Youngstown school program targets ninth-grade boys

YOUNGSTOWN — A total of 45 city school boys headed into the ninth grade next fall are spending this week in a program focusing on academics and social issues.

It’s called a Summer Bridge program, and it’s a residential camp with the participants staying on the Youngstown State University campus. The program began Sunday and ends Saturday.

The young men are housed in the Cafaro House dormitory and are spending their mornings focusing on math, reading and language arts. Their afternoons center on socialization and emotional issues as well as team building, while their evenings are spent listening to various guest speakers offering observations on career possibilities.

It’s all part of Gov. Ted Strickland’s initiative to address the achievement gap of all ninth-grade males in general and black males in particular, said Dawud Abdullah, Youngstown’s manager of Safe and Drug Free Schools.

For the complete story, see Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.