Youth looking to finish their high school education have a new resource on the West Side of Chicago. Greater West Town Project (GWTP), who currently operates West Town Academy (WTA), acquired YCCS West High School on July 1st, 2024. GWTP launched West Town Academy as a GED program in 1996, and by 1998 had evolved into a fully state-certified high school granting High School Diplomas as a partner in the Youth Connections Charter School alliance operating under CPS. WTA is an alternative high school that provides youth educational and career development, including dropout retrieval and prevention, social-emotional support, mentoring, and postsecondary support. WTA offers postsecondary support and financial education, including SAT prep, postsecondary coaching, career exploration and exposure, dual enrollment with the City Colleges of Chicago, college tours and fairs, assistance completing FAFSA and scholarship applications, financial literacy workshops, paid work-based and service learning opportunities, and job readiness training. YCCS West, located in Austin, is a cutting-edge high school model that combines industry training as well as job placement with a focus on social justice. GWTP and YCCS West are open to all Chicagoans aged 16-21 years old, but focus primarily on the West Side neighborhoods of Austin, Belmont Cragin, East and West Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, and North Lawndale. Enroll at WTA at westtownacademy.org or YCCS West at yccswest-yccs.org.