Academic Success and Mentoring

Bridges ESL provides free English language lessons to individuals in the Yale and New Haven community who aspire to enhance their communication skills and bridge language gaps. Bridges ESL aims to support our students in developing confidence to navigate English interactions, equipping them with the tools needed to actively participate in their environment.

Dwight Hall at Yale, in partnership with Cooperative Arts & Humanitites High School, provides a free, innovative after-school program for more than 350 high school students in a supportive, nurturing, and safe environment. Co-Op After School leaders work closely with administrators, counselors, and school-day instructors to provide a wide range of offerings that meet the needs of New Haven high school students.

The Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project is a collaborative teaching program that sends law students into local public high schools to teach constitutional law. Participants in this student-run organization also have the opportunity to coach their students in a national moot-court competition, the first round of which is run by the Yale chapter in New Haven.

MECha is a politically conscious student group that connects the greater New Haven community with resources. Conexiones serves as a "connection" between community members and resources. The Sueños Scholarship serves to empower the undocumented community in New Haven and make higher education more accessible.

Yale is a founding and primary sponsor of New Haven Promise, the only scholarship, support and career preparation program of its kind in the national Promise movement. Promise provides scholarships and paid internships for New Haven residents who are graduates of New Haven public schools and selected charter schools. Students who live in the city and meet certain achievement, attendance, community service, and disciplinary requirements are eligible for up to full tuition for in-state public colleges or a partial scholarship for in-state private colleges. The program has served 23,000 K-12 students since its inception.

Since 2001, New Haven Reads has provided free one-on-one tutoring to over 7,000 New Haven children as well as educational family support and a book bank of more than 2.5 million books to empower aspiring readers to master the literacy skills needed to thrive in school and in life. Programs are hosted at three different locations in New Haven, two of which are Yale-donated spaces. Additionally, Yale sponsors up to 20 tutors every year to ensure that every aspiring reader can receive at least one hour of one-on-one instruction each week with support from a dedicated tutor.

The New Haven Urban Debate League believes in the transformative qualities of public speaking and discussion that are inherent to debate. UDL holds weekly after school coaching sessions at 14 New Haven middle and high schools, and hosts 3-4 tournaments per semester that allow these students the chance to practice and demonstrate what they've learned in the classroom. UDL also coordinates with other debate leagues to allow students to travel within Connecticut to attend tournaments outside of New Haven. UDL is committed to giving students a stage on which to present their ideas and be heard, and we believe that aim is in line with the Dwight Hall value of commitment to the greater community.

Shafer Scholars are New Haven high school juniors nominated by their high school guidance counselors to enroll in a five-week Yale Summer Session program in the summer between their junior and senior years. A scholarship from the Shafer family of New Haven provides full tuition for two courses, room and board, a book allowance, and a stipend for each student. Students take Yale College courses in the company of college students and are able to earn college credits. Shafer Scholars live on campus in one of Yale’s residential colleges for the duration of their program and have the opportunity to participate in co-curricular, recreational, and social programs with students from other high schools and colleges from across the country.

STEM Mentors is a graduate student organization that serves to prepare and encourage young students to pursue STEM in college and in their careers. STEM Mentors organizes college-essay-writing workshops and college Q&A sessions to help move students forward in the exciting world of STEM.

The Bouchet Mentoring Program of the Yale Black Men's Union gives back to the New Haven community by fostering strong supportive relationships between Black men at Yale College and young men of color in the community. Volunteers mentor 8th graders at Conte West Hill School on a weekly basis and lead activities such as Life Lessons and the Real-World Career Series.

Yale Online brings access to professors, programs and courses to a range of people around the world, including career changers, lifelong learners, educators, and high school and college students. From online courses to on-campus experiences, there is a broad range of learning opportunities available for degree and non-degree seekers. The courses are free and open to the public.

Through Yale Reading Corps, Yale undergraduate and graduate students serve as reading tutors and mentors at New Haven Reads. New Haven Reads, founded to “share the joy and power of reading,” increases the literacy skills of children to empower their academic success by providing individually tailored one-on-one after-school tutoring, educational family support, and a community book bank. The Yale Reading Corps also places Yale undergraduate and graduate students as teaching assistants in classrooms at the Wexler-Grant Community School and East Rock School in New Haven. Fully integrated into the educational environment, the Yale students support teachers’ activities by helping prepare class materials or working with individuals or small groups of students. In addition, the program supports the school’s literacy efforts by sponsoring two book fairs, allowing students to expand their home libraries.

Established in 1994, the President's Public Service Fellowship (PPSF) provides full funding for up to 35 Yale students to work full-time with public sector and nonprofit organizations in New Haven each summer. PPSF has created a legacy of current Yale students and recent graduates who have a sophisticated view of community development and remain active in community building in New Haven and other cities. To date, more than 950 Yale undergraduate, graduate, and professional-school students have contributed more than 400,000 hours of community service to local organizations serving New Haven residents through this program.

The Yale University YouTube channel supplies a variety of videos to the viewing public. Covering anything from speeches and course lectures to videos made about happenings on campus, the Yale YouTube channel is a free way to experience all that Yale has to offer.