Projects > University of Minnesota, Twin Cities > Goals & Activities

The MYCL Initiative partners with seven Minnesota communities to:

Link high school students who are disconnected from learning with a community teacher;
Re-engage middle school students who are disconnected from learning;
Assist schools to enhance a sense of connectedness for young people;
Strengthen the capacity of each MYCL Initiative community coalition to address the needs of all youth in their community; and
Assist parents in providing positive parenting and educational support for their middle and high school students.

Through the implementation of the initiative, MYCL expects to generate lessons for the participating communities, for the University, for the state, and for other communities and policy arenas across the country. Goals include:

Providing a model for engagement, strengthening the way the University works with communities;
Generating new practice models for culturally-sensitive, community-based youth development; and
Influencing youth policy and programs at the local, state, and national levels.