What is the Age Range for Youth Institute?

For the summer Program Youth must be in 6th-12 grade. if the youth is going into 6th grade in the fall they are too young for the program, and we would suggest signing up for the YMCA Giraffic Park Summer Camp. If they are in 6th grade and are going into 7th at the end of the summer they can join the Youth Institute summer program.

For the schoolyear, if they are in middle school or high school up they can come to Youth Institute for after school hours.

Does Youth Institute do Youth Sports?

No. Youth Institute is not a sports program. Youth Institute is part of the YMCA or Rapid City but our focus is on teaching Youth creative media, digital art, Photography and video editing, and job skills with professional software. Most of our program relies on Youth working at computer. If your are interested in Youth Sports you can go to the Youth Sports page on the YMCA website here.

Do I need to sign up for summer and schoolyear programs separately?

Depends, the summer and school year programs are separate so if you signed up for just the school year you still need to sign up if you want to attend the summer program every year. However, if you have sign up for the summer program you do not need to sign up for the school year, your summer application will cover both summer and school year.

Is there a limit for the number of teens in the program?

For the New Class (1st summers) This is no set maximum number of program participants but we are limited by our equipment (every kid having a PC) but it is our goal to make the program available to everyone who want to attend so getting in early is important so we have time to set up enough equipment to everyone. for our Alumni (2nd summer) we limit the number to 8 participants. These are picked based on the following criteria: completion of expected badges in the school year (this shows the level of dedication and and initiative of the youth), reputation with Youth Institute staff, (we know how responsible a youth is based off their work during the last summer and/or the school year.) level of expressed interests from the youth in the application, timeliness of the application (getting it in earlier is better).

I turned in an application, what now?

Wait for a few days, we should be calling/emailing you soon to follow up with you. Don’t feel like waiting? give us a call during normal work hours, unless we are unable we pick up right away. our number is (605) 431-5870.

Is it ok to miss some days during the summer?

Maybe. Just ask us. If it is during the first week (the wilderness retreat) the answer is no you cannot miss any of the first week on the wilderness retreat. This is a critical time for the youth to connect, bound, and build trust with one another and staff, and we do not allow any youth to miss this part of this week. If Youth must miss some days of the summer after the first week, we may be able to work with them to realign their work load so they don’t get behind, but keep in mind, the more days them miss the harder it is to catch back up (also note missing a few days may mean that ten the teen returns that have to miss our on some fun activities until they are back up caught up with everyone.

Can a I come and see Youth Institute for myself?

Absolutely! We would love to give you a tour of Youth Institute! It is best to call ahead but even if you just show up when one of the staff is available we will show you what we have even if you haven’t filled out an application yet.

I have some special concerns about my teen, can I talk you guys?

Of course! Don’t feel weird about it, this is not uncommon, come and talk to us in person and we will see what we can do to help. We want every teen to succeed.