EDUCATION AND HEALTH CENTER
EXPLORE THE CITY’S FIRST SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTALLY DESIGNED ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL FOR BOYS
NOW IS THE TIME
Finally Safe—a non-traditional, Montessori-level education center for youth affected by crime and poverty, and those struggling with learning disabilities, and COVID-19 learning loss—will be the first “Go Green” alternative school in St. Louis City. We are a pilot-model facility designed to meet high-environmental standards with student health at the forefront—our features are carefully developed and compatible for 21st century learning and the COVID-19 era—and our structure will reinforce a culture of life and health within the low-income community.
Many opportunities exist for abstract programs; however, there is a service gap concerning education centers and the infrastructure necessary to help youth with delinquency issues and special needs, safely return to the classroom. There is currently a community need for an alternative school that offers significant programs, curriculum, and technical learning to secondary-level students—in addition, addresses environmental justice, and tackles the City’s public safety and health crisis, as well as socio-economic disparities amongst minority juveniles. An increasing number of minors in our region are not in school, and as a result, they are unaccounted for, and are exposed to health risks and juvenile delinquency. This is a daunting problem that is affecting our community, our city, and our region as a whole.
Finally Safe wants to combat this issue.
Founded and led by youth advocate and mentor, Stephanie Acon, the Finally Safe Education and Health Center (FSEHC), will be the first well-being and efficiency-focused, LEED-certified school in our community that grants youth from low-income areas the opportunity to receive a 21st century learning experience presented in a new climate, from within this kind of facility. This is an opportunity that they otherwise would not have, as there are currently no eco-friendly, health-inspired schools in our inner-city communities, or in the immediate metropolitan area.
WHY IT MATTERS
If we want them to live, we must teach them to survive. Finally Safe is a promoter of EDUCATION, HEALTH, AGRICULTURE and LIFE.
FACTS
- St. Louis leads the Nation in Child Crimes and Murders.
- Americans under the age of eighteen are 8x more likely to be killed in St. Louis than in the rest of the country.
Education
Did you know?
Students from high poverty communities are…
- 4x more likely to be chronically absent and drop out!
- 8x as likely to commit crimes and experience incarceration!
- 3x less likely to earn a livable wage than adolescents who receive high quality education or learning programs.
- 5x less likely to enter science, engineering, and computer technology fields.
Improving the education learning atmosphere and experience, social skills, behavior, and academic achievement for youth in underserved communities can contribute greatly in breaking the cycle of poverty and crime.
Up to 68% of African American male juveniles are reading below their grade level.
Disabilities
- Learning Disabilities (LD) have been associated with juvenile delinquency, and are one of the most prevalent issues within juvenile court populations.
- The National Council on Disability estimated that approx. 30% of youth in the juvenile justice system have learning disabilities.
- Youth with learning disabilities are 3x more likely to drop out of school.
- Youth with learning disabilities are more susceptible to anger and anxiety.
- African American youth with learning disabilities are 2x as likely to enter poverty— and are more susceptible to homelessness.
WE MUST ACT
STEM ZONE
Despite a growing demand for a well-educated workforce in science, technology, engineering, and math-related (STEM) careers, few African American students are pursuing these majors.
Minority male juveniles from high-poverty areas, and students with disabilities, are highest among at-risk groups whose interest in pursuing STEM careers is frequently compromised by both environmental and systemic barriers. Finally Safe will introduce 100% student participants to science, technology, and engineering fields.
STEM TESTING ROOM and STEM LAB
Our future-forward classroom designs and practices will inspire our boys through hands-on tactics that engage and invoke participation! We don’t want to simply tell our students how things work… we want to show them.
Our Robot Stage is one of Finally Safe’s unique features!
PREPARE THEM FOR THE FUTURE
LITERACY AND SPEECH ZONE
READemption Room
Another Finally Safe design element is daylighting. Sourcing natural light in critical areas such as our READemption room will boost reading engagement, and increase test scores… all while lowering utility cost!
Daylighting, Ventilation, and Quality Air are top priorities for our learning stations. Increased ventilation with quality air has a significant effect on teachers and students, especially in relation to asthma and respiratory issues (which are dominate ailments among black children). All children, regardless of their race or economic disadvantages, should have the right to breathe clean air.
Youth with learning disabilities, ADHD, and anxiety disorders also benefit from exposure to quality air and the ability to properly breathe. Additionally, indoor air quality has been shown to have a connection to student absenteeism. Reduction in absences can greatly improve school budgets, since the majority of a school’s operating budget is directly dependent on average daily attendance (ADA).
At Finally Safe, we understand that a healthy student is a present student.
THERAPY AND HEALTH ZONE
ON-SITE EDUCATORS AND PRACTITIONERS
Finally Safe has educators and practitioners dedicated to helping our youth heal through...
- Social and Emotional Learning
- Trauma Therapy
- Support Groups
- Clinical Support
The Finally Safe facility is designed with the special needs of our students in mind. Lighter Color Palettes in our interior design will increase energy levels in students; especially those who suffer from mental impairments such as depression. Optical Tones reinforce and enhance response to treatment. Students in the poorest areas of St. Louis City have generally inhabited homes and facilities dim in color scheme, lead-based, and behind in modernization. Finally Safe is designed to be a bright, and youthful respite place! A place where our boys can let down their walls, learn, and GROW. Other areas in the FSEHC (“FS Center”) include…
- Recreation Gym
- Game Room
- Quiet Spaces
- Clinical Station
WORKSHOPS
ON-SITE JOB TRAINING
ABC Trades
- Vocational Workshop A: Automotive
- Vocational Workshop B: Barbershop / Barbering
- Vocational Workshop C: Carpentry
Technical learning and Career Pathway Planning helps break the barriers for at-risk youth, including those with learning disabilities. Our preparatory initiative will optimize the Finally Safe learning experience by providing our participants with access to relevant vocational programs both on-site and off-site. This kind of hands-on approach to job-readiness promotes focus, motivation, independence, confidence, and combats the cycle of poverty in underprivileged communities.
FINALLY SAFE will also offer…
GREEN Trades:
- Vocational Workshop: HVAC/ Geothermal Heating and Cooling
- Vocational Workshop: Introduction to BioScience
- Vocational Workshop: Sustainability Construction
Education for Sustainability (EfS) is an important tool for social and economic advancement.
MENTORSHIP
ON-SITE MENTORS AND TUTORS
Troubled youth need a strong support system. When youth lack parental support, mentorship, and are placed in crowded classrooms, they struggle–they act out–they drop out. Statistically poor and disruptive behavior and failing grades are a cry for attention.
Mentorship and tutorship can cause a paradigm shift in the behavior, school attendance, academic progress, and self-value of a troubled child. Finally Safe is teaming up with premium mentors and tutors to assist and guide our boys through their struggles. Providing them with insight, new perspectives, new opportunities for success, and help navigating their decisions. Teaching them life and survival skills.
