We were lucky to catch up with Angeles Echols recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Angeles thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

Mission/Communities Served;

Educating Young Minds’ (EYM) mission is to holistically impact and/or transform the academic, educational, emotional/behavioral, social and professional lives of students and families who have been historically disadvantaged, exploited, excluded, and/or discriminated against.
Serving underserved youth and families, EYM addresses a narrative that historically ignored the inequities and disparities that continue to impact the lives of low-income, marginalized, disenfranchised, and “at-promise” (formerly known as at-risk)., Black/Brown youth and their families.
Its comprehensive, non-profit, learning center has been at the forefront of providing multidiscipline, unprecedented standards of academic, educational, emotional/behavioral and socio-economic programs, services and resources for more than 35 years.

The learning center, now located in the heart of the Crenshaw Corridor, has served thousands of students (virtually and non-virtually) through eleven programs and leveraged community collaborations with the following graduation rates: 100% high school, 82%-84% four-year collegiate graduation rates, and 12% community college (7% transferred to 4-year collegiate institutions). EYM students are graduates of, or are attending, Stanford, USC, UCLA, NYU, Cornell, Berkeley, Morehouse, Tuskegee, Spelman, Columbia, Howard University, Hawaii University, and many others.

In rich and nurturing environments after-school tutorial; mentoring; emotional/behavioral resources; 6 week summer enrichment program; STEM; college prep resources; and computer tech programs are provided (minimum 64 hours per month/per student), Students are taught to dream without boundaries, to do the work with intent and purpose and to keep the faith unapologetically, believing in themselves, and trusting their skills and abilities.

Studies by McKinsey & Co. and NWEA 2020-21, discovered disparities between “white/affluent students and their low-income peers/children of color.” Depending on grade and subject, “low-income students ended the 2020-21 school year with up to seven months of unfinished learning gaps, held back, raised in poverty, and/or promoted without the skills needed to compete.
According to the Children’s Defense Fund, “more than 37% of Black/African American, Latino (a) children raised in poverty do not finish high school, others who do are not at grade level, which inevitably leads to negative consequences including drugs, suicide, and juvenile incarceration.”
These challenges/barriers exist due to a lack of high impact; quality resources; consistent resources; limited funding; a lack of empathy; and a lack of collective will to create equity, inclusion and belonging in education, employment opportunities and successful life outcomes for people of color.

Addressing the above inadequacies, EYM has customized its programs, resources and services to impact the lives of its targeted youth/families who are at-risk of the following: 1. performing one-two grade levels behind, 2. achieving low math/science GPAs, 3. behavioral/emotional disorders, 4. in need of collegiate and computer tech resources, 5. limited college resources, 6. drugs/self abuse, 7. dropping out of school 8. labeled ADD/ADHD, 9. Limited parent participation/neglect, 10. juvenile incarceration, 11. gang affiliation, 12. and suicidal thoughts.

A Story Highlights:-

Her Mom, (African American and Dad Asian) brought her two daughters to EYM for academic and emotional support. She had heard of Ms. Echols and EYM throughout the community. She was extremely concerned about Tia. She was a cutter and very gothic. Her hair was multi-colored, she had pierced facial features and wore black or dark makeup. She was unhappy at home and at school. She shared with me that she did not like her life.

After speaking with her alone (without the parents) and testing her ,we realized how intelligent and innately bright she was. After speaking with her and sharing her home life experiences, I personally felt she was cutting and wearing dark makeup and tattoos for attention. However, more professional assessments were needed.
After meeting with both parents and seeing their support and efforts, we decided to accept her. into the program. We accepted her physically but made it clear that hurting herself was not an option. I shared my life story with her. She discovered that she was not alone but that there were others who behaved the same way but for different reasons.

I asked her to give me and the EYM staff one solid year to work with her and I would give her a part time job if she improved her grades and tested well.
We kept her busy. We never asked her to change her physical appearance. We eventually realized that along with therapy when she was helping others at EYM she was happy. The little ones would ask her about her different hair colors and eventually grew to love and respect her. She sat in the middle of the floor surrounded with small children and would read to them and let them touch her hair. Her math skills became exceptional. She encouraged students to learn their time tables and why it was important.

She became an assistant mentor, working with elementary and early middle school students with a lead instructor. Her patience and level of tolerance was unique.. She was brilliant. She became so proud of her work and test results. She was no longer an average student or wanted to hurt herself. She also discovered how much her parents and the EYM family loved her. There were times she was at EYM until 11:00pm being tutored, preparing for tests and the college SAT. There were times her mom had to bring dinner without complaint.

She became an honor roll student and wore fewer rings through her body.
She and her Mom became friends. Three years later she graduated from EYM with honors and a $10,000 college scholarship from EYM.. She is a college graduate (marine biologist) with purple hair working on her graduate degree in Hawaii.

