SANTA ANA PUBLIC LIBRARY (7) -2015

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The TeenSpace program Circle of Mentoring is advised by the Teen Library Club. As a group, these teens have contributed many thousands of hours of community service to the library and to various civic engagement projects around the city. Ninety -eight percent have graduated from high school and 90 percent have gone on to higher education. These are teens that do not represent the top 10 -20 percent of their high school class. They are not involved in student government or school activities. They are the quiet at -risk youth whom no one notices. But at our TeenSpace, they are noticed, nurtured and appreciated. In all of our youth- centered programs, two guiding principles have been primary: The Circle of Mentoring concept and its successor, the Seeds to Trees concept. The first emphasizes the value to both mentor and mentee of a close and lasting supportive relationship, and the second the value of providing long -term mentoring, teaching and financial support for developing youth. These principles are the basis of our success with WIA youth in our previous programs. All full - time employees at the library are involved in mentoring the students we employ under WIA. In collaboration, the efforts of staff members have produced notable successes, especially with WIA - mandated goals. The program has achieved full enrollment very early in the cycle for the previous and current WIA programs. In recent years, a total of sixty participants completed the first phase of the training successfully, and were awarded certificates from Rancho Santiago Community College District ( RSCCD) testifying to their mastery of digital media preproduction skills. 29 (90 %) of youth participants of the 2014 -2015 program have successfully attained their Microsoft Office certifications and the remaining youth are currently working with their tutors to complete their certifications. 4 (100 %) of our 2014 -2015 out-of-school participants have been enrolled in Santa Ana College and are currently receiving training in Business and Digital Media. Participants have been able to take part in the RSCCD Young Entrepreneurs Program, which exposes youth to mechanisms and methods of increasing the marketability of their products and skills. In November of 2014 the TeenSpace Circle of Mentoring Program was recognized with an award from the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) which was presented by First Lady Michelle Obama at a ceremony at the White House. The award recognizes the country's best creative youth development programs for using engagement in the arts and the humanities to increase academic achievement, graduation rates, and college enrollment. The awardees — chosen from a pool of more than 350 nominations —are chosen for their impact on the youth of their community. A. Briefly describe your agency - Santa Ana College/ School of Continuing Education: Santa Ana College (SAC) has had a long history of serving Santa Ana youth. Santa Ana College was founded in 1915 as a department within Santa Ana High School. As such, the campus has focused on serving the youth of Santa Ana from its very inception. In 1947 Santa Ana College moved to a permanent campus at 17th and Bristol. It was the second junior college founded in Orange County and the fourth oldest in all of California. The college has evolved into one of the most energetic and fastest - growing comprehensive community colleges in the nation, currently serving 29,318 credit and non- credit students per semester. Santa Ana College provides a dynamic learning environment that prepares students for transfer to four -year institutions, careers EXHIBIT A