guardians on site. They are
surrounded by 25 professional LEAP
sponsor who are surrounded by 50
youth and adults from the local
community. The LEAP students are
surrounded by hundreds others
nationally and internationally.
2. Sponsor
Critical to AYA-LEAP are the
sponsors - often professionals,
businesses, churches, organiz-
ations that provide tuition assist-
ance to qualified students and who
bring at least one youth and one
adult from the community to the
LEAP community gatherings four
times per year.
3. Learn
Every school day, AYA-LEAP
students engage AYA’s full academic
and service curriculum. The core
subjects: Math, Science, Social
Studies, Language Arts, Foreign
Language are all taught from an
African perspective. High
expectations, high culture, high
nurturing are the guides. The core
instructors are complemented by 10
parent and community guardians
who also teach and guide. Students
engage locally with other national
and international students via live
web-conference technology.
Students learn so they can formally
present what they are learning
publicly every nine weeks.
4. Gather-Respond
Every nine weeks, sponsors,
parents, students, relatives and their
invitees gather to watch the LEAP
students present what they’ve been
learning to the community. Not their
grades; their actual work; their
Youth Leadership Development | Student Educational
Excellence | Community Education | Educational Advocacy
learnings and the implications. The
gathering of 75+ responds with kudos,
criticism, and guidance based on AYA’s
scholar warrior, healer, builder model.
5. Discuss & Commit
Youth and Adults break into separate
groups; youth and adult facilitators
guide discussions re: what they’ve
learned or what’s been stimulated by
the LEAP students’ presentations.
Based on the discussion, youth and
adults board (white) how they are
inspired and what they commit to DO to
address issues raised by student
presentations or subsequent
discussions.
6. Advocate
To expand their influence, both youth
and adults are asked to increase their
roles as active change agents - leaders
by identifying educational and social
policies, practices that need to be
changed. Then they detail what they will
DO to advocate for those changes.
7. Restore
Identity, service, accountability & trust is
what LEAP is restoring. Without these,
leadership and academics is just
service to aliens at our expense.
•
Imagine our youth as scholars -
warriors, healers, and builders.
•
Imagine them demonstrating
academic excellence within and
because of the community.
•
Imagine them becoming youth
change agents - advocating for
a better community.
•
Now, imagine them inspiring
other youth and adults to do the
same.
1. Enroll
If you have imagined thus far,
you have already taken a leap
over the obstacles that would
stop you or your child from
seeing themselves successful -
“Black and Powerful” is the
way we like to say it. It all starts
with your registering and
applying for entrance and
scholarships, if needed.
LAYERS OF SUPPORT
AYA-LEAP. operates in cohorts of
five. Five students in each LEAP
location guided by five or more
academic instructors via live,
interactive web conferencing.
They are surrounded by 10
family-community instructors and
