In recent years, YLSS has welcomed students from many schools in the metro area including Riverwood, North Springs, Holy Innocents, Pace Academy, Mount Vernon, Marist, Weber, Walker, Westminster, The Cottage School, The Howard School, Innovation Academy, and others.

The YLSS class year consists of an evening kick-off event and nine program days: six during school hours and three on the weekend. As part of the application process, you will need to get permission from your school principal and parent to miss school.  Program days are considered “excused absences”, but you will be responsible for making up missed assignments. To avoid students missing the same class each month, we attempt to vary the days of the week on which we meet.  You will get a calendar of all meeting days and times at the kick-off.  Program days generally follow the hours of school days and should allow you to be back for afterschool activities. YLSS traditionally starts in late August and ends in late March.

YLSS is a very selective program; only 40 or so of the thousands of eligible Sandy Springs students are selected each year.  Successful completion of the program affords graduates the honor of including YLSS on their resumé, and of wearing a unique YLSS graduation cord at their Commencement ceremony.  The time commitment to participate in YLSS is to be taken seriously and attendance at programs is mandatory.  If you find it necessary to miss a program day, you will be expected to make it up, and make up opportunities will be provided.  Participants who miss three or more program days without proof of make-up will not be considered graduates of YLSS.

We’ll let you know ahead of time the attire for each program day.  On days that we meet with business and civic leaders, you’ll be asked to dress business casual. We dress up for Interview Day, and jeans, shorts, and t-shirts are appropriate for some of the other days.

YLSS is a tuition-based program and costs $900 per student.  Scholarships and tuition assistance, including payment plans, are available. Please don’t let cost be a deterrent.

Students must provide their own transportation to/from program days.  Carpooling is encouraged. If a program is not occurring in Sandy Springs, or requires moving from one location to another, we will meet at a central location and take a chartered bus to the program.

Because it’s fun!  And it’s a great program, proven over a dozen years to build connections, strengthen leadership skills, and give students an inside look at what makes their community tick.