NIU will be visited next weekend by about 30 youths who have dropped out of school and their retired teachers as part of a special university project in Chicago’s South Side Engelwood neighborhood.

The youths, aged 16 to 20, either have completed or still are working on a six-month job training. Mondays program taught by retirees aged 62 to 78. The training program, called the Intergenerational Work Experience Home Repair Cooperative of Engelwood Inc., provides experience for youths who are unemployed and have dropped out of school, said Aimee Horton, assistant director of NIU’s community service office in Chicago, the initiators of the program.

The youths are recruited through church groups in Engelwood and referred from friends involved with the program. Horton said church groups, such as the Beth El Lutheran Church in Engelwood, work with youths and the elderly both and are able to recruit both students and retirees for the program.

orton said “alumni, teachers” and “students” in the program will visit NIU for a “residential weekend” April 25 and 26 to give the youths a chance to escape from the inner-city. She said many of the youths who came to NIU last year were “surprised” at the “quietness” of DeKalb and look forward to returning. “I think young people find it really exciting to come out here (NIU),” she said.

There is only one other program like NIU’s in the country, Horton said. The program began last August with 28 youths, 4 skills teachers and 3 retired school teachers who taught basic reading and mathematical skills needed for the job of repairing homes.

The skills teachers are retired and teach the youths home work such as electrical and carpentry work, Horton said. The group repairs homes in Engelwood at moderate prices. The program is funded primarily by private sector grants. The Fry Foundation provides most of the funding for the program.

orton said the program might expand to other communities in the future. Although the program is in its early stages, she said the first year has been “exciting.”

This program is one of several done by NIU’s community service office, said Tom Heaney, office director. He said the office began in 1976 and primarily served Rockford and Aurora but serves Chicago almost exclusively now. He said the shift in location of service resulted when the office was moved off campus in January.

eaney said the office, staffed by himself, Horton and one secretary, is a part of the College of Continuing Education and receives $50,000 to $60,000 per year from NIU for basic operations. He said grants made primarily by foundations provide most of the funding for the office.