Youth Services

From 1992 until 2000, the Friends Group served a total of 1000 District of Columbia inspiring. DC Performing Arts low-income youth through  a highly noted and professional Off-Broadway Family Youth Musical premiered for four independent shows on the weekend, to our DMV patrons, regional/local supporters and those visiting our city.  To highlight the career learning outcomes of  the Friends selected youth, who has registered in the Late and Legendary, Marion S. Barry Jr., Summer Youth Employment Program, based on the hosts of playwrights of the Founding Member, Ms. Gloria J. Hightower which showcased the Performing Arts  summer learning proficiencies which was well showcased citywide at the federal and historic, Carter Barron Amphitheatre.

From 2001 until 2016, the Friends Group elevated their noted summer youth musical program programs onto a Performing Arts Workforce year-round project, which offered academic, work-readiness and hands-on career proficiency training skills, which was designed to  transform young  high-school  weaknesses onto  professional strengths.  Such a new Performing Arts after-school program,  served  a total of 3,700 DC inspiring youth, who identified how their literacy infused with work-readiness training integrated with their selected Performing Arts career choice/occupations.  Today, there has yet been another local/federal contractor, who has provided this level of service, in the nations capitol under the federal fund of the U.S. Department of Labor.

How Services are Provided

The Friends offers Academic Remediation Services & Technical Computer Graphics training during the Summer and seven (7) performing art career courses that integrate academics (English, Mathematics, and Science), and career skills that will also serve to reduce delinquency behavior directed to at-risk and high-risk youth, ages 14-26 as defined as meeting the federal poverty guidelines:

1. Each performing arts course meets the District of Columbia Public School Systems (DCPS) current content standards and expected benchmarks. Therefore, participants will acquire improvements in their selected career occupation, academics and work-readiness and life skills, all while avoiding delinquent activity.
2. This Performing Arts Youth year-round project has been specifically designed to: integrate work-based (performing arts occupations) and school-based (academics) proficiencies of gifted and talented District youth, who meet federal low-income guidelines and are at-risk of delinquent/violent activities to ensure improvement in their academic, employment and career competencies through three (3) independent semester-based (fall / spring / summer) program designs.
3. The program designs consist of: two independent pre-occupational learning experiences (po/l) scheduled for the fall and summer seasons, and a Spring Saturday Academy . Each po/l has been designed to establish strong employment and occupational learning skills for gifted and talented participants, at-risk of becoming delinquent who are interested to pursue careers in the field of Performing Arts. The Saturday Academy program offers detailed academic remediation and career preparedness training services that is tailored to improve each participant’s school-based and work-based weaknesses, as well as prevent/reduce delinquent behavior.