Konopka Institute receives $2.6 million for community learning initiative

NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release

Contact: Glynis Shea, Konopka Institute, 612-624-3772

KONOPKA INSTITUTE RECEIVES AWARD TO FUND
MINNESOTA YOUTH COMMUNITY LEARNING INITIATIVE
Community-based program will work to ensure that youth finish high school

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (Jan. 28 , 2005) -- The Konopka Institute for Best Practices in Adolescent Health has received a foundation award of $2.6 million from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to fund a three-year Minnesota Youth Community Learning (MYCL) initiative. 

The goal of the initiative, “Our youth finish high school,” will be realized by partnering with seven diverse community coalitions across Minnesota. The communities involved: Cass Lake, McGregor, FergusFalls, Minneapolis (neighborhoods of Near North and Camden communities), Fairbault, Mapleton (plus Amboy, Good Thunder, and Minnesota Lake, communities), and Worthington have a long history of successful programming and advocacy for youth. 

The initiative includes efforts to link high school students who are disconnected from learning with a community teacher and re-engage middle school students who are disconnected from learning. Other objectives aim to assist parents in providing positive parenting and educational support for their middle and high school students, assist schools to enhance a sense of connectedness for young people, and strengthen the capacity of each MYCL initiative community coalition to address the needs of all youth in their community.

The Konopka Institute anticipates the MYCL initiative will result in more young people finishing school in the seven communities and yield work that will generate new best practices and models for successful youth development that can be shared and disseminated throughout the nation.

 Lessons learned will be integrated into university education and outreach with the hope of enhancing the way the University of Minnesota engages with communities. Insights will also be used to influence youth policy and programs at the local, state, and national levels. 

The MYCL initiative resonates with the University of Minnesota’s Children, Youth & Family Initiative launched by University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks, which places child and adolescent development as an institutional priority.

For information about the Initiative or the Konopka Institute, call 612.626.1980 or visit www.konopka.umn.edu.

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