LearningWorks Celebrates 24 Graduates from YouthBuild
On Thursday, June 22, 2023, LearningWorks hosted its annual YouthBuild graduation ceremony at Deering Oaks Park in Portland. Twenty-four students celebrated their successful completion of the program in one of the largest graduation ceremonies in recent years. Graduates represented three different cohorts from the 2022-2023 program cycle. YouthBuild is an alternative high school and job […]
The LearningWorks YouthBuild Farm Dinner & Cookbook Celebration
During the COVID pandemic, we continued our critical work with local teens and young adults who left traditional high school and needed an alternative pathway to graduation and the workforce. With masks on and hearts full of hope, our culinary arts students continued their education at our commercial kitchen, receiving nationally recognized certifications, and preparing […]
Governor Janet Mills Featured Speaker at LearningWorks YouthBuild Graduation
Our LearningWorks YouthBuild (LWYB) program graduated 24 students on August 12, 2021 at the Deering Oaks Park Amphitheater in Portland, ME. LWYB serves teens and young adults who have struggled to find their way in the traditional education system. Since 1994, the program has helped young people aged 16-24 who need an alternative to traditional […]
Brighter Days Story: Niru and Marie from English Language + Literacy Program
When Niru was 12 years old, she and her family left their home in India, and moved to the United States. Both of her parents were educators, and Niru had been raised multilingual, so she fortunately had a solid foundation in English when she arrived. She went on to study optometry and practiced as an […]
Brighter Days Story: Justin from LearningWorks YouthBuild
When Justin was in elementary school, he and his family left Maine and moved to the Bronx. “I had a couple of friends, but I’ve always been the observer — quiet and walking behind everyone else – watching and listening.” School in a big city was tough for Justin — he remembers being bullied, often […]
Brighter Days Story: Lillian from LearningWorks Afterschool
When the pandemic hit, a lot changed for 7 year old Lillian and her family. School, which she loved more than anything, all of the sudden meant learning on a screen at home. It also meant that her mom, a single parent, would be away at work each day, while Lillian and her older sister […]
Virtual Event! LearningWorks Presents: Equity in Education, A Conversation with Side x Side & The Telling Room
Last year, LearningWorks, The Telling Room and Side x Side received a grant from the Maine Community Foundation to support professional development focused on antiracism work in our organizations and classrooms. As a cohort, these three educational organizations in Portland have been working with Cross Cultural Community Services to learn, grow and ensure that students […]
Virtual Event! Social Emotional Skills in Elementary School: A Conversation with Aim High AmeriCorps
Please join us for our next virtual spring event on Friday, April 9th, 2021 at 12pm. We’re hosting a Q&A with our Aim High AmeriCorps team, discussing social and emotional learning practices in an elementary school setting. The LearningWorks Aim High program places teams of dedicated AmeriCorps members in elementary schools to support each student’s academic, social, […]
Virtual Event! Restorative Practices: Community Service As an Alternative for Youth
Please join us for the first in a series of three virtual spring events on Friday, March 5th, 2021 at 12pm. We’re hosting a Q&A with our Service Works team, discussing ways in which we use community service as an alternative to suspension, expulsion and system involvement.
Virtual Event!: Opportunities for Maine’s High School Students in the Time of COVID
Do you want to learn more about how Maine’s high school students are being impacted by the pandemic? Are you interested to know how your community is adapting? Please join the staff of LearningWorks and our special guest speakers to learn how Southern Maine nonprofits and local schools are helping students get to graduation day […]