Improve Your Tomorrow (IYT) is a non-profit organization, that runs the IYT College Academy. This is a free program, here at Franklin High School, created with the purpose of helping young men of color get into college. IYT provides students with many services and opportunities, such as internships and mentoring.
Currently, the biggest way IYT helps young men of color get into college is with Guaranteed Admission. Early last year, IYT partnered with 3 California State Universities (CSUs), Sonoma State, Sacramento State, and Cal Poly Humboldt.
In addition, in October of 2024, a 4th CSU was added. Now, students also have the option to go to CSU Stanislaus State. With this partnership, all IYT students who meet A-G requirements, and have at least a 2.0 GPA will be automatically admitted to any of the previously mentioned CSUs of their choosing.
A big part of IYT is The Brotherhood, a prosperous community modeled after a fraternity, and made up of young men of color. Since the Brotherhood is structured like a fraternity, students in IYT are referred to as “Brothers,” and the program´s workers are called “mentors.” When a student joins IYT, they become a part of the Brotherhood. This means that IYT´s impact goes far beyond FHS. IYT is available at 19 school sites across the Central Valley, 8 of which are in Stockton. When IYT hosts a pop-up event, any and all IYT brothers are welcome to sign up.
¨IYT is there to give them that extra push, the extra support, and the extra assistance for them to do, expose them to college, college workshops, [and] college advising. Our goal is to make sure that young men of color in the whole city [of] Stockton have the opportunity and the guidance to get into college,” said Rafael Andrade, IYT Program Manager of FHS and Cesar Chavez High School (CCHS).
Besides the trips and events, IYT also offers internships. Most recently, this past spring, the IYT Franklin brothers were given the opportunity to participate in the Brotherhood Action Committee (BAC). The BAC is a 10-week-long program, conducted over Zoom, and gives brothers $250 upon completion. ¨I had an internship with a congressman, Josh Harter, and I worked at his office here in March Lane in Stockton. And I would work with other interns and we would basically manage the office, answer calls, listen to problems, [and] see how we can help them,¨ said Alexis Juan, a former IYT Brother.
A typical day of programming starts at 3:30 pm and ends at 5:00 pm. Joining IYT is super easy, barely an inconvenience. All a student needs to do is head over to room 214 in A building, and tell one of the mentors that they are interested in signing up.
IYT is able to spread the effect of the outreach using pop-up events, college tours, and other miscellaneous trips. All IYT trips and events have limited space, and require some sort of sign-up. College tours have a limited capacity of about 15 brothers per school site. Pop-up events also have limited capacity, however, it is first-come, first-served. For college tours, the mentors select who goes based on attendance, participation, and grades. For pop-up events, Brothers can sign up using a Google forum given out during programming.
IYT has programming after school every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. All IYT Brothers are required to attend after-school programming on those days. If an IYT Brother is unable to stay after school, then they just have to stop by the IYT room, to sign in and get that day excused. If an IYT Brother fails to get their absence excused, then they could risk getting kicked out of the program.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, Brothers partake in study hall for 60 minutes and free time for 30 minutes. And every two weeks, the IYT brothers spend 30 minutes of study hall completing an interactive workshop. On Fridays, the IYT Brothers get a chance to hang out with their fellow Brothers. On those days, the entire programming period is free time.
During Study Hall, the IYT brothers are expected to do their homework. If a Brother is struggling with their homework, they can ask any of the mentors for help. If a brother has no homework, there are math worksheets and word search puzzles for them to complete during study hall.
At least twice a month, IYT brothers are able to play video games and board games while enjoying a slice of pizza. Although pizza is usually given out, street tacos and Raising Cane´s Chicken Fingers have also been offered. In addition, IYT brothers have the option to play Spider-Man on the PS4, or Super Smash Bros on the Nintendo Switch. Those are the games most frequently played, but a much wider selection is offered, which includes Battlefront II and NBA 2K.
“IYT is much more than just a ¨program¨ – it’s a community. If you feel like you’re in an environment where things don’t look so bright for your future, give IYT a chance, you know, maybe [it] could change your perspective,” said Alexis Juan (11), an IYT Brother here at Franklin. IYT fosters a sense of community with Pop-up events, seasonal trips, and college tours.
IYT college tours are, overall, much better than the college tours offered by the school. Unlike the typical college tour, on an IYT college tour, Brothers get to watch a live sports game on campus, eat lunch, and watch an extensive presentation about the college. The best part is that it’s all free. Depending on the college, Brothers get a catered lunch or a meal of their choice from one of the dining halls on campus.
Although IYT college tours only happen from January to May, Brothers have other year-round opportunities to visit college campuses. Last November, IYT Brothers in the Central Valley attended the Cal Poly Humboldt Fall Preview. And every summer since 2023, Brothers have been able to attend the IYT Summer Academy at UC Merced. This 4-day-long trip gives Brothers the opportunity to live on campus, explore CSU Stan State, and hike Yosemite National Park.
Aside from college tours, Brothers are also given job-related opportunities. As recently as last June, the Franklin brothers were given the chance to attend a Wine Area Enrichment Trip. This was a two-day trip where the Brothers visited four wineries in Lodi. Brothers partook in touring the wineries, packing wine bottles, and even had a chance to taste some fresh grapes. Besides learning about the winery industry, Brothers also received a free lunch on both days and were also able to build and take home a free birdhouse.
Currently, the program is available at 19 school sites across the Central Valley, eight of which are in Stockton. For more information about IYT, students can visit the IYT Website.
