Location
Contact
Description
Embracing modern theories of risk, resiliency, and asset building, as well as endorsing the notion of unified delivery systems, the alliance designed a precedent-setting initiative at C.S. Porter Middle School. Initial funding came from a grant from Montana's InterAgency Coordinating Council. At Porter, eight community organizations (referred to by the alliance as "providers") and well over 100 community volunteers integrated their services into one seamless delivery system that provides students with the skills and knowledge needed to withstand the negative influences inherent in adolescence. These organizations included Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the YWCA, the YMCA, Child and Family Resources (a parent education organization), Family Basics (a non-profit group that sponsors family resource centers in schools), the Missoula City/County Health Department, Lutheran Social Services, and Turning Point (the community's chemical-dependency treatment provider). Since the program's inception the Missoula Art Museum, the Girl Scouts, the National Guard, and the police department have also joined the project. The Flagship Project continues to rely on the support of many volunteers, who give of their time as mentors, instructors, and program assistants. The goals of the project are simple: 1) To forge links between schools, families, neighborhoods and the community that encourage community ownership of youth programs 2) To build assets in young people so they can effectively deal with adverse situations that may arise in their lives and increase their likelihood of becoming healthy, caring adults To achieve these goals, a variety of activities are offered to students at each school, as well as on some evenings, weekends, and during the summer. Activities include mentoring, art, dance, poetry, creative writing, theater, carpentry, child/parent communication classes, conflict resolution classes, support groups for children affected by family separation, family strength building programs, nutritional cooking classes (one is designed specifically for boys), and opportunities to learn life skills appropriate to adolescence. As is apparent, the organizations involved offer a variety of activities that meet a variety of needs and interests. Other activities, not directly sponsored by an outside agency are coordinated by the Youth Development Coordinator. The coordinator, who is integral to the success of the program, develops and coordinates the site-based extended-day hour activities which, similar to the activities listed above, are designed to target different interests and abilities but which also share certain commonalties. Each provides alternatives to activities that often lead to drug and alcohol abuse, each gives participants an opportunity to achieve some measure of success, and each involves either substantial peer group, community, or family interactions. The coordinator also develops service learning activities, participates as a regular staff person at his/her assigned school, and meets regularly with the community regarding potential provider activities. These activities are developed so that their impacts are readily observable, contact with the community is direct, relationships with classroom activity are obvious, and supportive peer relationships and team-building skills are enhanced. Finally, the coordinator connects the students to the community groups in the project as well as other local groups that most effectively meet their needs and interests. Based on the success of the activities taking place at Porter, other funding has become available from The United Way of Missoula County, the federal Office of Juvenile Justice, and the DeWitt Wallace Readers Digest Fund. This additional funding has allowed the project to expand over the past two years into the three elementary schools feeding into Porter, another middle school, and into freshman classes at two local high schools. The district superintendent explained the impact of the Flagship Project at Porter by saying there is a positive attitude permeating the school. One sixth-grader put it in simpler terms, saying, "School is a better place. We're nicer to each other." Another student said his participation in the project made him "a softer person…like I use a softer voice and I'm more concerned." The project also impacts teachers who have long recognized that children learn better when their emotional needs are met. By helping to meet those needs, the project allows teachers the opportunity to teach. The comments one teacher made six months into the program support this conclusion. She said, "Thank God [the community organizations are here]…I have someone to help these kids outside of the classroom." Volunteers working in the program are recruited through the University of Montana, business organizations, civic groups, parent organizations, and various nonprofit groups. Often phone calls will be made to individuals in the community who've been identified as having a special talent that the Youth Development Coordinator thinks would interest the students. And sometimes members of' the community hear about the program and call the coordinators to offer their services (such was the case with the accountant who offered to teach quilting to students after school). Volunteers serve as tutors, coaches, mentors, and instructors for activities such as Taekwondo, fly tying, cross-country skiing, and as participants in activities in the game room or as monitors in the drop-in room. Observed Outcomes
Keys to Success
Location
Contact
Description
In an effort to prevent such a scenario from becoming reality, the Youth Court Services agency in Libby set out to offer extra after-school assistance and one-on-one attention to certain troubled students. In 1990, an after-school program designed specifically for adolescents on probation who were not receiving a grade of "C" or better in all of their classes was implemented. Each day, about a dozen kids from this rural Montana town make their way to the basement of the Youth Court Services building after school. Though they are required to attend the program until their grades improve, most of the participating students welcome the positive interaction, support, and attention they receive while there. The focus of the program is academic improvement, but positive social and life skills are promoted as well. Students do homework, technology projects, and work with tutors if necessary. They have access to six state-of-the-art computers, a certified teacher, and a cadre of volunteers who work to model prosocial behavior at all times. All instruction is individualized and tailored to students' unique needs. This is achieved through a close partnership between program staff and local schools. Regular communication between the program teacher and school teachers ensures that students get precisely the instruction they need. The program is funded through a variety of grants, but its primary sponsor is the Montana Department of Corrections Board of Crime Control. Observed Outcomes
Keys To Success
|
