What is YouthBuild?
YouthBuild is an organization that primarily focuses on helping young people who lack both a high school education and financial resources to reclaim their education and develop the skills needed to succeed at home and in life. The participants in YouthBuild, known as “opportunity youth,” meet the definition of “high risk” students in RSMo 160.405. There are numerous YouthBuild programs in the USA and internationally. In Columbia, the YouthBuild program is hosted by Job Point which is Missouri’s premier employment center and Community Development Corporation. The YouthBuild program has operated in Columbia for over 20 years.
Why a Public Charter School?
As the needs of this community continue to evolve, Job Point is committed to exploring options that will allow for long-term, sustainable solutions that meet the needs of students. With the changing landscape of federal funding, Job Point has explored several different options to continue the vital programming that YouthBuild provides. By operating as a public charter school, Job Point can ensure that YouthBuild will be able to continue, thanks to the stable support of funding at the state level.
This program is community-based and community-driven and through the process of opening as a public charter school, Job Point’s YouthBuild program will be tied even closer and more directly to this community.
How will this impact the Columbia Public Schools?
Job Point’s YouthBuild program has a long-standing partnership with the Columbia Public Schools (CPS) as well as districts across Boone County to provide educational opportunities for students who struggle in the traditional school environment. Historically, many of the youth served through Job Point’s YouthBuild have dropped out of school or were in danger of dropping out and referred by their home school district to our program.
The YouthBuild program offers a specialized, holistic and trauma-informed, approach that emphasizes wraparound support, mentorship, and real-world learning which is complementary to AND not duplicative of the options available through CPS or other districts. As a public charter school, Job Point will continue to offer this approach. At its full projected enrollment, the population of the Charter School would be less than approximately 1% of the CPS enrollment.
Our intent has always been to provide an educational experience that caters specifically to those students most in need of a different approach to learning, and that innovative, individualized model will continue as we transition into a public charter school.
What qualifies Job Point to run a school?
Job Point is Missouri’s premier employment center and Community Development Corporation and has hosted the YouthBuild program for over 20 years. It has an experienced board, a staff that has the infrastructure and administrative capability to manage funds, collect and manage data, with 10-20 years of education experience, matched with industry approved instructor certifications in each career pathway offered. Job Point’s YouthBuild program currently serves students referred by the Columbia Public Schools, as well as those referred by Hallsville and Southern Boone.
Job Point’s Skills Training program has been a Certified Proprietary School through the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development for 13 years, since 2012. Through this program, we provide vocational training in a variety of skilled trades.
Job Point also partners with the Columbia Public Schools to help support the STEP program, which is designed to improve employment outcomes after high school for youth with disabilities. Through this partnership, Columbia Public Schools provides educational instruction while Job Point’s Employment Services team provides on-the-job support for students as they gain valuable real-world experience while working at local businesses.
How will the school operate?
The school will pair YouthBuild’s existing vocational training, civic/leadership engagement, and educational programs with the MO Options program for high school graduation.
Job Point’s YouthBuild program has over 20 years’ experience empowering and preparing high risk students and non-traditional learners to reclaim their education, gain real-world job skills in trades and in-demand industries, and become leaders in their communities while building houses, improving local infrastructure, or otherwise enhancing our community. Our program is holistic and trauma-informed, and emphasizes wraparound support, mentorship, and real-world learning. Through the combined YouthBuild – MO Options programming, students will navigate the MO Options’ pathway to a high school diploma while developing the skills to succeed in both career and life.
What is MO Options?
The Missouri Options Program, administered by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), offers an alternative route for students at risk of not graduating through traditional means. Designed for students aged 17 (exemptions for justice involved youth) and older who are still enrolled in a Missouri public high school, the program allows participants to earn a high school diploma by passing the HiSET (High School Equivalency Test) rather than completing the standard credit-based curriculum. Students must also complete required coursework in health, government and personal finance, maintain attendance, and participate in career planning activities. This model provides a critical second chance for youth who are disengaged or behind in credits.
