The Youth Leadership Academy in Franklin is hosted by the Norfolk County Sheriff's Office. Children 10 to 14 are invited to sign up for the pilot program this year. This will be offered for one week this summer during the week of August 16th to August 20th. We hope to expand this program and offer a full, summer long program in 2022. 

With a goal of developing youth leaders in the community, the Academy includes icebreakers, games, activities and demonstrations aimed at building self-confidence, problem-solving, goal setting and communication skills in an atmosphere of fun and adventure.

Home base for the Academy is Dean College in Franklin where participants are dropped off and picked up every day. One day during the week we will head over to Tree Top Adventures in Canton for a day on the ropes course to give the participants an opportunity to challenge themselves. (We operate on Challenge-by-Choice. Participants are not told what to do or pushed beyond their boundaries. Instead, they are shown how to set their own goals and encouraged to meet them).

Lunch is provided everyday. During the week participants can chose from the many options in the Dean College cafeteria and Dean College will provide a bagged lunch for our adventure day at Tree Top Adventures.

Although the Sheriff’s Office runs this program, this is not a ‘boot camp’ style experience. We aim to engage students in a fun and friendly way and offer them a chance to challenge themselves. A similar Youth Academy has been running for 18 years in Braintree and fills up very quickly each year.

We were able to safely operate a summer program in Braintree in 2020 using the advice and guidance of the CDC and local health departments, so we have experience with running this program under very strict COVID mitigation policies. This is a healthy way for children to interact in a mostly outdoor program, learning many of the interpersonal skills that have been lacking in these days of remote learning and limited contact. 

The pilot program week is $199 ($50 if they qualify for free or reduced school lunch). This includes lunch each day.

Full Registration is not available yet.

 At this time you may create an account and complete your contact details. Full registration will be available at 9:00 p.m. on April 26th. Link to register (when available) and more information.