Programs

Future Leaders accomplishes the organization’s mission, goals/objectives, and vision by implementing four core programs: (1) Youth Leadership for high school students; (2) Family Leadership for parents and siblings of youth served; (3) Leaders with A Social Consciousness for college students who have participated since 8/9th grade; and (4) Alumni Association for adults professionals that are products of FLA’s programs and services. All four programs are interconnected and continuously supply participants and volunteers to run programs year after year. They are not independent of each other and each serve a purpose in increasing educational attainment and community involvement for Latinos.

I. YOUTH LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
Target Group: 9th -12th Grade

Students begin the FLA experience the summer after 8th/9th grade by participating in FLA’s Leadership Camp. The Leadership Camp is the entry point into FLA; it is an intense six-day program consisting of interactive workshops and opportunities for self-expression from dawn to dusk. Students from diverse schools and neighborhoods in each FLA chapter participate in workshops to learn: public speaking, parliamentary procedure, assertiveness training, self-esteem, goal setting, college admission and financial aid requirements, and how to form positive peer networks to make healthy decisions for themselves in home, school, and community. Youth who complete the leadership camp, continue their involvement in FLA by participating in the follow-up activities throughout the year:

FLA School Clubs

Youth who complete the Leadership Camp stay involved in FLA through participation in FLA clubs at school and countywide activities. Students meet weekly in their school clubs, attend monthly regional meetings run by FLA mentors and program staff, and practice their leadership skills through various community service projects. These projects include Family Posada, El Dia del Nino Community Festival, Cinco de Mayo con Orgullo, Toys for tots collection, and interactive workshops for elementary school students, to name a few. FLAMA (the acronym stands for Future Leaders of America Master Achievers and also means "flame" in Spanish) club members raise all their group funds for educational excursions and incentives for participation. Students meet regularly to participate in the planning and coordination of community activities with the guidance and training from FLA paid staff.

Quarterly Enrichment Workshops

FLA provides personal growth opportunities to help youth manage the multiple responsibilities they have in home, school, community, peer networks, and their changing identity. Students develop self-efficacy skills by attending Enrichment Workshops such as the "Latina Superwoman" conference to improve relationships between mothers and daughters, and fathers and sons. FLA also implements an annual Alcohol-Drug Prevention Conference, and a Visions of Success Conference that features Latino leaders. FLA mentors also assist in providing information on topics such as: Getting Involved in School, College Applications 101, Running A Meeting, Health & Hygiene, and Community Service. These workshops bring together local youth and at times youth from other chapters to become better leaders.

University Seminars

FLA alumni who are currently enrolled at universities (such as Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Westmont, St. Mary’s, Loyola Marymount), gather to plan, coordinate and implement 2-day seminars addressing social and academic issues relevant to Latino youth. These overnight visits introduce youth to university life and FLA graduates who are enrolled at each university serve on a student panel to share pathways to college. Topics include: university life, coursework, dorm life, financial aid, research/internship information, health education, and advice on how to make a healthy transition to a 4-year university. These seminars occur twice a year and bring together FLA youth and college students from all the FLA chapters to network, meet new role models, explore new career opportunities, and how to graduate successfully with a university degree.

Leadership Training for Student Leaders
(a.k.a. "Staff Training" for Camps/Seminars)

The core Leadership Training for Student Leaders is a three-day retreat that trains students to mentor others, facilitate workshops, lead groups, and move up the various levels of volunteer duties/positions in FLA: A-team, Peer Facilitator, Facilitator, Intern, and Director. These trainings build upon the skills implemented at the first Leadership Camp as well as other skills that transfer into their daily lives. Specifically, youth participate in workshops on: lesson planning, developing normative messages, poster making, youth organizing, facilitation, public speaking, agenda planning, time management, peer counseling, project management, first aid, health education, alcohol & drug prevention, and more. Additional weekend and evening trainings are held throughout the year to prepare for each camp or seminar, including the programs described below.

II. FAMILY LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
Target Group: parents and siblings of youth served in FLA’s Youth Leadership component

FLA engages Spanish-speaking parents through a culturally proficient, educational 3-day retreat for parents, teenagers, and younger siblings. Follow-up is provided in the form of Parent Advocacy Trainings, group meetings, college campus visits with the entire family, among other yearly activities open to parents. Parents are a critical component to expanding horizons for our youth and transforming communities. The FLA Family Leadership Program achieves the following goals: 1) to provide students and their parents with leadership skills, college admission and financial aid information, and health education; 2) to motivate & provide parents with strategies to support their child’s path to college/university; 3) to instill an ethic of responsibility of citizenship in families and a willingness to give back to the community; 4) to increase parent involvement in the schools; 5) to help families bond through improved communication, love, and support for one another.

III. LEADERS WITH A SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS PROGRAM
Target Group: FLA students who have participated since 8/9th grade

The purpose of the “Leaders with A Social Consciousness” Program, or “Lideres Con Conciencia,” (LCC), is to expand the highly successful youth leadership development program by providing advanced leadership skills to FLA students. The program builds upon the concepts and practices of coalition building, community organizing, critical thinking, and equity in an effort to train young people to become problem solvers in our society. The program takes place over a two year period with an initial focus on social justice issues in America; next, an overview of development, dependency and democracy in Latin America; and then an analysis of the impact of educational and government institutions in California.

FLA’s participants are partnered with participants from its sister organization, FLA-Mexico, to explore and contrast the concepts of sustainable development, environment, poverty, mobilization, and globalization. Participants will spend one week in Mexico, one week in San Francisco, and two weeks working as volunteers in one of the neediest parts of Mexico to explore the impact decision makers and nations have on the environment and populations most vulnerable to globalization.

IV. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Target Group: adult professionals that are products of FLA’s programs and services

The Alumni Association is a professional network of past participants that act as a resource to the organization. The Alumni Association is committed in supporting the mission of Future Leaders of America, and supporting its programs and services. Two core goals of the Alumni Association is to (1) act as a resource to the organization’s programs and services, and (2) raise money for the organization’s program and services.