Nashville’s WTVF: Simon Youth Academy graduation brings students back from the brink

Simon Youth Academies in six nationwide communities celebrated mid-term graduation ceremonies in December, 2011, and January, 2012. On Wednesday, Dec. 14, a proud group of 88 students crossed the stage during the commencement event for the Simon Youth Academy at Hickory Hollow Mall in Nashville, Tenn. Each of the graduates had dropped out or were on the verge of dropping out of their traditional high school before enrolling at the Academy. Their stories... Read More

Peterson to lead Education Services for Simon Youth Foundation

Peterson joined SYF on Nov. 16, 2011 Arleen Peterson has been named the Vice President, Education Services, of Simon Youth Foundation, the Indianapolis-based nonprofit that supports non-traditional high schools with its public school partners in 13 states.  At the Foundation, Peterson will manage all SYF services related to the Simon Youth Scholarships program and the national network of 23 Simon Youth Academies, which are non-traditional high... Read More

Simon Youth Foundation best practices featured at series of national and state conferences

Simon Youth Foundation President and CEO J. Michael Durnil, Ph.D., was a featured panelist at the University of Indianapolis Center for Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) Conference, Nov. 14-15, 2011. The CELL Conference presentation was the third in a series of national presentations made by SYF in the Fall of 2011. The Foundation also was asked to present at the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities National Conference and the... Read More

Miss America helps Simon Youth Foundation announce new scholarship

In partnership with the Arundel Mills in Hanover, Md., and using funds raised by the Simon property’s valet parking service, Simon Youth Foundation announced a new Simon Youth Scholarship competition for students in the Anne Arundel County Public Schools district on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011. SYF President and CEO J. Michael Durnil, Ph.D., was joined by Miss America Teresa Scanlan for the announcement, which was made during The Fashion Event,... Read More

Orlando Sentinel: Mall ‘high school’ blends learning, job skills

By Lauren Roth In a spot wedged between a Marshalls and a trophy shop, about 30 students attend school in an outpost of the Florida Mall. Their classes, which are paired with work at the mall or out in the community, are part of a little known but longstanding effort to graduate students while also giving them job skills. There are also sites at Universal Orlando and on the University of Phoenix campus in East Orlando. On a recent afternoon, a student... Read More

Simon Youth Foundation principal to share best strategies for successful non-traditional classrooms

Michael Flushman, the principal at the Simon Youth Academy at Hickory Hollow Mall in Nashville, Tenn., says that emphasizing community while teaching to the individual student are strategies that can lead non-traditional schools to success, and he will share these best practices as a featured presenter at the 23rd Annual National Dropout Prevention Network Conference scheduled for Oct. 9-12, 2011, in Schaumburg, Ill. Read the full story at the Simon... Read More

Coca-Cola helps Simon Youth Foundation quench students’ thirst for alternative education programs

The Coca-Cola Company® has named Simon Youth Foundation one of the featured charities at its My Coke Rewards® program website from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31, 2011. “Coca-cola is a household name, and we are hopeful that Simon Youth Foundation’s collaboration with Coke brands will help us ramp up national awareness of our programs that keep at-risk students, who may be homeless, severely ill, or forced to work full time to support an impoverished... Read More

Simon Youth Foundation President: corporate support of public alternative education is good business

Simon Youth Foundation President and CEO J. Michael Durnil, Ph.D., was a featured guest on Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick for the week of August 21, 2011. The program, which is broadcast on a network of 15 local affiliate television stations, is Indiana’s only statewide business news program. During his interview, Durnil explained that students who dropout of high school will earn nearly $300,000 less over their lifetime and are twice... Read More

Simon Youth Foundation awards more than $1 million to college-bound students

The Simon Youth Scholarships program, an initiative of Simon Youth Foundation, has announced $1.15 million in awards to benefit more than 260 nationwide recent high school graduates, many of whom will be first-generation college students when they attend the 2- or 4-year institution of their choice this fall. A list of the 2011 Simon Youth Scholarship winners is available online for viewing or download. “The mission of Simon Youth Foundation is... Read More

Cleveland’s WKYC: Graduation marks new begining for single mom

In a case of we couldn’t have said it any better ourselves, Jennifer Lindgren, a reporter for WKYC, the NBC News affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio, provided coverage of the graduation ceremony on June 2, 2011, for the Simon Youth North Coast Academy at Richmond Town Square Sears. The story illustrates well the Simon Youth Foundation mission in action. Much of the piece focuses on Raychel Griffin, a single mother, who was able to balance school... Read More