The Talent Outreach Program (TOP) provides intensive, year-round sequenced education, youth development training, life skills training and leadership training after-school over the four years of high school for a cohort of teens from the same community (and, where possible, from the same high school). It empowers mentors, parents, educators, and service agency stakeholders to provide integrated healthy support and guidance. Through incentive-based activities, youth are mentored by caring adults in a community-based setting.
The main goals of the program include:
- Increase the percentage of youth who have positive attitudes toward school;
- Improve grades of youth;
- Increase the percentage of youth who successfully completed high school;
- Increase the percentage of youth who advance to post-secondary education or training; and
- Decrease the percentage of youth who engage in problem behaviors during their high school years
Program Four Cornerstones of Focus:
- Education - Develops academic skills through mentoring and advocacy, computer-assisted instruction, and homework assistance.
- Youth Development - Builds the character and competence of youth by developing problem solving skills, life, and social skills.
- Youth Leadership and Democracy Building - Motivates and trains youth to communicate effectively, understand media strategies, develop leadership and advocacy skills, volunteer as near-peers for younger kids, and orchestrate initiatives that improve their communities.
- Sustained and Adequate Investment Over Four Years - TOP staff utilize every reasonable resource to keep all program participants in school, functioning academically at grade level or above, and staying out of trouble.
Services Provided:
- Heartfelt engagement
- Academic Support
- Leadership Development
- Positive Youth Development
- Career and College Exploration
- Supportive Services
- Conflict Resolution
- Parental Engagement
- Community Engagement
- Developing gifts and talents within
- Instilling truth
- Building healthy relationships
- And more…
We invite students attending Hillsborough High School, Tampa Bay Technical School, and Middleton High School to participate in this program. If you have a student at any of these schools who are in need of any of the services mentioned above we welcome you to complete an application here.
If you would like to support youth in this program by volunteering please complete a volunteer application.
Talent Outreach Program (TOP)