Oprah’s Angel Network

Trips to local museums and other educational field trips help broaden the young boys' horizons.

Photo courtesy of Young Leaders' Academy

The Young Leaders’ Academy (YLA), in Baton Rouge, La., is molding young African-American males from disadvantaged backgrounds into outstanding citizens.

The organization’s uplifting mission first caught the eye of The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2000, earning YLA and its leader Kirt Bennett a Use Your Life Award. When Bennett stepped down in 2004, the group’s mentoring coordinator, Tonya Robertson, stepped up—and raised a few eyebrows.

“When it happened I think some people may have been like, ‘wow, there’s a lady heading this leadership organization for boys,’” Tonya recalled. “But it’s not a big problem for us, because what we’re doing is teaching our boys leadership and responsibility, about how to be good citizens, how to make the right choices … and that has no gender.”

Building Young Leaders

The program currently serves about 75 young boys from grades 3–8. Besides fostering character and leadership development, the goal of the program is to broaden students’ horizons so they are prepared for high school and beyond. In 1994, YLA held its first session with 10 young boys—and nearly all of them went on to get college degrees.

But building young leaders doesn’t happen overnight. The boys in the program come from crime-riddled neighborhoods and are usually raised by a single-mother or grandparent. Sometimes it’s a challenge to get transportation to and from events, or to maintain a consistent attendance at required academy functions.

The academy combats these problems with a tough-love prescription. They don’t tolerate excuses and work closely with parents to ensure attendance.

“Nobody rises to low expectations,” said Tonya. “We set the bar high and expect them to get there … because they’re going to have to go out in a world that doesn’t care if I’m poor or black, or that my mom was on food stamps. They care about what you do to change your life.”

Boys in grades 3–5 who exhibit leadership traits are first recommended by their principals at local elementary schools. These kids are not always the straight-A students, Tonya noted, because sometimes it’s the class clown who’s the leader, but just needs his energy and leadership channeled in other ways.

The academy then holds an informal meeting to set expectations—to let parents and students know that a serious commitment is needed. The boys must attend Saturday Academy every weekend at Southern University in Baton Rouge, during which they will take extra courses in math, science, language arts and leadership. They must wear YLA-approved clothes to all functions and formal attire on formal outings. They must also be active in community service, partake in biannual fundraisers, attend lectures and maintain a 2.5 GPA.

In the summer, they participate in a more intensive, all day six-week program at the university.

“I like to think we give them a world bigger than their backyard,” said Tonya, who noted that the six-week program really helps inspire the boys. “It’s when we can really see them start to blossom.”

Moving On and Up

The YLA programs all add up to an experience that can fundamentally shift a boy’s outlook and ambition. Over the years, with the help of its board members and the business community, YLA has forged relationships with some of the top college preparatory schools in the area, including Catholic High School. Since 2000, 25 young men have graduated from or are attending the school.

Jan Breen, who helped start the Young Leaders’ Academy and volunteered to serve on its board, also works as director of public relations at Catholic High. She is impressed with the values the YLA students bring to the school.

“They understand you have to work to achieve,” said Jan, whose school provides need-based financial assistance and summer work programs for students to help defray the cost of tuition. “I think that’s something that the Young Leaders learn every Saturday, every summer—that academics are important, that service is important and being a part of a team is important; structure is important, all of those values are important.”

Instilling these values into the boys has become Tonya’s lifelong mission. Because she doesn’t have any children of her own, she said that the boys at the academy have become part of her extended family. Her voice cracks with excitement and sorrow when she talks about their plight.

“For so many of these kids their nightmares come in the daytime,” she said. “These are my kids, my boys … I’ve always been concerned about what’s going to happen to them if we don’t make the sacrifices that we need to make for them now.”