Program Description
Fresh Start has been a PEPNet award-winning program since 1996. This award recognizes programs for best practices serving at-risk youth and for engaging in a continuous improvement process. The PEPNet Award is given by the National Youth Employment Coalition in partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor.
In December 2007, the U. S. Department of Labor awarded Living Classrooms Foundation with a $1.6 million grant to replicate the Fresh Start Program in Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, DC. Both new sites opened in July 2008. In Baltimore, Fresh Start uses carpentry as a medium to teach job training as well as academic and life skills development. Fresh Start consists of five progressive modules which are each eight weeks long. Module descriptions are below.
Toolbox: In the first module, students build their own toolbox out of white pine using only hand tools. They are acclimated to the program and introduced to the skills needed to succeed in the world of work.
Production: In this module, students are trained in the safe use of stationary power tools. They produce a line of outdoor furniture for the student-run business. All profits from the student-made products go into the student account and students receive their share of the account when they graduate from the program.
BOAT Building: Students are introduced to the business side of production in the third module. BOAT is an acronym for Business, Organization, Administration and Technology. As a hands-on project, students assist USS
Constellation shipwrights in building historical reproductions of rescue boats for the
Constellation. Students learn the basics of economics, marketing, organizational behavior and customer service. Students also learn advanced computer skills such as website development and monetization as well as
search engine optimization by building relationships
across the web. In fact, BOAT Building students designed and maintain this website !
Work Study: This module focuses on part-time employment. In addition to gaining work experience, students complete activities necessary for independent living and positive citizenship.
Internship: The last module consists of full-time employment. Students are assisted in obtaining a full-time employment and continuing education. Students keep this job through graduation and beyond. For information about hiring our job-ready students, please contact Transition Coordinator, William Holmes at
wholmes@livingclassrooms.org.
Academic Development: Each student receives an individual academic plan suited to their strengths and needs. Throughout all modules, students attend GED preparation classes with our talented Academic Coordinators. In 40 weeks, the average gain on the GED practice test is 209 points with a 1.5 grade level increase in reading, writing and math.
Life Skills Development: Fresh Start places an emphasis on gaining skills for the workplace, academic development, and helping youth to develop healthy self-esteem through leadership development, team building, and cultural enrichment activities.
In addition to the tangible outcomes of employment opportunities and academic advancement, there are intangible benefits that cannot be quantified, including increased positive self-regard and a more optimistic view of the future. Once students are served by Fresh Start, they become armed with the physical, emotional, and intellectual tools necessary for success. Field trips are central to meeting this goal. While learning by doing, students are exposed to various situations and people and through these experiences, students are able to broaden their scope of experience, open their minds to new possibilities, and apply lessons learned in the Fresh Start shop.
Fresh Start students take several field trips including the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park, the Carmelo Anthony Youth Development Center, Walters Art Museum, Morgan State University, and sailing on Living Classrooms Foundation’s vessel Sigsbee. Students also complete service learning at Moveable Feast and at the William S. Baer School. Moveable Feast is an organization that prepares and delivers food to community members who are disadvantaged, sick and shut-in, living with HIV/AIDS and other life-challenging conditions. The Baer School is an inclusion elementary school in Baltimore serving developmentally and physically disabled children. Fresh Start students spend the day as teacher’s assistants, helping the young children with everything from classroom activities to eating lunch and using the restroom. Students also completed a leadership challenge course at Genesee Valley Outdoor Learning Center (GVOLC). GVOLC provides outdoor activities on a 300+ acre farm that promote healthy team building and both group and individual success. Through participation, observation, and reflection, youth are able to increase their communication and leadership skills.
Aftercare: 100% of our graduates are employed upon graduation. Graduates receive case management as well as job retention and continuing education services. In order to constantly gauge the effectiveness of the program, Fresh Start tracks graduates for three years. This tracking has shown that our re-arrest rate is consistently less that 15%. These results are especially significant considering that according to DJS statistics (and as reported in both the Baltimore Sun and the Washington Post), approximately 75% of youth released from the Charles H. Hickey School are re-arrested within one year. Success can also be seen in the 78-81% of Fresh Start graduates who are still employed or continuing their education three years after graduation.