From June 8-June 26, 2009 Tucson Youth Development will offer basic skills (reading, writing and math) as a component of the Summer Youth Employment Program.  Selected youth will attend classes 30 hours a week at TYD and be paid $7.25/hour.  Following completion of the education component, participants will be placed at worksites for three weeks during July.

Through the SEI Compensatory Grant, ACE Charter High School is offering its ELD students a summer school program from June 1 through July 2.  32 students enrolled in this program are ACE Charter ELD students. The instruction will focus on English Language Acquisition in the areas of ELD World History, ELD American History, and ELD American Government.

Tucson Youth Development operates ACE Charter High School, an alternative high school chartered by the Arizona State Board of Education and accredited by NCA.  Over 275 students attend ACE Charter.

Participants are paid minimum wage in TYD’s Work Experience Programs which include:

• The In-school Work Experience Program which targets students in both rural and urban areas of Pima County, including Marana, Sahuarita, and Ajo.
• The Summer Youth Employment Program which delivers both educational and work experience to qualified youth in Marana, Ajo, Robles Junction, Sahuarita, Catalina, South Tucson and the Tucson urban area.
• The Workforce Investment Act which targets youth with barriers by providing assessment, case management, career and vocational exploration, occupational skills training, work experience, leadership, counseling, tutoring and referral to support and follow up services.
• The School Plus Jobs Program is conducted in three school districts, Sunnyside, Amphi and TUSD, and seven high schools:  Cholla, Pueblo, Tucson High, Santa Rita, Amphi, Sunnyside and Desert View.  Forty students at each site are hired to work 9 hours a week with an onsite supervisor.  In addition, SPJ coordinators monitor attendance and grades, conduct parent meetings, coordinate tutoring, and instruct students with an online career information, Arizona Career Information System, curriculum.  During the 2007-08 school year not one student participant dropped out of school and all 89 seniors grad.

TYD administers the City of Tucson’s Department of Neighborhood Resources Projects in which Neighborhood Associations design and submit neighborhood youth projects for youth participation, including clean up projects, educational classes, and tutoring.