Our Programs

PROVIDING UNIQUE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FREE OF CHARGE TO OSSINING AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES.

The Brieant Youth Alliance is proud to provide services that are beneficial to the youth in the greater Ossining area and for at-risk youth in Westchester County. Through partnerships with the Greater Ossining Public Schools and surrounding communities, Communities that Care, Ossining Chamber of Commerce and a youth detention center, the Brieant Youth Alliance works with educators to identify programs that are most needed and then in collaboration with educational consultants develops and presents programs at no cost to the students or to the schools.

 

OUR PROGRAMS WILL SERVE: OSSINING, TARRYTOWN, IRVINGTON, SLEEPY HOLLOW, PEEKSKILL, CROTON-ON-HUDSON, AND BEYOND

The Life Long Leaders Program

The Roosevelt Elementary School – S.H.I.E.L.D. Program Anne M. Dorner Middle School - The Life Long Leaders Program Ossining High School – Future Young Leaders Program

BYA Leadership Program helps students to cultivate their unique capabilities to be a positive force in their own lives, in their school, and in their community.

Using a proprietary curriculum, the Brieant Youth Alliance has partnered with Ossining administrators, teachers, and educational consultants to provide real-world examples of the qualities of leadership. Through role-playing, behavior modeling, and classroom exercises, students identify their unique leadership qualities and develop those strengths, while also recognizing that leadership styles vary and there is no “one-size fits all.”

The Life Long Leaders Program is a 10 week fully funded Brieant Youth Alliance program sponsored in three of the Ossining schools. 18-22 students are chosen by school administrators and counselors to take a careful look at themselves and use this self-awareness to be productive contributors to their community.

Children learn about the essential qualities of character of any type of leader: empathy; integrity; accountability; communications; trustworthiness, etc. In all three schools, the program culminates with an age-appropriate community project that they collectively decided upon, a project designed to put their new understanding of leadership to practical use for the benefit of others. Capstone Projects have ranged from Earth Day presentations to letter-writing campaigns to an OHS “Impact Day”, where students volunteered at a variety of Ossining nonprofits.

Program Details

Career Exploration Program

OSSINING HIGH SCHOOL
This program brings executives and career professionals with career expertise in various professions into the classroom to speak with students. This program enables students to explore different career directions, to learn job and life skills necessary for potential careers and understand what course work will be needed in high school and college. Students also gain insight and tools to make better career decisions. Career professionals describe their own personal and professional journeys as a way of helping students envision what is possible in careers as varied as law, the arts, technology. While traditionally focused on college-bound students, a new focus has emerged on including students for whom college is not the preferred choice.
Program Details

Youth At Risk Program

The Youth at Risk Program is a program designed to offer academic, personal development and conflict resolution opportunities to youths during incarceration in Westchester County. The facility provides short-term placement to court-involved male and female juveniles from Westchester County and throughout the Hudson Valley. Many of the youth placed at the detention center have histories of abuse and neglect, substance abuse, mental health challenges and special education needs.
Program Details

Hudson Pride Program

The Hudson Pride Program was launched in June 2014 in partnership with the Ossining High School, Ferry Sloops and the Shattemuc Yacht Club. The program is a yearlong expeditionary program that combines leadership, Hudson River exploration and study of the ecosystem into one class. It is a long-term, in-depth investigation of a topic designed to engage students through authentic projects, fieldwork and service. Additionally, it is an exciting opportunity to learn through expeditions to respect history, to see how the ecosystem works and understand the importance of the Hudson River in the lives of the students and their community.
Program Details

Peer Mediation Program

OSSINING HIGH SCHOOL
Peer mediation is both a program and a process where students of the same age-group facilitate disputes between two people or small groups. This program was designed to teach students how to resolve conflicts without stuffing and/or ignoring feelings or resorting to violence working towards a win-win resolution.

 

Children are taught to Identify the Problem, Resolve Conflicts Early, Share their Feelings, Listen Actively and with Compassion, Finding a Solution Together and Agreeing on a Plan of Action. Additional skill sets taught include checking their own behavior, soul searching and self-examination; all in an effort to visualize a successful and peaceful conversation. This helps students to develop their listening and critical thinking skills to understand and resolve conflict in their lives.

 

Students who successfully complete the program become the mediators to whom other students will turn to resolve differences. From our handbook, Students Resolving Conflict, one student is quoted as saying, “The thing I like about mediation is the kids would be angry at first. But then they talk it over, they seem happier about their choices and can learn to face them.”

Program Details

The Nutrition Program

ANN M. DORNER MIDDLE SCHOOL
Snacks are an important part of a young person’s diet and can provide a good portion of their calorie and nutrient needs for the day. Considering the less nutritious foods youth are exposed to during the day, the Brieant Youth Alliance set out to develop a program that would help students to make healthy life choices with a focus on promoting healthy eating. Through meaningful activities, children are introduced to a wide variety of healthy foods, choosing a healthy and active life style and encouraged to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, grains and healthy snacks. We believe good nutrition plays a vital role in physical and mental health.
Program Details