Serving Students with Highest Needs

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Led by Newark Opportunity Youth Network (Newark OYN) in New Jersey, key public and private organizations in Newark came together to focus efforts on supporting disconnected youth and transforming how they are educated and prepared for life, postsecondary learning, and careers. This report describes how Newark OYN emerged and is charting its path of engaging community partners, implementing direct education services to reengage disconnected youth, and providing supports to organizations supporting these youth. Throughout the report, Newark OYN youth reflect on their experiences of disengaging from school or coming close to disengaging, and how Newark OYN’s intentionally designed educational programs and schools set them on a path to opportunity. The report also shares Newark OYN’s early achievements, impact, and lessons learned after two years of implementation.