Hyde Park Half Art and Community Center

Hyde Park Half will offer youth productive ways to participate in their culture and achieve healthy personal growth through academic and artistic enrichment. Through special events, tutoring and workshops we will motivate youth to become proactive members of the Inglewood community. All services at Hyde Park Half will be free, funded by events and the contributions of generous foundations. We hope to begin offering services by the end of the summer of 2010. Hyde Park Half will provide academic tutoring from three to six p.m. every weekday in subjects in which students request assistance. Tutoring will be lead by volunteers from local colleges and non-profits. By providing this support for students who may not receive it elsewhere, we hope to decrease Inglewood’s high school dropout rate while enriching the lives of the youth we serve. Hyde Park Half will also offer SAT prep courses. We believe that every student deserves assistance in preparation for this important test. According to the last U.S. Census, only 13.3 percent of Inglewood’s population had achieved a Bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to the national average of 24.4. We hope to increase the percentage of Inglewood youth that obtain secondary education by boosting students’ confidence in their own academic abilities. We recognize that youth need artistic enrichment as well. As art programs are slashed from California public schools, it is essential to provide teens with a creative outlet, fostering healthy personal growth and encouraging positive community involvement. We will offer a safe and supportive workshop space where instructors and students learn and help one another. Workshops will include creative writing such as fiction and poetry, as well as assistance with college admission essays. Hyde Park Half will also offer dance, music, and art lessons. Local athletes, artists, musicians and professors have already volunteered their time to share skills with Inglewood youth, helping students explore their creativity and express themselves in healthy and safe ways. In addition to filling the gaps in a struggling public education system, Hyde Park Half will serve as a community center in an area where such spaces are rare. By providing a safe, positive environment we hope to help local youth engage with their culture and bring peace to their streets, schools and neighborhoods. We saw the community come together during our opening event on January 15th, 2010, which featured acoustic musicians, comedians, and spoken word artists, including a piece by a young man who had recently finished his prison term. His speech on new beginnings was a reflection of the great potential of Hyde Park Half and the students who fill it. Hyde Park Half fulfills a critical need for academic and artistic enrichment in the lives of Inglewood youth. This essential support and experience will allow students to enter adulthood as healthy, motivated individuals. Hyde Park Half is not ready to give up on the youth of California. With the help of the Strauss Foundation, we will do our part in restoring art and education in our state, because the potential of our youth is limitless.