Teen-Led Initiative Receives $10,000 to Support Other Teens

During the 2025-2026 academic year, a group of TEEN DAY Ithaca participants set out to create an innovative program to support their peers. Eleven teens registered for Lead4Change – a leadership program where they developed skills they would need; created an initiative (OPT-In) to help their community; and, eventually, applied for a grant to continue funding this project.The team applied for a grant of $10,000, and they were rewarded the full amount to go toward funding this project into the future!

Join Us!

TEEN DAY Award Ceremony and Reception
August 17th @ 5pm
Third Street Meetinghouse
120 Third St., Ithaca

Lead4Change and OPT-In

Lead4Change is a curriculum for grades 6-12. It teaches skills such as leadership, self-awareness, teamwork, problem-solving, career-readiness, and goal setting.

A group of students came together weekly to work through the Lead4Change curriculum. Throughout the process, the teens met together to watch lessons, complete worksheets, and plan for their project.

In the 2024—2025 school year, a group of three teens had participated in Lead4Change (they also achieved a grant of $10,000!) Two came back, and they brought the community initiative they had worked on last year.

“It’s helped me to develop a lot more confidence in leading something and also just understanding what that takes.” -Amaya (L4C and OPT-In participant)

That project is called the On Purpose Teen Initiative (OPT-In). It is an initiative designed to support teens both financially and socially as they explore their interests, build skills, and bring ideas to life.

OPT-In strives to bring encouragement and community and motivate teens to take that first step with their ideas. Participants work on self-directed projects of their choice: anything from creative pursuits, to hands-on builds, to community initiatives.

To support these projects, OPT-In offers microgrants of up to $100; weekly meetings for support, troubleshooting and accountability; and a collaborative, teen-centered community. This was all led and organized by many of the teens who participated in Lead4Change.

“It was really nice to have peer support and to have a schedule and fun meetings.” -Anya (OPT-In participant)

OPT-In was able to support 15+ teens this cycle (some were also members of the Lead4Change team), each with a unique project. Projects included building a playhouse, creating a website to help teens find volunteer opportunities, designing and making an outfit, long-distance walking, crocheting small cats, designing a board game, and more.

Some projects needed funding, and some just needed accountability and support. At the end of the cycle, there was a showcase, where participants could display and/or present their process and result.

OPT-In has had a positive impact on many teens so far.

“I think I grew a lot in this program, both from a leading standpoint and from contributing peer support.” -Lonny E.

“I think it made me realize just how much I could get done if I decided that I wanted to.” -Abby

Looking Ahead

With this $10,000 grant, TEEN DAY plans to continue cycles of OPT-In for the school years of 2026-2027 and 2027-2028…and hopefully beyond that! There will be some changes and improvements building off the success of the first year, including raising the maximum microgrant amount to $200.TEEN DAY is so proud of this team, and are looking forward to the 2026-2027 cycle!

Geometry

Math is one of the foundational subjects in school that many students either hate or love. Here at TEEN DAY, teachers like Amanda Gray are pushing boundaries and encouraging students to see the subject in a new, refreshing light. One that isn’t so scary.

In her class, students are learning proofs and puzzle-solving. They’re doing parallel line proofs, congruent triangles, properties of triangles, and coordinate geometry. While there is still a good amount of calculator usage in geometry, it can be a big shift for students because it’s no longer about getting an answer, but rather knowing and explaining how that answer is true.

“She’s a good teacher— she explains things well and is very helpful with classwork and also makes it fun.” – Eloise L.

Classes are structured so that students get a mix of lecture, group work, class discussion, individual practice, and sharing. The mix of formats leads to various conversations of approaches to a problem or proof. Students can see things from multiple perspectives and can benefit from hearing how other people approach or see the same problem. Students are sharpening their individual critical thinking skills as well as building their confidence when asked to share aloud.

