Overview

Students come to LPP from 113 schools, including high schools located in three boroughs of New York City and middle schools and elementary schools in Regions 9 and 10 (formerly Districts 2,3,4,5, 6 and 7). They live in communities such as Harlem, the South Bronx, Washington Heights, and parts of Brooklyn.

Liberty's programs are designed to offer young people a comprehensive set of services that meet a range of developmental needs. While each student's individual program varies, every student is offered an ongoing relationship with caring adults, a safe place and access to structured activities during non-school hours, educational opportunities, psychosocial counseling, and an array of other services designed to adequately prepare youth for college and/or meaningful careers. Six days a week through 11 months of the year, students who come to LPP experience success as learners, increase their ability and motivation to graduate from high school, and expand their horizons.

What distinguishes LPP from many other after school programs is the fact that, along with literacy and other academic skills, it seeks to teach emotional and social skills in an environment that the students themselves describe as safe, supportive, and secure. The program strives to build a community in which students find the support they need to develop leadership skills, to reinvent their sense of themselves as learners, and to overcome obstacles in their lives, both academic and social/emotional. Our program uses an inclusive model to teach to the variety of learning strengths and weaknesses that our students present, adapting curriculum and teaching styles to meet the needs of our students, some of whom have identified learning disabilities.

We have been extraordinarily successful. In the past five years, over 90% of our students have graduated from high school. This figure is all the more remarkable given the fact that over three-quarters of the students are originally referred to the program on the basis of poor academic performance and attend high schools where graduation rates are below 60%; in fact, some are as low as 20%. Further, a full 90% of our students apply to college and 100% of the applicants are admitted. Many students attend local schools and universities; others have attended out-of-town institutions including Wesleyan, Bard, Temple, Tufts, Williams, and Clark Atlanta. Students have majored in a variety of undergraduate subjects and some have moved on to graduate school in fields as diverse as neuroscience, law, and fashion design. Some students choose paths other than college (employment or military service), but each student is expected to develop an understanding of his/her individual abilities and interests, as well as to be able to demonstrate the skills, attitudes, and values necessary for success in the workplace.

LPP goals are ambitious but straightforward: to improve school attendance, prevent students from dropping out of school, improve reading, writing, and other academic skills, ensure that students advance to the next grade, offer opportunities to improve social skills and emotional adjustment (including self-confidence, motivation, and self-discipline) and ensure that students have the skills to succeed in college or meaningful employment.