offer community connections for young people with autism who are transitioning to adulthood.”
Greenleaf is a credentialed job skills trainer site and engages students in Workforce Readiness classes in partnership with Texas Workforce Solutions. We assist learn kills to support them achieving their career goals.
Greenleaf’s affiliation as a charter school with Austin ISD means that public funds will be available for all of its programming. Crucially, it means that any eligible young adult can participate, without regard to income.