On a recent Monday afternoon, Nicole Cooper greeted prospective students as they made their way to the entrance of YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School in North Philadelphia.
“I’m Principal Cooper,” she said, extending her hand to a young girl. “How are you? What’s your name?”
“Nice to see you, I’m glad you’re here,” she said to a young man, before he headed into the building’s bright, airy atrium amid a din of noisemakers and pompoms.
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Cooper and YouthBuild Philly’s staff formed a high-energy hype squad as they welcomed students to the first day of orientation for the school’s newest addition: Flex, a one-year evening program for young adults between the ages of 17 and 21 to earn a high school diploma and certifications that could land them jobs in the healthcare, construction and hospitality industries.
“From the gate, I want students to know they are seen, they are valued and that first impression means a lot,” says Cooper, a veteran city educator and the evening school’s principal. “This is what I do as a leader. I greet students at the door everyday so that they know someone is waiting for them and expecting them to show up.”
Since 1992, YouthBuild has offered a second shot at a high school diploma to young adults in the city who’ve disconnected from school. The global program, which operates in 47 states and territories, provides opportunities for students who haven’t completed their high school education to do so while honing job skills and working on community projects.
State data show 66 percent of YouthBuild’s students who were eligible to graduate in the 2024-25 school year did so. Approximately 5,000 students have graduated from the Philadelphia program since its inception, the school says.
But school leaders noticed that even as they were providing a ramp to graduation and jobs, many who wanted both were still being left behind.
Some who enroll encounter roadblocks that derail them: They have to care for their children and family members during the day; others juggle jobs that make it hard to fit in classes. As adults, sometimes living independently, they also face day-to-day challenges, such as food and housing insecurity and financial hardships, that make it difficult to prioritize their studies during normal school hours, says Kazmir Davis, the principal of the day program, known as Rise.
Even with the expansion, Cooper says the programs are making a small dent in the number of students who could benefit.
“We know that over 1,600 young people disengage from traditional settings every single year in the City of Philadelphia,” Cooper says. “While we can’t meet the need of all of them, this is one small way. This is the beginning of us really being responsive to the need that exists.”
Boosting enrollment where it’s most needed
The evening program, which started classes last week and runs from 4:30 to 8:30pm, is meant to provide some flexibility for students who are managing personal responsibilities during the traditional school day.
The new addition also aims to boost the school’s enrollment, which has sat under 300 students in recent years even as it could enroll as many as 400. By the beginning of September, 372 students had enrolled, with 97 in the inaugural evening program, the school says. (The School District last month renewed YouthBuild Philly’s charter for another five years, with stipulations to track and monitor daily attendance and reduce suspensions to or below the District’s rate.)
“This is truly in place for us to succeed. They have resources for students: … showers … washing machines … one-to-one counseling … They don’t just speak it; they live up to it.” — YouthBuild student Abdul Basir Wood
About 120 students applied and attended an information session for the new evening program, according to Cooper. School staff followed up with phone calls to ensure they submitted required documents — to be eligible applicants must be Philadelphia residents and not hold a high school diploma or GED.
Close to 70 prospective students showed up to the orientation session on a Monday in August, when Cooper welcomed applicants, highlighted the school’s core values — respect, excellence and perseverance — and gave a preview of what to expect over the next 10 months. She also laid out some ground rules: Profanity, violence and property destruction would not be tolerated.
“We are here for you, to support you, to make sure that we are helping you to reduce barriers so that you can finally reach your goal of being a high school graduate, as well as someone who’s earned a certification in an industry recognized area,” she told them.
Prospective students also went through a series of workshops to help them decide whether they were in the right place. In one activity, they worked together to build a tower that could withstand a wind gust, using a handful of supplies, including two red plastic cups, two paper plates, string, tape and a pair of scissors.
The evening offering appealed to Abdul Basir Wood, 20, of West Philadelphia, who works during the day and who says he has “a lot going on” outside of education. The late classes allow him to continue working while finishing his high school education, he says.
