In her passionate speech to 85 Broads members at a September 2009 power breakfast, Young Women’s Leadership Network founder and President Ann Tisch described the impetus behind creating an all-girls’ public school in the inner city: “Maybe if we offer [inner city] girls a completely different path in life, the same path that the affluent and the rich girls have, maybe we can break the cycles of teenage poverty and teenage pregnancy.” With this idea, she approached New York’s Board of Education and asked for the same facilities and personnel that any public school would receive—but for an all-girls’ school. She argued that if she and her colleagues poured their resources and ideas into this public school, people will see tangible results. The Board of Education agreed and the Young Women’s Leadership Network was born.

What is the Young Women’s Leadership Network?
The Young Women’s Leadership Network (YWLN) is the not-for-profit organization behind two very successful programs that help low-income youth break the cycles of poverty and transform their lives through education: The Young Women’s Leadership Schools, a network of high performing all-girls’ public schools; and the CollegeBound Initiative, a leading school-based college guidance program in coed and single-sex public schools. Both programs have shown outstanding results in helping inner city public school students gain admission, enroll, and succeed in college.

The Young Women’s Leadership Schools network comprises four all-girls’ public schools in New York City and one school in Philadelphia. All schools go by the name “The Young Women’s Leadership School” (or TYWLS, pronounced “twills”) and they are neither charter nor magnet schools; they draw students in the surrounding areas of all academic abilities who have a dream to attend college, even though they may not have the best test scores or grades. Each school aims to give low-income, inner city girls the exact same opportunities as their counterparts in affluent suburbs and parochial or yeshiva schools. Its wildly successful track record—98% of all graduates attend college—is proof that its methods work. Thanks to its reputation, the network now includes several affiliates across the nation, including Chicago, Baltimore and four schools in Texas.

YWLN supports the girls’ schools and takes a comprehensive approach that combines rigorous academic training, health and wellness education and college preparation and counseling. The academic curriculum focuses on math, science and technology. Emphasis is placed on developing leadership skills and understanding how health and wellness are integral to success.

While all of the YWLN schools are public and receive government funds, the network provides extensive financial support for all of its college counselors, summer programs and any extra programs or equipment its teachers may request. YWLN expanded the successful East Harlem model to Brooklyn, Astoria and Jamaica, Queens, thanks to a generous grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

What Makes It Unique?
Focus on College Admissions

Students in private schools or whose parents are familiar with the college admissions process may take for granted the level of effort and attention required to ensure a successful outcome. When YWLN’s founder, Ann Tisch, spoke with Arlene Gibson, formerly of the prestigious Nightingale-Bamford School in New York City, Ms. Gibson drew Ms. Tisch’s attention to the indispensability of good college counselors. Thus, each YWLN girls’ school employs a full-time college counselor who devotes him or herself to the panoply of issues surrounding the admissions process: extracurricular activities, financial aid, college trips, PSATs, SATs, appropriate coursework, and, of course, the applications themselves. The counselor is well-connected, knowledgeable about the admissions process, and possesses the ability to match students with a diverse array of resources. In its flagship East Harlem school, the average financial aid package for the Class of 2009 was over $24,000 per year (excluding loans and renewable for four years), with aid to private four-year colleges as high as $56,000.

The counselors’ dedication to their students is evident. The East Harlem school’s college counselor, Chris, remains connected to students beyond their time at YWLN. In fact, he currently is helping many alumnae with their graduate school applications for law school and social work programs.

Continued Programming for Students in the Summer

Students remain engaged through their summer vacations as well. For students in middle school and the ninth grade, YWLN hosts a summer camp “TYWLS EdVenture Camp” that includes visits to cultural institutions and high profile local companies; a day of community service; meetings with business leaders; and a fun day trip to Coney Island or Playland. YWLN funds up to sixty high school girls to participate in a wide variety of summer study programs, such as science and engineering at Smith College, film at NYU and writing at Skidmore.

Exposure to Real World Professionals

To inspire and motivate students, YWLN exposes its students to new career paths and top professionals. Prominent local companies, such as Merrill Lynch, host YWLN students for a day in their offices. CEOs like Mickey Drexler of J.Crew will often visit and meet with students. In addition, students receive opportunities to shadow professionals in their work environments.
Health and Wellness

The girls meet everyday with an advisor to learn health and wellness issues, and address any mental and emotional health problems that they may be facing. From these advisory group meetings, students learn how to take care of themselves and also come to understand that they have resources and support.

What Accounts for Its Success?

Amid all of the theories about effective education, YWLN believes its success relates to the following important factors. First, students receive ample attention in class, thanks to the small class sizes (an average of about twenty students per class). Second, the school clearly communicates its high standards and gives students comprehensive support so that nobody will fall through the cracks. As a result, any absence or delinquent behavior will not go unnoticed. And finally, YWLN offers a “classroom grant program” to enhance the curricula and inspire creativity, they also support a principals fund for special programs and reward the school staff with incentives and recognition for their hard work. And while teachers must prepare students for the Regents’ exam, they retain the flexibility to adjust the curriculum.

YWLN alums reflect positively on attending school in an all-girls environment. They were not intimidated and did not shy away from trying the challenging math and science classes. They gained the confidence to speak up in class and learned that it’s not cool to be dumb or not to try.

One of the Numerous Success Stories

One very shy young student entered YWLN in the 7th grade. In the summer between 9th and 10th grades, she attended the summer engineering/math program at Smith College. Thanks to YWLN, she also shadowed engineers at their jobs. She was accepted by Smith College, also taught at the same summer program she had attended in high school, and eventually became its associate director. After much thought, she switched majors to economics and studied abroad in Germany. She is now a senior at Smith, and several prominent New York City companies currently are courting her for a full-time position.

The Young Women’s Leadership Network is a remarkable organization founded by a true visionary. YWLN seeks to instill in all of its graduates the academic foundation and self-knowledge required to succeed. Students gain access to the best college counselors and successful role models. The comprehensive academic and extracurricular programming at YWLN gives students the opportunity to excel, both in some of the nation’s best colleges and beyond.

Each of YWLN’s unique programs presents incredible volunteer opportunities, big and small, for anyone interested. Jennifer Bell, a fellow 85 Broads member, will provide an overview of how members can give back to an inspirational organization.