LEADERSHIP SCHOLARS

HISTORY AND PURPOSE
The Leadership Scholars Program empowers Cincinnati inner-city youth with knowledge, inspiration, and confidence to reach their full potential as leaders. It is a six-year mentoring and leadership development program for inner-city youth. Leadership Scholars, Inc. is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, OH, with a geographical focus on the city of Cincinnati. Its mission is to develop leadership skills for inner-city elementary students (Scholars) and high school students (Leaders) who mentor them. The Leadership Scholars Program works closely with nine grade schools and six high schools . Each school has provided us with a number of students who participate in the program, as well as a teacher or counselor who serves as a coordinator. In addition, the principal of each school is rather involved with the program.

GOALS
The goals of Leadership Scholars are to: instill in the students the confidence, competence, and commitment to improve their lives; develop leadership skills for the students; and provide our students with exposure to the greater community; a support network in the form of the Leadership Scholars Family; additional educational opportunities; and an excellent mentoring relationship.

PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
There are currently more than 300 students in the Leadership Scholars Program. The Leaders and Scholars have been organized into teams of about three Leaders and two Scholars each, which meet one hour each week at one of the nine grade schools. During that time, the teams discuss quotations and a topic of the week; read famous speeches and develop their communication skills; solve various problems as a team; engage in team-building activities; and collaborate on a group project. In addition, the Leaders and Scholars attend a bimonthly 2.5-hour Leadership Development Workshop at Xavier University, which includes team-building exercises, workshops, and motivational speakers. The teams also meet for a team outing once every other month. The outing is to a high school function, such as an athletic event, play, or concert.

The Leadership Scholars Program takes a quarterly field trip, such as to the Art Museum, UC’s CCM, etc., and, to provide consistency and additional enrichment for the students, hosts a 4-week summer program for all of the Scholars currently in the program, as well as a few select Leaders. All of the students and parents in the program have made a two-year commitment to participate in the weekly team meetings, bimonthly Leadership Development Workshops, quarterly field trips, and Summer Program.

SELECTION PROCESS
The Scholars in the program have been selected by their teachers and principals based on leadership potential and demonstrated leadership abilities. They all possess unique talents and a special drive to achieve levels of success not normally sought after by inner-city students. All of them are great student leaders, and several of them are at the top of their class academically. The Leaders, on the other hand, go through a rigorous application and training process consisting of a written application (essay, two teacher recommendations, short answer questions, parental consent), 15-minute interview, and two-day training session. Needless to say, they are the busiest and best leaders in their schools, and they share their experiences and wisdom with the Scholars whom they mentor.

COMPOSITION
Overall, the Leaders and Scholars range in age from 12 to 18 years; 43% of the Leaders and Scholars are male and 57% are female; and the students attend a total of 28 schools (9 elementary and 19 high schools). There is a discrepancy in the demographics of the Leaders and Scholars, which is illustrated in the below chart:

All Leaders and Scholars Just Scholars (started in 7th Grade)
African/African American 43% 67%
Caucasian 48% 27%
Hispanic or Latino 1% 0%
Asian 3% 0%
Multi-racial or Other 5% 6%
Low-Income 48% 78%
City of Cincinnati 49% 70%

RESULTS
• 100% High School Retention—100% of the students who graduated from the eighth grade as Scholars are currently in high school
• 99% High School Graduation Rate—99% of the students who were members of the first two classes of Leaders (more than 75 students) graduated from high school
• 96% College Enrollment Rate—more than 96% of the students who were members of the first two classes of Leaders enrolled in college
• 30% Increase in Applications—for two years in a row, 30% more students (compared to the previous year) applied to be Leaders
• More than $970,000 in High School Scholarships—Class 1 and 2 Scholars (current high school freshmen and sophomores) were awarded more than $970,000 in scholarship dollars for high school
• In Leadership Scholars’ evaluation report, quantitative and qualitative data confirmed that student participants had undergone a revision of their personal goals such that the students were now striving for more challenging accomplishments including aspiring to graduate from rigorous high school programs and eventually enter college