How will Job Point’s YouthBuild Workforce Charter School utilize this framework?
Job Point’s YouthBuild Workforce Charter School will adopt the Missouri Options framework but elevate it into a transformative, hands-on, career-connected experience. While students will still prepare for and pass the HiSET, we will embed this academic preparation within a broader ecosystem of hands-on training, industry-recognized credentials, and real-world work experience. Through partnerships with local employers and access to U.S. Department of Labor–approved apprenticeships, students will gain tangible skills in high-demand sectors, positioning them for immediate employment or further education upon graduation.
What sets YouthBuild Workforce Charter School apart is its holistic approach to youth development. Beyond academics and workforce readiness, the school will emphasize civic engagement, leadership development, and community reinvestment. Students will participate in service-learning projects, advocacy training, and mentorship experiences that cultivate a sense of agency and responsibility. This civic focus is not an add-on; it’s a core pillar of the school’s mission to develop young people who are not only job-ready but community-ready.
Ultimately, YouthBuild Workforce Charter School is building more than graduates, it’s building leaders. By blending the flexibility of the Missouri Options Program with the proven YouthBuild model, the school will empower students to break generational cycles and redefine their futures. Graduates will leave with more than a diploma; they’ll carry credentials, confidence, and a commitment to serve.
This model reimagines alternative education not as a last resort, but as a launchpad for lifelong success.
What are the specific trades or industries the students work with?
Currently, YouthBuild students work in carpentry, highway maintenance and repair, advanced manufacturing and childcare. We offer opportunities to earn various credentials including OSHA-10/30, Flaggers, Forklift Certification, National Center for Construction Education and Research, Prologis and other stackable credentials. As community and employer needs and student interest continues to evolve, vocational programs will, too.
Why as a community would we want this?
The opportunity youth served by YouthBuild are in the greatest need of our support and they are a great source of untapped potential for our economy and community. That support needs to be provided in an innovative and individualized way. As a public charter school with smaller enrollment sizes, we are uniquely positioned to meet those needs in a fundamentally transformative way.
Helping youth reclaim their education also puts them on a positive track and makes our community safer. Fourteen percent of Job Point YouthBuild participants were involved in the juvenile justice system at enrollment, but the recidivism rate for these students (0%) was substantially less than that applicable to those in the system generally, which can be as high as 80%.
As YouthBuild students learn, they give back to the community. They do this through constructing affordable housing, cultivating community gardens, restoring parks and riverways, and reinvesting nearly 4,000 youth-led service hours annually into Boone County neighborhoods.
Ensuring that all our youth have access to a high-quality public education not only changes their lives, it transforms our entire community.
How can community members advocate for or support this initiative?
Remember these key talking points when speaking with others:
- Job Point’s YouthBuild program has been successfully providing educational opportunities for at-risk (opportunity) youth for 22 years.
- Their program is holistic and trauma-informed, and emphasizes wraparound support, mentorship, and real-world learning that reduces recidivism for students who have already had an encounter with the juvenile justice system, while increasing graduation rates.
- Job Point has been a long-standing community partner, with 60 years of success, and will continue to partner closely with the community to meet the evolving needs of students and their families.
- Public Charter Schools are exactly that – free and public.
Share your Story:
If you are an alumnus or the family of an alumni and want to share your story of success, please contact us at info@jobpoint.org.
We would love to include your experiences with the growing number of families speaking up about the need for this kind of individualized, supportive educational environment in our community.
Support our Mission:
This project is new and exciting and has the potential to fundamentally transform the landscape of educational opportunities in our community, but we can’t do it alone.
Your support will directly fuel this forward-thinking approach, helping us bring this idea to life and create lasting impact not only on the lives of our future students and their families, but on this community at large.
Every gift, no matter the size, will move us closer to a future of greater educational choice and opportunity for all students, no matter their learning style or background, to achieve their dreams.
Volunteer
If you would like to lend your time and expertise to help with this project, please reach out for more information on how you can get involved.
