Youthwork Program

Launched in 1974, the flagship program of Smokey House Center (SHC) is its Youthwork Program, which engages rural youth—those at risk of dropping out of school—in work and learning through their direct participation in managing its 5000 acre land reserve.  In this way, SHC matches the requirements of the land with the needs and promise of young people.

Over the years, Smokey House staff  have helped nearly 2,000 Vermont young people stay in high school by enhancing their educational experience with applied learning and intensive training. The centerpiece of Smokey House’s program is the relationship between youth, land, and learning.  Our work-based learning program, the Youthwork Program, augments classroom learning.  Local high school students—referred by their public high school and identified as at risk of dropping out of school and being unemployable—spend five afternoons a week during the school year, and four full days a week in summer, at Smokey House.  The program engages these youth in the hands-on management of our farm and forest; they grow Christmas trees and organic vegetables, make maple syrup, raise and process livestock, do carpentry and forestry work, and market their agricultural and forest products to the community through a Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA) and weekly farmers’ markets.  The young people work in crews of six, each guided by an experienced, caring leader who facilitates the daily work and learning tasks as supervisor, mentor, and instructor.  The summer session is an important component of the overall Youthwork Program, for it helps combat the well-documented “summer learning gap” when disadvantaged students typically lose ground academically.

Our students, who don’t learn best in a traditional classroom setting, acquire and apply basic academic skills in the course of performing meaningful work that they understand is valued and real. At Smokey House students practice problem-solving, teamwork, and communication.  They develop appropriate workplace skills, attitudes, habits, and the motivation to succeed—on the job and at school.  Additionally, they are paid for their work and receive academic credit for their learning that furthers their progress towards graduation.

Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean has visited Smokey House, and become an advocate for our Youthwork program: “The program’s emphasis on learning by doing has successfully engaged hundreds of students who were at risk of dropping out of school…Smokey House has become a national model for youth employment programs.”