Youth Life Learning Centers guide, nurture at-risk students

Milton Reece was in the office at Carter-Lawrence Elementary eight years ago because his 5-year-old son’s behavior was becoming a problem.

There, Reece found out about the Youth Life Learning Centers, and out of desperation the working single father put his son in the after-school program.

Today, his son, Princeton Reece, is a model citizen and academically solid enough to attend Rose Park Middle Magnet School, which his dad credits to Youth Life Learning Centers.

“For those three hours I didn’t have to worry about him,’’ Milton Reece said. “They turned him around and his attitude changed. He could have easily swayed in the other direction without that guidance.’’

The Youth Life Foundation of Tennessee operates five Nashville learning centers strategically placed in low-income inner-city neighborhoods. The program helps about 250 at-risk youngsters in grades K-12. There also is a center in Memphis.

The vast majority of students who go to a Youth Life Learning Center are struggling academically.

“We provide a safe place, academic support and moral development,’’ said Yolanda Shields, Youth Life Learning Centers’ chief executive officer.

There are 12 paid teachers with college degrees at the Nashville Youth Life Learning Centers.

Two centers are in the Edgehill neighborhood, and the others are in the east, west and northeast parts of Nashville. All are designed to be in walking distance for students.

“They help with homework and take us on field trips,’’ said fourth-grader Kenyarra Craig, a student at the Hillside Center in Nashville’s Edgehill neighborhood.

A week ends with “Fun Fridays,’’ an incentive-based program in which students earn points by completing homework assignments, classroom tasks and journal writing and demonstrating good behavior.

Spiritual development is part of the curriculum and issues like anti-bullying and friendship are addressed to encourage the children to look out for each other, Shields said.

“It makes a difference, not only in academics, but in their behavior, and classroom teachers have told me that,’’ Hillside Center teacher Loretta Sartin said.

Youth Life Learning Centers also host workshops for parents, helping them with life skills like parenting and budgeting.

Enrollment is free, but parents are required to do 20 hours a year of approved volunteer work. Usually volunteer work is at their child’s center, but it can be done other ways such as at the child’s daytime school.

Parents get volunteer vouchers, which allow them to them to pick out donated gifts at the Youth Life Learning Centers’ Christmas Store, open Nov. 28-Dec. 15.

Donations can be given through the organization’s website. One-time donations are accepted, and Youth Life Learning Centers will launch a recurring gift initiative at $10 per month in the coming weeks.