Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program
Program Description

In the Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program, secondary school students who are considered at risk of dropping out of school are placed as tutors of elementary school students, enabling the older students to make a difference in the younger students’ lives. With a growing sense of responsibility and pride, the tutors stay and do better in school. The program supports them with positive recognition and instruction.

The goal of the Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program is to reduce dropout rates. Participating schools have also seen enhanced basic academic skills; strengthened perceptions of self and school; reduced disciplinary action referrals and absenteeism; and strengthened school-home-community partnerships to increase the level of support available to students at risk of dropping out of school.

The Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program was identified as an effective program in Show Me the Evidence! Proven and Promising Programs for America’s Schools, by Dr. Robert E. Slavin and Dr. Olatokunbo S. Fashola. The authors report that the Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program is one of only two programs designed to increase the high school graduation rates of students who are at-risk of dropping out that meet the standards of their review for a research-base, rigorous evaluation, active dissemination, evidence of effectiveness.

The key to the program’s success is in valuing students who are considered at risk of dropping out of school and sustaining their efforts with effective, coordinated strategies.

The program is flexible – readily adaptable to individual schools – but careful design and assessment have shown that certain elements are critical, such as paying tutors for the work they do or having experienced content area teachers serve as the program’s teacher coordinators. IDRA provides the full range of training, technical assistance, evaluation and support materials to preserve the integrity of the program and ensure that students receive optimal benefits from this effort. Our ongoing evaluation provides insights into the program’s impact on the valued youth tutors, what worked best during the school year and what aspects of the program need to be strengthened for subsequent years.