The work of the Young Center began in the 1990s when actor-educator William Allen Young established the Young Foundation.  Mr. Young, who grew up in Watts where student success rates were among the lowest in the nation, recognized the critical need to counter the alarming decline in student success rates in local LA schools.

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The Foundation soon partnered with the LA Unified School District to implement its Education Incentive Plan to improve student success rates at 13 "failing" District schools.  To accomplish its ambitious goal, the Foundation mobilized provided tutoring and mentoring for underperforming students and classroom support for struggling teachers at failing schools.  The organization also sponsored free-breakfast programs during the Standardized Testing period and provided scholarships for  college-bound seniors.  As a result, student success rates  improved and the Foundation's Plan was adopted at K-12 schools districtwide.