ISUS (Improved Solutions for Urban Systems) was founded by President Ann Higdon in 1992. Her mission was to transform the lives of out-of-school youth by giving them a second chance at high school, job skills, and higher education. Even more important, according to the ISUS founder, was that these young people would have a chance to rise above the usually low expectations that communities hold for them. ISUS young people would become transcenders (people who rise above the odds).

Locked out of opportunities and meaningful jobs, Higdon created a way for ISUS students (even returning dropouts) to earn a high-school diploma, credit toward an associateís degree, industry-recognized certifications, job skills and gain real-world work experience. An ISUS education prepares youth for the challenges of todayís high-demand occupations, and offers employers trained graduates who emerge ready to work, ready to achieve, and ready to give back to the community.

ISUS offers young men and women the chance to transform and transcend-to shed the label of ìat-riskî and to develop into engaged, highly desirable workers, college students and citizens. Through a rigorous learning environment emphasizing literacy and numeracy skills, practical applications, public service and life-changing perspectives, Higdon and her team have made believers out of nay-sayers and earned enormous respect for this unique organization.

ISUS began to create high schools chartered by the Ohio Department of Education in 1999. The ISUS high school plus approach:
  • Operates on a longer school day and year
  • Is competency-based, rather than Carnegie-unit based
  • Is a coed, multiethnic campus that accepts and celebrates diversity
  • Does not turn away potential students because of past mistakes and lack of performance
  • Works closely with business and industry to provide workers who have marketable skills and certifications
  • Prepares youth to compete in the emerging knowledge economy
  • Helps students learn critical thinking and make positive choices
  • Promotes responsibility to the community as an integral part of the program

ISUS began with a construction certification program that has produced dozens of inner-city homes. The student-built homes have won national recognition, and employers applaud ISUS students. The Computer Technology program prepares students to attain Microsoft certifications, and area businesses provide computers for students to rebuild. Students then pass these on through ISUSí neighborhood computer camps. ISUS Institutes teach other industry skills such as manufacturing technology-the third largest industry in Ohio-and the high-growth health care field. ISUS envisions a campus of small technical institutes that build connections between out-of-school youth and emerging workforce opportunities. School is working here. For more information, please contact us.

 

ìISUS helped me get my life together.î Amber Brown, ISUS Graduate