How/Why our brand works and serves the community

EYM is committed to purposeful programs, services and resources, that embody the principles of equity, inclusion, and diversity, EYMs’ policies, practice’s, and outreach technique for engaging diverse participants is varied and culturally competent with transparency, inclusiveness and dissemination of materials.

-We keep our participants engaged and encouraged with programs, services, resources and critical tools needed to address unfinished learning, gaps in educational achievement, emotional/behavior development, and racial/economic inequities.

-We improve the participation and outcome, levels, with respect and quality resources

-We address cultural competence/differences

-EYMs teachers, lead administrators and Board of Directors encourage a culture of learning about Blacks, Hispanics, and New Americans of African Descent (NAAD) within the center

-We leverage community partnerships, gaining knowledge about the cultural backgrounds of our students and families with effective listening and understanding the history, religion, historical context and beliefs of participants

-We identify the needs of the communities we serve and engage with consistency and determination, being open to new strategies

-We design cultural competence, self-assessment, operational procedure and accountability initiatives for staff and parents with feedback that identifies what works and what does not

-We work with community leaders who have in-depth knowledge of the communities we serve building trust and confidence

-Extend/Expand program participation with community events, school visits, in person communication and walk in appointments

-Provide translation, interpretation and extended hours for students and families in need

-Ensuring staff capacity and sustainability, we recruit and promote bicultural and bilingual staff on all levels willing to learn and ask questions no matter how polarized or divisive, as they work with families from culturally diverse communities.

-Hire staff from community, building awareness of knowledge and biases within

-Design, plan and design overview of cultural competence/sensitivity, recognition of potential differences and a physical environment that depicts varied cultures and resources with staff input

-Deliver culturally competent services with materials in various languages …(as applicable)

-Enhance/Expand the understanding of how EYMs’ educational programs, services, attitudes, and values are impacted by the strength or weakness of cultural design, implementation, outreach and evaluation

EYM proposes that we, the educators, teachers, practitioners, politicians, historians, parents and mentors, must continue to address our nation’s history of abuse, bias, neglect and inequities, systemic inequities, discrimination, racism, and denigration of Black/Brown youth and families, the poor, immigrants, Native Indian, New Americans of African descent (NAAD) and gay communities.

How we serve is most relevant because we must be sensitive to their challenges without labeling or disrespecting who they are, where they live or how they are surviving.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

EYM History

Educating Young Minds (EYM) began in the small one room apartment of EYMs’ CEO, Angeles Echols-Brown more than 35 years ago with two students and $50.00. Within one year more than 20 low-income Black/African American, New Americans of African Descent (NAAD) and Latino students PreK-8th grades were studying math, science, English, and history in the one room living room, bedroom, and bathroom of our CEO.

The only teacher for the first seven years, students would study and be tutored in math, sciences, English, literacy (phonetically) and history, in the small living room or bathroom. .Students would study at the table, couch, bed or on the floor with pillows when space was available or on the small balcony until nightfall. No space was off limits. Yvette (7 years old) would study in the bathroom tub because she said it was “the quietest location and most comfortable..” Justinian (11 yrs. old) would study on the small balcony until nightfall and Tera (12 years old) would study in the bathtub with a pillow. Tipphonee studied in the bedroom, the bed was her desk, others were scattered throughout the apartment on the couch, chairs or floors with large pillows.

Many of the students did not provide textbooks. Their schools provided xerox copied worksheets. However, we believed textbooks were needed so students could learn how to follow instructions, apply the knowledge, learn independently, and use examples provided in the book.
During this period, LAUSD would discard math, science, and chemistry books in large bins to be destroyed. With the support of the principal. a counselor, or teacher and school janitor; and when most of the after-school programs on campus were over (after 6:00pm); Ms. Echols would be given access to the bins and climb the fence (when applicable). With a flashlight, a good shove and a lot of patience, she would sit for more than two-three hours and identify discarded math, science, English, literature, Spanish, French and history books that were not too dirty or dated. She would gently toss them over the fence to load into her old yellow BMW that overheated after every 45 miles. After receiving a tip, the janitor or cleaning crew would load the car with books and they were taken to her small apartment. Sometimes the books were brand new. That was cause for a celebration!

With bars of white ivory soap, clean white towels, and a hair blow dryer, books were cleaned and dried. Students took turns drying the books. It was most important that the bar of soap and towel were white. I eventually realized that the prejudices and racism ingrained in me as a child was still evident in my work and choices made as an adult. However, most importantly, my students now had textbooks, an effective learning tool that enhanced and enriched how they learned and what they learned.

Hotdogs, grilled cheese sandwiches, spaghetti and crackers, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were their favorite meals. Because there was only one teacher, many were there until 9:00 pm and 10:00 pm. Today those students are now doctors, producers, biologists, attorneys, professors, engineers, social workers, community leaders, great parents and/or educators.

