Al Wooten Jr. Youth Center: Education is a Pathway to Success
The Al Wooten Jr. Youth Center was founded by a grieving mother after her son was murdered in a drive-by shooting. The hope was that a rigorous educational program with a focus on college and career success would keep kids from hanging out on the streets and engaging in dangerous behavior. And so it was—and remains. Since 1990, the Wooten Center has served as a place where children not only learn STEM, but the resilience and skills they need to become the leaders of the next generation.
We put some questions to Al Wooten Jr. Youth Center Executive Director Corey Dantzler to find out more about the work of this very special place for the young people of South Los Angeles, and a most deserving Kars4Kids small grant recipient:
Kars4Kids: The Al Wooten Jr. Youth Center is located in South LA. What can you tell us about your community and the demographic you serve?
Corey Dantzler: The Al Wooten Jr. Youth Center is located in South Los Angeles on the corner of 91st and Western. The communities that we serve are mostly from low to moderate income families. The majority of the youth that we serve are of African American and Latino backgrounds
Kars4Kids: Can you give us a bit of the history of your center? Who founded your organization? Who was Al Wooten Jr.?
Corey Dantzler: The Wooten Center was founded in 1990 by Myrtle Faye Rumph in honor of her son Al Wooten Jr., who had been murdered in a drive-by shooting, an innocent victim of gang violence. Our theory of change is that education is a pathway to success, empowering youth to avoid the kind of lifestyle that led to the murder of Al Wooten Jr.
Kars4Kids: You have an afterschool program for grades 3-12 called “CollegeTrek.” Tell us about this program, if you would. Why do eight-year-olds need college and career preparation, and how exactly do you prepare them?
Corey Dantzler: The Wooten Center’s CollegeTrek Afterschool Program offers free college and career readiness activities to support South LA-area students in grades 3-12 in their journey to higher education. The hybrid onsite and online activities include homework assistance and private tutoring in reading and math via i-Ready and Khan Academy diagnostics and lessons personalized to address student challenges. While it might seem early to begin college and career preparation with eight-year-olds, laying a strong foundation during these formative years is crucial. The focus is on building skills, attitudes, and habits that will serve them well throughout their educational journey and future careers. We prepare them by providing opportunities to explore and encourage their curiosity and focus on core subjects like math and reading/writing skills as well as developing social and emotional skills. We also emphasize and encourage career exploration that allows them to imagine and play roles of various professionals such as doctors, engineers and artists.
Kars4Kids: The Wooten Center has a summer camp program for grades 3-8. There’s a 4-day basketball camp and a 5-week “summer fun” camp. Can you give us an overview of the basketball camp?
Corey Dantzler: The Shawn Patterson Basketball Camp was established by a Wooten Center board member as a tribute to his former teammate, Shawn Patterson, who tragically lost his life in an act of violence. The camp was named in Shawn’s honor to keep his memory alive and to serve as a beacon of hope and inspiration for the youth in the community. Through basketball, the camp not only helps young athletes develop their skills on the court but also emphasizes the importance of teamwork, discipline, and resilience in the face of adversity. This initiative reflects the commitment to positive youth development and the values that both Shawn Patterson and the camp’s founder cherished.
Kars4Kids: What about the 5-week summer fun camp? STEM lessons appear to be among the activities offered. How are you working STEM into a “summer fun” camp program—in other words, how does the Wooten Center make STEM fun?
Corey Dantzler: One of our ideas of how to make STEM fun is creating a theme around our summer program that grabs the attention of our youth. This past summer we used the Olympics through STEM as our theme and encouraged activities that combined sports, athletics and fitness through STEM. We provided hands-on activities by conducting experiments that were interactive and fun. We provided wearable technology like fitness trackers while we attended field trips and provided an engineering challenge that encouraged kids to design their own sports equipment utilizing a STEM approach.
Kars4Kids: While two out of your three programs are offered free, parents must pay a very reasonable fee to send their children to summer camp. Do you offer scholarships for children from low-income homes?
Corey Dantzler: Yes, the majority of our students receive scholarships. These donations come from board members and other funders that want to assure that no child is left behind with not having an awesome summer camp experience. At our annual dinner last year, over $10,000 was raised to support a student for the summer program.
Kars4Kids: Some of the college and career preparation activities are for teens only. What can you tell us about this program and how does it differ from your regular afterschool program?
Corey Dantzler: Our college and career prep is slightly different from our regular after school program. It is geared towards our youth that are middle school aged and older. There are college readiness programs as well as opportunities for college tours and family workshops on financial aid awareness. Our primary goals are to help students attain grade-level proficiency and promotion, high school graduation, and college and career access and success. To achieve this, we base our curriculum on the A-G requirements (history, English, math, science, languages, visual and performing arts, and college-prep electives) that students must complete to graduate from high school and gain admission to many universities.
Kars4Kids: When did you become the executive director of the center? Were you previously involved with youth programs? What has it been like being affiliated with and running the Al Wooten Jr. Youth Center?
Corey Dantzler: I have been in youth development for all of my professional life. After graduating from college I went to work for the boys and girls club. It happened to be the club that I grew up in as a child and the organization that my late father was the founder of. My career has been over 30 years of service with most of them in the South Los Angeles community right after the 92 LA Riots. For me, being here at the Wooten Center was the opportunity to “come back home” from where I got my first opportunity to learn and love the community that provided me with an opportunity to succeed. Following in the footsteps of Naomi McSwain in and of itself was almost the same as following my father in his. So it feels familiar but different at the same time. I unfortunately replaced my father after his untimely passing and didn’t have him there to provide the guidance that I needed but I was able to make it through. At the Wooten Center, Naomi is still around and accessible to provide the support that I may need and she knows that she has left the organization in capable hands.
Kars4Kids: What’s next for the Al Wooten Jr. Youth Center?
Corey Dantzler: The future of the Al Wooten Jr. Youth Center is one of growth, impact, and deeper community engagement. I envision an expansion that allows us to serve even more youth in our community, ensuring that every child has access to the resources, guidance, and opportunities they need to thrive. This expansion isn’t just about increasing our reach; it’s about enhancing our impact by introducing more comprehensive services for families. By supporting the entire family unit, we empower not just the youth but the community as a whole.
As we grow, our goal is to solidify the Wooten Center’s role as a beacon of light and support for our youth. We aim to be the place where children and families turn for education, mentorship, and a safe environment that fosters growth and development. Our commitment to being a positive force in the lives of young people will only strengthen as we continue to build on our foundation, reaching new heights in service and support for our community.