Rising Stars™ is designed to help today's youth develop their personal leadership skills and begin to set goals and directions for their lives beginning at an earlier age. Leadership is essential in enabling youth to develop character, confidence, and values that promote the understanding of healthy behavior.

The Research
Research shows a majority of youth engage in health-compromising behavior. More importantly, a recent report from the American Medical Association captures the importance of this goal:

"For the first time in the history of this country, young people are less healthy and less prepared to take their places in society than their parents. Moreover, this is happening at a time when our society is more complex, more challenging, and more competitive than ever before."

The Rising Stars™ Process
Rising Stars™ is a process that helps youth develop their ability to make positive life choices based upon sound values and a vision of a successful future. It helps students improve their GPAs, increase attendance rates, develop positive attitudes and self-confidence, and reduce risk behaviors.

Rising Stars™ is an innovative and unique inside-out development process that focuses on four critical elements that promote personal leadership, healthy behaviors, and the skills employers identify as essential. These elements are:

• developing positive attitudes
• developing interpersonal skills
• developing goal-achievement skills
• developing time-management skills

There are many positive outcomes associated with the successful completion of the Rising Stars™ process.

• Participants successfully apply skills from their assessment
• Seeks out options from diverse alternatives
• Able to make goal-oriented and informed decisions
• Communicates effectively in diverse situations (socially confident)
• Demonstrates leadership in various situations
• Team-player and/or leader
• Provides a vision and purpose to a cause
• Uses influence to obtain planned outcomes
• Outcomes examples for participants:
• Graduates had a 40% grade point increase
• Graduates had a 56% reduction in school disciplinary/
  truancy incidents
• College attendance within one pilot site increased from
  5% to 75%

What Youth Participants Are Saying:
This experience has truly changed my life. I have learned patience, perseverance, and determination. I have made friends I hope learn even more about, who have made me realize people aren't always what they seem. I have met a teacher who truly gives the word teacher real meaning. You have taken twelve kids who didn't know what a leader was and molded us into real leaders. One of the most important things I have learned is dealing with people better. I have learned to look at situations open-mindedly and to be more mature when dealing with stressful situations. Also, I have learned to develop better strategies with my time such as writing things down and setting a time to do them. This type of strategy helps me in home and school life.
- Lauren T.

You have been a wonderful help. Everything I have learned from you will be forever useful in my life.
- Amy Y.

The Rising Stars program, in conjunction with the coaching session, helped me to redefine the perception I held of my potential for being a leader and for being successful. It helped me grow tremendously as a person. Not only did I get to know myself both my strengths and weaknesses, but also I learned how to take my dreams and turn them into attainable goals. People have noticed the change in me and great things have happened.
- Kathryn E.

As the parent coordinator, I want to express my thoughts regarding this past summer's career camp. I had the opportunity to listen to the graduates "3-minute" graduation presentation and to speak with several parents during the ceremony. The presentations were well thought out and demonstrated the impact that Rising Stars had on each of them. In speaking with the parents, they came because they saw positive changes in their daughters and sons within 3 days. These parents wanted to reinforce this positive change by showing their support.
- Marcelita (21st Century Scholars)

My life was already heading in the right direction and I did not need any help. I took the program anyway and have furthered myself with the things
I have learned about life, attitude, and goals. This is stuff you won't learn
in school.
- Brendan C. (junior)

I took the program to figure out how to develop a stronger work ethic so I could figure out how to achieve my dreams. I definitely think it was worth it to sign up.
- Carl W. (senior)

I thought the program was just going to be about leadership, but I developed more self-confidence and I am learning about myself instead of somebody else.
- Jessica S. (sophomore)

I was not sure what I would learn in the program, but it helped me realize that whatever goal you have is attainable.
- Nikki M. (sophomore)

I want to thank you for providing our students with the opportunity to experience Rising Stars. I was fascinated by the number of things they learned, such as to set goals and how to understand what makes a realistic and attainable goal. The one thing that I found most extraordinary about the program was the way it could be used with students who had very different life experiences and backgrounds. It is not often that a program can take children from different starting places and help each to grow at their own rate.
- Therese J. assistant principal