Today, Educating Young Minds (EYM) is a comprehensive, non-profit, learning institution that provides an unprecedented standard of academic excellence, leveraged educational resources, emotional, and behavioral support, collegiate prep resources (includes SAT prep), college scholarships, and mentoring to low-income, marginalized children/youth PreK-12th grades, who have been historically disadvantaged, exploited, excluded, and/or discriminated against.
EYM has the following graduation rates:100% high school, 82%-84% four-year collegiate graduation rates, and 12% community college (7% transferred to 4-year collegiate institutions). Hundreds of EYM students are graduates of, or are attending, Stanford, USC, UCLA, NYU, Cornell, Berkeley, Morehouse, Tuskegee, Spelman, Columbia, Howard University, Hawaii University, and many others.

Providing needed aforementioned resources to underserved students and families who experience educational and racial inequities and disparities in their communities; lifting the self-esteem of Black/Brown youth when they feel they cannot compete without the lowering of standards or expectations; teaching parents the importance of participating on all levels and respecting the process; and bringing quality academic, educational, and socio-emotional resources and services to poor,, underserved, marginalized Black/Brown communities represents and identifies our brand and mission.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Story highlight…..EYMs resilience when working with a student

A searing crystallization of EYMs resilience when working with its students is epitomized in the story of then 10 yr. old Menasseh..

When his father brought his son Menasseh to EYM and asked if we would help him with his son, he was in tears. He did not want to lose his only son. His sister’s daughter was an EYM student and excelling in her work. She had shared how EYM took a holistic approach when working with students and believed Ms. Echols’ and her staffs’ academic and emotional discipline would help Menasseh.

Menasseh, (10 yrs.) was testing below grade level, reading below grade level, failing math, hated science, not attending school classes, attracted to gangs. and insulting his teachers/parents. He was “too cool” for school.
He wore his pants sagged, rarely spoke, mumbled and stated he did not need EYM and did not want to be there.
What Menasseh did not know was that he was one of many, we. were not intimidated.
We decided to accept him into the program. We realized it was going to be a challenge and a lot of work but he was worth it.

EYM staff with parent support, scheduled meetings, met all of his teachers and counselors at LAUSD, reviewed assessment tests, grades and on campus behavior at LAUSD. We embraced him with specific academic, and emotional support designed just for him. But first he had to pull up his pants!
I made it quite clear that I had no desire to see his underwear and that there would be consequences if I did. After experiencing several consequences, we slowly saw less of his underwear..

Then COVID hit! His school moved to online instruction. With no supervision at home, he was now free to roam. It was imperative that we stayed on course. We discovered he was not showing up for his online classes at his LAUSD school or he would sign in and leave. Immediately he was moved to EYM Live online. He and his father were trained for online
learning and discipling, as we maintained his courses and modified our online culture and methodology to accommodate his needs and eventually his desires.

He was assigned EYM instructors who designed an online behavioral checklist that was monitored daily, including keeping his camera on, and allowing his father to do surprise check-ins for online disciplining. We designed tests and purchased additional resources and supplies needed.

EYM math and SAT instructor Mr. Glouberman discovered that Menasseh could not read at grade level but loved horror stories. Menasseh was given three sentence horror stories to read aloud daily. Before long, he had graduated to poetry by Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost and Edgar Allen Poe. He was given “mad libs” to complete and was assigned online Kahoots (a combination of math and game show).
He became addicted! He realized learning can be fun! One evening after he had completed his homework, EYM work and tests, his teacher allowed him to sign out early. Menasseh screamed,”That’s it!! Come on, give me a poem, a mad lib.” a math problem, something. I am not ready to stop! Mr. Glouberman was overjoyed. He knew his work with Menasseh was done. More than six years later, Reading at grade level, Menasseh is now an honor student, preparing for college, wearing his pants with a belt!

Have you ever had to pivot?

I will share this;…pivoting and illustration of my personal resilience…and faith

There was a period when I had to address the following at the same time:

Covid at EYM
Stage 4 Cancer diagnosis….downgraded to stage 2 plus….
2 Knee replacements
Keeping EYM open during COVID
Applying for grants during chemo and radiation
Appoint a new EYM director who could and would continue the 35 mission if I did not survive
How to tell the board and EYM community without harming EYMs’ funding potential
Making certain I did not overwhelm my wonderful husband

And
Today No Cancer…. cancer free
Gods good. …. all the time
The director did such a great job I kept him!!!
Book completed The Me I See in You… written during chemo and 3 surgeries

Contact Info:

• Website: educatingyoungminds.org

Image Credits
Photography…. by Hugh Williams Video by ……..Bruce Cecil Video was emailed….