Na’Tae Thompson,nthompson@truestarmagazine.com

We serve youth who come from single and double income homes that often have unsupervised after-school hours. Teen participants get to work alongside students from various cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds, to express themselves in innovative ways and understand their role and responsibility as contributing adults to society.65% African American, 30% Hispanic, 5% Caucasian

Print Magazine, Blog, Radio

Teen participants’ skills portfolio include published works, thus they will have something tangible and glossy to show a potential employer. Hence, writers have articles, graphic designers will have layouts and sales will have experience selling the value of the teen market by presenting to major corporations and advertising agencies. The sales team will also have prese

ntations they have created and clients they have sold advertising space to. As mentioned above, the True Star model replicates a real publishing company, thus they will receive countless core skills and other soft skills, including: networking, relationship building, speaking, team building, critical thinking, etc.

• Increased circulation from 10,000 to 30,000 in 2 years • Increased advertising 150% in 2 years • True Star began in the Fall of 2004 with one journalism program and 17 students. We have since grown to 14 programs and 300 students an now encompass the major areas of publishing. • Increased pages from 22 to 44 in 2 years • Added a teen produced and hosted radio show with Power 92 • Increased grant funding 100% in 2 years • Increased earned income 150%

16 High Schools in Chicago

Chicago Public Schools – Smaller Learning Communities Program and 5 other programs

Economic Awareness Council

Illinois Dept of Human Services

Chicago Defender

The Mash, publication of Chicago Tribune

Mentoring gives teens an opportunity to create one-on-one relationships with industry professionals and their networks. The teens receive coaching and guidance from the instructors who lead the programs that goes beyond just telling them what success looks like but by showing them through the real life experience of creating and producing work for a publishing company. The instructor/student relationship tends to have a positive affect on grades, moods and the tendency to take risks. Professional Development and Job Readiness teaches teens essential job and life skills. Students are taught about the standard tools and equipment of different professions, the importance of creating and meeting deadlines, and effective forms of business communication. In addition to teens receiving specific skills through the publication’s departments, they also participate in resume writing and interviewing workshops. Arts, Culture and Media give teens a voice in an arena where they are typically taught to be silent. Our students who are socially, economically and ethnically diverse are able to express themselves and face the challenges of the world around them through written and visual art. Entrepreneurship affords teens the opportunity to develop inspiration for businesses in the future. And being part of a youth operated publishing company that values students’ feedback, implements their ideas and lets them see themselves in leadership roles gives teens hope, dreams and independence. In many cases students get an opportunity to work with the founders of the organization and learn the day-to-day duties of running and growing a business. We do more than offer a safe haven after school: we engage teens in every aspect of the business. We give our student staffers the training required to perform in today’s competitive job market, an opportunity to learn new skills, improve grades, develop mentorships with caring adults, and prepare for higher education and successful career paths.

Intergeneration training programs in graphic design, marketing, journalism, web blogging and editorial management