About Back on Track by the YMCA
The program encourages students to persevere in school by giving them an opportunity to take a step back, fostering their overall success and helping them get back on track.
Taking a Step Back to Encourage Academic Perseverance?
Yes! Back on Track is a 3- to 5-day out-of-school program that takes a preventive approach. It is open to youth aged 12 to 17 who are dealing with personal, academic, and social difficulties and who often get suspended from school.
It takes the risk of suspension or a cycle of repeated suspensions and transforms it into a positive and restorative experience—one that includes lots of support, reflection on personal growth and autonomy, and a structured return to school.
Did You Know?
Back on Track gives over 3,000 students per year—the equivalent of 60 school buses—the opportunity to participate in a rewarding experience that contributes to their overall success.
Learn more about Back on Track’s numbers and what people are saying about the program
Why Use this Type of Preventive Approach?
Back on Track focuses on the student and their personal situation. Through one-on-one and small group interventions, program staff help teens assert what they want from their future and make sound decisions, both at school and in life.
With the help of a youth worker, participants can make it through this difficult time in a constructive manner.
- Take heed of their behaviour
- Develop new personal and social skills
- Define a clearer, more concrete, and motivating vision of the future
- Keep up with schoolwork
- Learn about the resources available in their community and career possibilities
Building on Our Ongoing Development
Created in 1999 under the name Alternative Suspension to address a growing need in the community, the program has had a substantial impact over the years in various communities in Québec, in Canada, and overseas.
Key Partners
+ 50 partner school boards—and this number keeps growing.
+ 430 schoolscurrently collaborate with the program.
+ 50,000 students supported since 1999; that’s about 3,000 per year.
The success of such a large-scale initiative rests on the contributions of many collaborators. We would like to sincerely thank our partner organizations and institutions.
Interested in becoming a program partner or supporting Back on Track? Contact us today.