CENTER FOR A NEW GENERATION

Center for a New Generation: Helping Students Succeed in School and Beyond

In 1991, Peninsula philanthropist Susan Ford and then Stanford University Professor Dr. Condoleezza Rice co-founded the Center for a New Generation, an innovative after-school academic enrichment program. The goal of the program was to increase the high school graduation rate in the Ravenswood City School District by helping middle school students prepare for high school and college. To accomplish this, the program focused on core subjects including math and language Arts. Electives such as art and music were offered to help students express their imagination and creativity. From the mid-1990s until 2011 (when the school was closed), CNG was located at the James Flood Magnet School in Menlo Park. It served an average of 130 students per year.

Expanding to Meet the Need

In 1996 CNG merged with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula. Since that time, the program has continued to evolve. In 2005, BGCP began opening additional CNG sites, expanding at the request of local schools. For the 2011-12 school year, CNG will operate at Belle Haven Community School and Brentwood Academy in the Ravenswood City School District and at Taft and Hoover Community Schools in the Redwood City School District. Currently about 700 students per year attend CNG. The Taft CNG program, which serves more than 200 students, maintains a wait-list of about 130 students.

Today, CNG provides after-school and summer programming to elementary and middle school students. It also offers a wide array of electives--such as sports, gardening, robotics, cooking, and many other enriching options--as well as a Jr. College Bound initiative that teaches students from kindergarten through eighth grade about selecting a high school as well as college, careers, and the skills needed to attain them. Over the past six years, 84 to 94% of CNG alumni have graduated from high school--doubling the local average.

Clearly Defined Goals Our goals for the Center for a New Generations are to:

•  Increase positive academic behaviors
•  Develop positive attitudes/youth development indicators
•  Provide positive supports and opportunities for members
•  Increase parent/guardian engagement and satisfaction
•  Guide scholars to actively select their high school and enroll in college prep classes
•  Increase scholars' academic achievement

CNG 2010-11 Report

CNG 2009-10 Report

CNG 2008-09 Report