PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — The City of Pinellas Park has launched a new teen academy, called the YES Program, which stands for Youth Empowerment Skills. 

What You Need To Know

  •  The YES Program, or Youth Empowerment Skills Program, is for teens ages 15-19

  •  It's an eight-week program with weekly meetings teaching students skills not taught in schools

  • The City of Pinellas Park says the response to the YES Program was overwhelming, and there are plans to make it an annual program

The goal of the program is to teach teenagers life skills they may not receive in traditional school, and get them involved in their community.

“We think this program is really going to get our teens connected and engaged with our community, and we’re going to provide them future opportunities, such as volunteer opportunities, job opportunities, and letting them know the things that are happening to make them better citizens,” said Jillian Rose with the City of Pinellas Park.

Students in the YES Program will learn everything from checking fluids in vehicles and changing tires to resume writing and local government operations. 

Jolie Steck explained the YES Program schedule with Emily Mullins, a ninth-grader at Northside Christian School.

“I thought it would be a good opportunity to get more involved in my community and learn more about it,” said Mullins. She also attended Pinellas Park’s Adult Citizens Academy. When she heard there was a program just for teens, she knew she wanted to be involved.

The YES Program is for teenagers ages 15 to 19, and it was developed by the City’s Teen Worx board members.

“Teen Worx is the youth council for Pinellas Park, and I’m president, and we have a lot of other board members. And we came together to come up with each week what we’re going to do, what we want to learn, as teens what we would want to learn,” said Steck.

The YES Program meets once a week for eight weeks. Each time they meet, there’s a new workshop. This particular week, it’s a mock city council meeting.

“I believe this position is right for me because of my love for, and my involvement in, the City of Pinellas Park. My goal for being mayor is to make as much of an impact as the City of Pinellas Park has made on me, so future generations in Pinellas Park can have an even better environment,” Mullins said in her speech to be elected to be the Mayor for the mock city council.

On the mock city council, students go through a meeting where they’re voting on a new law that would prohibit teenagers from playgrounds and parks.

After hearing from all the speakers, the “city council” denied the motion, meaning teens would still be allowed on playgrounds. Mullins says this gave her a much better idea of what city council actually does, and the process behind local government.

“It was actually a lot better than I expected it to be. I expected it to be more calm and, let’s just say, a little more boring, but it was actually really exciting and fun to do,” she said.

Steck says that is exactly what Teen Worx hoped to achieve through this week’s workshop.

“I feel like a lot of teens don’t know what a city council meeting is. I had no clue until I joined this program and started speaking at them as a board member, and I think it’s important for people to understand how the local government works,” she said.

And whether they’re voting for their city’s next mayor, or taking up hot-button issues like teens at parks, these students say the experiences they have thanks to the YES Program are opening their eyes to what their futures can be. 

The City of Pinellas Park says the response to the YES Program was overwhelming, and because of that, they plan on making it an annual program. It will run each year in January and February.