Max Cleland: “the National Youth Sports Program, NYSP, is an educational partnership that has worked successfully for 33 years. It…”

“the National Youth Sports Program, NYSP, is an educational partnership that has worked successfully for 33 years. It provides at-risk children, ages 10-16, a 5-week summer program offering sports and academic enrichment at U.S. colleges and universities nationwide. Begun in 1969 as a sports enrichment program, the NYSP now reaches beyond athletics to offer academic instruction, substance abuse prevention, and character education. Originally offered at two higher ed institutions, last year the program served over 73,000 participants at 196 host colleges and universities in 49 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. For many of these young people, it was their first opportunity to experience a college or university campus from the inside. In order to enhance the educational commitment of the NYSP, selected programs at 123 sites across the Nation now include special emphasis on math and science skills. In addition, NYSP programs serving older participants, those from ages 13-16, help them enhance their computer skills and academic performance through reading and writing activities that offer mentoring opportunities to younger NYSP participants. For over three decades the National Youth Sports Program has been a model of what a successful collaboration should be.”