The STARS Citywide Girls Initiative, a special initiative of the New York City Council, is a collaboration of six leading NYC nonprofits that help girls and young women of color overcome barriers to success, grow emotionally, academically and physically stronger, and develop as leaders in their communities. The six partners are Girls Write Now, Groundswell, Lower Eastside Girls Club, PowerPlay NYC, Row New York, and Sadie Nash Leadership Project.

On June 4, 2015, STARS Citywide Girls will hold an all day, all girls youth summit for middle and high school girls at the High School of Fashion Industries in Chelsea. The day will include performances, keynote speakers, workshops, and an exhibition hall where a college and career fair will take place. The event is free. Participants are required to RSVP.

This summer, The Girls' Program at New Settlement Apartments is offering a variety of programs for girls ages 10 to 15. Program offerings are focused on writing and performance, gardening, and photography and comic book creation. Enrollment forums are available in English and in Spanish. An orientation for all interested will be held on July 1, 2015. Girls will learn about all the programs being offered and will have an opportunity to sign up on the spot, meet instructors, and other potential participants. All prospective participants are invited to attend the orientation with or without a parent or guardian. There will also be a Peer Educator program limited to young women, ages 14 - 20, who have been selected by the Summer Youth Employment Program and chose Mosholu Montefiore as their 'provider'. They should contact Joy Leonard at 718-716-8000 x119 or Tasheema Lucas at x133 directly.

Funded through the Mayor’s Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO), the Young Adult Internship Program (YAIP) offers 14 weeks of paid orientation, training and work followed by 9 months of follow-up services and assistance for placement in permanent jobs, training programs and educational opportunities. Job-ready young adults, ages 16 - 24, who are not working and not in school are welcome to apply. YAIP programs are located in community-based organizations in all five boroughs of New York City, and offer a range of placements in many industries, including construction, hospitality, healthcare, and retail. For more information, contact 800-246-4646.

On May 18, 2015, the Forum for Youth Investment will host a free conference call and discussion titled Embedding Youth Development in Schools: A Thought Leader Conversation. Register to take part in a rich, thought-provoking discussion between Karen Pittman, co-founder and CEO of the Forum for Youth Investment, and Michele Cahill, one of the principal architects of New York Cities' redesigned high schools and funder, while at the Carnegie Corporation, of some of the country's most innovative high school reform initiatives.

Key questions being addressed include:

• What does it take to get youth development practices embedded into the DNA of schools?
• Why are educators ready to acknowledge the need to change structures and practices to help students build the skills and attitudes needed to achieve academic success?
• Why do school-community partnerships, especially by high school, need to push beyond coordinated hand offs and focus on shared design?
• How can the lessons emerging from the afterschool/out-of-school field be leveraged to accelerate progress in all public systems, not just schools?

As part of the event, there will be a simultaneously hosted twitter chatroom. Use the hashtag #readyby21 to submit your comments and questions.

ITP Make Education Camp is a 2-week summer camp for teachers and educators that will run from July 6 - 17, 2015. In the second year, ITP Make Education Camp will host educators who value making, learning, and are interested in exploring more. The camp is based upon the flexible structure of un-conferences, such as EdCamp, foocamp, or barcamp, where the sessions are formed in response to campers’ interests and projects. Campers will collaborate with people from diverse disciplines and learn by making together. ITP Make Education Camp is hosted at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program, an interdisciplinary graduate program. Campers will have time to dive into their projects at ITP, taking advantage of the floor’s electronics lab and fabrication tools, with helpful guidance from ITP camp counselors, instigators, guests, and fellow campers. There are application fees.

Brooklyn Community Foundation has launched Invest in Youth with a 10-year commitment aimed at tackling significant barriers to success for 16 to 24 year olds, particularly young people of color. In its first year, the Foundation will deploy over $2 million through Invest in Youth to Brooklyn-serving nonprofits in the form of a competitive grantmaking program, strategic partnerships, youth fellowships, and youth-led grants. The initiative will emphasize youth development and leadership, with a focus on under resourced neighborhoods and immigrant communities. The Foundation will also build and support new programs and services directed at diverting young people from the criminal justice system and providing them with economic and educational opportunities. Among other considerations, Invest in Youth will prioritize support for organizations focused on racial justice and those led by members of the communities they serve. Visit Invest in Youth 2015 Grantmaking Program to learn more about the funding opportunity. A Letter of Inquiry is due before June 30, 2015 at 5 pm.

America’s Promise Alliance recently released the 2015 Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic report, a comprehensive analysis of the progress they are making toward shows detailed progress toward the GradNation goal of a national on-time graduation rate of 90 percent by 2020. According to this sixth annual update, the national high school graduation rate hit a record high of 81.4 percent. These gains have been made possible by raising graduation rates for groups of students that have traditionally struggled to earn a high school diploma.