Additionally, students are applying what they’re learning in the classroom to real-world things. Over winter break, the students were asked to complete a “construction art project,” a collection of geometric shapes that were turned into artwork. Geometry doesn’t have to solely be about theorems and proofs, and instead can be used for various, fun designs. (See picture to the left and more pictures below.)

“…Amanda always makes math fun to learn. As someone who isn’t super math oriented, I’ve found that throughout algebra and geometry, Amanda has made the learning process quite a lot better than other experiences I’ve had.” – Addi F-W

Amanda Gray really enjoys math and science and works at Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) as a tutor in those subjects. In her free time, she works with TEEN DAY to provide excellent instruction on a wide range of subjects within the math and science fields. She wants to share her love of math with her students and help them to see the joy in the subject.

Overall, students are thriving in this collaborative setting and enjoying what they’re learning. Amanda’s instruction goes beyond that of the traditional classroom, with students sitting quietly in their seats, memorizing steps. But rather, her teaching style engages the students critically in the various stages of a problem, creating a unique and welcoming environment.

“It’s a classroom where students aren’t just doing geometry, they’re talking it through, questioning it, and starting to think like real mathematicians.” – Amanda Gray

Geometry is a part of a three-year rotation for lower-level math. First, Algebra I is offered, then Geometry, and finally Algebra II (which has a dual enrollment option). In 2026-2027, Algebra II will be offered, and the year after that, the cycle will reset, starting with Algebra I.

Calculus (Dual Enrollment Offered Through TC3)

Calculus is commonly known as the entry point for upper-level mathematics used in college and various jobs. It lays the foundational concepts used in many more advanced practices.

^{“I am a visual learner and Nick makes good use of the three (!!) whiteboards we have at Teen Day to show everything either written out or as a picture; I think that helps everyone in the class understand the material better.” – Juliet A.}

At TEEN DAY, Calculus is offered as a dual enrollment course, meaning students may opt into earning college-level credits while simultaneously earning high school credits. If students choose this option, they may save time and money in the future, in addition to increasing their college readiness.

Regardless of a student’s decision to earn college-level credits, they’re receiving the same education as all other students in the class. In the first half of the course, students focused their efforts on derivatives— the rate of change of a function in relation to a variable. Currently, students are learning about integrals— a tool used to determine volumes, areas, and other quantities. The core principle of calculus is the connection between those two concepts.

Nick LaVigne, the instructor for this class, has a background in applied mathematics and currently works as a machine learning engineer at Ursa Space Systems. His work primarily focuses on Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite imagery. He is more than qualified to teach this course and get students interested in calculus.

“I’m trying to frame the course in a way that points to the wonder and beauty of mathematics rather than just a handful of problems to solve.” – Nick L.

^{“One fun thing is that during some classes we watched videos showing some interesting applications of what we’ve learned, and we also got to pick one math themed novel to read and write a book report about to present by the end of classes.” – Asher V.}

He structures his classes so that students can work on interactive lectures, homework, quizzes, and various other workshops while at TEEN DAY. At home, he encourages students to explore and play around with online resources to understand complex subjects better, but doesn’t allow students to use these resources or a calculator on graded work, such as tests and quizzes. This also increases the accessibility of his class. Calculators (specifically, the TI-84) are expensive, and with access to more powerful tools online, there is no need to purchase one.

Lastly, it is important to note the math schedule at TEEN DAY. There are two distinct levels of math offered at a time. Each has a three-year rotation cycle. Calculus is part of the Upper-Level Math rotation and consists of Precalculus, Calculus, and Statistics (the latter two are offered for dual enrollment through Tompkins Cortland Community College). This year, Calculus is being offered, which means next year Statistics will be offered, and Precalculus the year after that.

Courses are offered in this way so that students have more academic options available to them. They’re not confined to a specific mathematical advancement, and can take the courses that make the most sense for them. Having a three-year cycle allows for more flexible scheduling. It also allows students to take two separate math classes at a time (an Upper- and Lower-level course), if they choose.