Men of McNair

changing young lives

Over the last seven years, the Men of McNair program has uplifted the lives of over 500 students, predominantly young men of color. Although limited by Covid-19 protocols the past two years, the program was able to maintain a 100% graduation rate. For two years in a row at McNair High in Atlanta, GA, the valedictorian has come out of the Men of McNair program. Each year the program has grown and has now expanded to Washington, DC, and New York. We are also proud to announce the addition of SERENA, a new program for high school girls launching in Fall 2022.

Our Programs

Youth development programs

Men of McNair has three youth development programs under its umbrella. These programs utilize shared programmatic staffing to aid in our ability to sustainably provide the necessary supports to achieve overall program success.

Distinguished Men of McNair (9-12)

The Distinguished Men of McNair program is exclusively designed for high school students between grades 9-12. The primary focus is on school violence prevention, leadership development, conflict resolution, mentoring, tutoring services, and college and career readiness.

Self-Empowerment Resources to Educate, Nurture & Advance Women (SERENA)

The SERENA program, Men of McNair's newest initiative, is designed to empower young women in grades 9-12 as they face increasing environmental and social pressures. The program helps promote a sense of sisterhood and self-esteem building through group and peer-to-peer mentoring, academic support, character and leadership development, and college and career readiness.

Young Boys Who Are Smart (YB SMART) Grades 6-8

The YB SMART program serves middle school students in grades 6-8, which we believe is a critical time to identify potential problems and get young students on the right path before they reach high school. Services include mentoring, academic support, leadership building and conflict resolution skills.

shared Program outcomes

Reduced school violence

By providing the skills, tools, and resources through social and emotional learning, we offer students another way to combat bullying, peer aggression and off-task behavior that leads to negative consequences. Our community-based mentors and staff provide training that help students navigate through their emotions to achieve positive outcomes.

Reduced suspension rates

We understand that school suspensions are directly connected to an increase in crime, which fuels the school-to-prison pipeline. We provide students with mentors, access to licensed social workers and psychologists who assist in helping students address many of the challenges they are often overwhelmed by as it relates to their lives.

Increased Attendance & Retention

By working with our staff and mentors to understand and navigate the unique challenges students face outside of school, we focus on increasing student attendance. We will track student attendance rates before, during and after the program to observe any improvement in attendance and achievement; and intervene in cases of high absenteeism. We then share key learnings with staff and administrators to help them better support their students.

Restorative Justice Program

Provides meaningful opportunities for students who have harmed others to understand the consequences of their behaviors and be held accountable for those actions, including to themselves and their families. We provide healing circles that bring together victims and offenders, and encourage positive communication, compassionate listening, and conflict resolution.

Improved School Connectedness

Getting students to the school building is only part of the equation. We want to make sure that once there, they have the means to take a deeper interest and ownership in their academic experience. Through coaching from our staff and mentors, we will be measuring indicators of school connectedness over the course of their participation in the program including joining extracurricular activities and service projects. Students will be further supported by high-impact tutors.