Wood says his mother suggested the program to him and his younger brother. Both enrolled, with Wood signing up for the healthcare track because of his interest in biology and in using technology to help people in need, he says.
Wood says his previous high school wasn’t a good fit. The work was too easy, and the curriculum was repetitive and not tailored for students’ benefit, he says.
“It didn’t really feel like it truly mattered,” he says of his experience in the District before enrolling in an online school at his mother’s recommendation. But he got busy, started working, pursued independent study and “got a little bit stagnant” with school, he says. Still, he says, he was looking for a way to further his education.
Just a few days into his orientation at YouthBuild, Wood says he likes what he sees.
“I truly love the experience,” he says. “I love the teachers and the students in here. It feels really personal. It feels like this is truly in place for us to succeed,” he says. “They have resources for students: They have showers. They have washing machines in here. They have one-to-one counseling in here. It’s plenty of assets they have in here for students. They don’t just speak it; they live up to it.”
Running a school with an eye to closing it
Le’Yondo Dunn, the charter school’s chief executive officer, says he was both heartbroken and overjoyed at the turnout.
Dunn says it breaks his heart when a YouthBuild student says they’re at the school because their mother had attended and raved about how great it was.
“Clearly, we are failing not only that student, but we’re failing the family, to think that we have [multiple] generations coming through YouthBuild programming,” he says.
As a former comprehensive high school principal, Dunn says he saw that students disengaged from school because of external factors and not because they lacked the skill, motivation or ability to succeed. Often they faced homelessness, food insecurity, gun violence and financial and health challenges, he says.
“From the gate, I want students to know they are seen, they are valued and that first impression means a lot.” — Principal Nicole Cooper
“There’s often this misconception in education around why can’t young people just show up, pick up their pencils and get to work,” Dunn says. “I like to remind folks that when our basic human needs are not being met as adults, it’s hard for us to be productive. That same thing extends to young people.”
While the school serves a need, his goal is to put it out of business within two or three decades, Dunn says.
Students in the evening program will receive the same opportunities as those in the day program. Like the day program, they will focus on academic classes, such as math, English, science, as well as social justice, during which they’ll learn about community advocacy and tackle nettlesome social problems like gun violence, childcare and homelessness. Students will also take classes in culinary arts, healthcare sciences and construction, which could lead to industry-recognized certifications in those fields. The evening construction program is modified and will focus on wiring and electronic systems, which would prepare students for construction-related jobs like installing cable and security systems, Cooper says.
The school has an annual budget of about $13 million, according to Dunn, with the bulk coming from the School District of Philadelphia and the rest from the government, grants and philanthropy.
Within a year of graduation about 80 percent of students are placed in jobs, the armed forces or in two- or four-year vocational programs, says Dunn, who added that the goal remains ensuring YouthBuild’s graduates get jobs that will support families. The school has tweaked its programming as a result.
It no longer offers, for example, childcare and youthcare development, Dunn says. While those jobs are plentiful and there’s a low barrier to enter the field, they pay low salaries and students need a four-year degree to get into leadership roles, he says.
Ayanna Wilson graduated from YouthBuild’s day program this year and joined the school’s staff as an enrollment support specialist.
Wilson says she wanted to offer students the level of support she got from the school that led her to the Community College of Philadelphia where she is pursuing an associate’s degree to become a teacher.
“I wanted to basically pour back into the next year of students like the staff poured into me,” she says.
Wilson attended an online high school for about two years before putting her studies on hold to take care of an ailing aunt. She was 19 and out of school for about two years when a close family friend suggested YouthBuild, she says.
She focused on culinary arts at YouthBuild, where she learned about food safety, knife skills, how to bake and decorate a cake from scratch and earned a ServSafe certificate. She’s using what she learned to make and sell baked goods on the side, she says.
She also praised the staff for their support, which kept her going after her father died earlier this year. The school adjusted her schedule so that the work load would not overwhelm her. They even got her a gift card to buy funeral attire, she says.
“Without that emotional support, without those sit-downs, without those conversations, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am right now,” she says.
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