Annual Report 2021

2020-21 Year in Review

As the pandemic continued into the 2020-21 academic year, our students participated in career programs and financial literacy education in online and in-person formats. While the pandemic held us back in several ways, it helped us grow in others.

How do kids discover their unique strengths, talents and interests? Career exploration allows students to learn from professionals, working side-by-side with experts in their field. Our students learn confidence as they build transferrable skills for the real world. We hold our students accountable in demonstrating reliability, effective communication and team dynamics, and other critical employability skills. Career Academy students are engaged, prepared and understand what it takes to be successful in the workplace.

Despite the challenges brought on by COVID, our staff did not slow down in ensuring Career Academy would be a valuable experience for students. Our staff committed to ensuring that each class offers valuable industry certifications and concurrent enrollment to help kids get a head start on their future careers.

We have seen time and time again how this program can change the trajectory of a student’s life, providing confidence and direction.

Culinary Arts & Hospitality class credits and certifications

Structure Design & Construction Credits and certifications

• ServSafe FoodHandler

• ServSafe Manager

• ProStart Certificate of Achievement

• Concurrent enrollment with Metro State University

• High school credits

• NCCER Core

• OSHA 10 Construction 

• IEC New Worker Certificate

• High school class credits

In 2020 Youthentity designed a virtual curriculum to support distance learning which helped expand our geographic reach; as a result, Youthentity’s IAFK program grew exponentially this past year. We have never had this much demand for our program and anticipate continued significant growth.

A few fun growth stats for the 2020-21 year:

• We served 21 school districts across 15 counties throughout Colorado with financial literacy education. 

• Students participated from 70 schools.

• Six of those new school districts are located in the Front Range. 

• Seven of the new districts are rural, reaching as far as Moffat and Pueblo counties. 

New Year, New Look

This year Youthentity reached the ripe old age of 20. With this milestone, we’ve updated our look to reflect Youthentity’s growth and evolution through two decades of innovation in hands-on learning for youth.

Expand Career Academy class offerings.

After years of planning we were able to successfully launch two new classes under the Career Academy & YE University program, Animal Care and Health Occupations. Career Academy allows kids to explore jobs and careers in the culinary arts, hospitality, architectural design and construction industries. In the next several years, we plan to add options to our career exploration program, including business services, accounting, banking and more.

Serve greater Colorado with I Am Financial Knowledge curriculum. 

After years of serving Colorado’s Western Slope with IAFK education, Youthentity now provides financial literacy workshops in fifteen counties throughout the state. As we continue to evolve this offering, we look forward to partnering with even more schools in the future. 

Creating an online tool for students. 

As part of Career Academy, participating students will map out their futures using a Five Year Life Plan template. Next year, we’ll roll out a digital version of the template to provide students with a tool that helps them to create an academic, professional, and financial path for success.