2017 Highlights
As January 2018 rapidly comes to a close, we wanted to take moment and look back at some of the things E4 Youth accomplished in 2017 and offer a brief preview of what’s to come. We now have a thriving ecosystem of 7 Get Creative Enrichment Clubs in 5 Austin area high schools serving over 150 students. Each club pairs high school Career and Technology Education teachers with trained creative college mentors. Mentors lead employability activities and coach students on projects in audio video production, journalism, photography, immersive media, graphic design, music and fashion. Each club serves as an entry point into our ecosystem of creative and technology partners that visit classrooms, host tours, and coach students through job shadowing, internship and apprenticeship opportunities.
What’s to Come?
Virtual Storytelling
Late last year, E4 Youth received a grant from the Mozilla Foundation and has been in the process of developing Virtual Storytelling Curriculum. In March, we’ll be working with Capital Factory, Six Square, members of the Digital Empowerment Community of Austin (DECA) and our ecosystem of Get Creative Enrichment Clubs to pilot the curriculum implementation. Students will research East Austin landmarks and use immersive media and tools to tell stories about them.
Music Legacy Project
In its third year, the Music Legacy Project launched on January 20th. High school and college age students (15 – 21) work directly with top notch industry professionals to learn about songwriting, publishing, recording, performing, marketing and distributing their music.
Shadow the Pros
This year, our summer program, Shadow the Pros will provide paid 8 week fellowships for up to 25 high school and college age youth. Preferred access to this program is provided to E4 Youth students and Creative College Mentors based on the number of micro credentials they earn through participation in Get Creative Enrichment Clubs.
Employability Curriculum™ Training
Our goal is to work with area Career and Technology Education teachers to provide employability skills training to over 1000 Austin area high school students.
