Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Students involved in this project were enrolled in third and fourth grade at Oakland Elementary School and in the fifth and sixth grade at Sunnyside Intermediate School in the Lafayette School Corporation in Lafayette, IN. All students transitioning to fifth grade move to the Sunnyside School, thus resulting in the ongoing and familiar after school 4-H club activities and programs. During the final year of this grant, 70% of Oakland Elementary students qualified for free and reduced meals. Thirty-five students participated in the afterschool 4-H club during the final year with the following demographics: 49% white; 37% Hispanic; 14% multi-racial. 76% of Sunnyside Intermediate students qualified for free and reduced meals. Eighty students enrolled, with 35-60 regularly attending, in the afterschool 4-H club during the final year with the following demographics: 48% white; 25% Hispanic; 9% black; 1% Asian; and 5% multi-racial. Changes/Problems:While we made a significant reduction in the budget request for the final year offunding due to lack of school administrative support during the first 18 months of the project, we spent significant effort with more ongoing communication with teachers to assure they were planning well in advance of meetings that included purchasing requests for supplies. We also provided enhanced encouragement for 4-H PALS families and participants to avail themselves of new and additional 4-H Program opportunities in addition to the summer, campus-based PALS summer program. During the summer of 2019 we also invested a month of part-time salary for a grad student towork on summarizing datafrom this final year of the program. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We provided ongoing training and support for the teachers who led the 4-H after school clubs and were always open to other school personnel and parents who served as 4-H volunteers. All of these individuals additionally participated in 4-H training specific to working with minors. Faculty and staff who work with the project likewise have participated in the Annual CYFAR Professional Development opportunity as well as having the opportunity to present seminars and posters at the annual National Association of 4-H Agents Conference (NAE4-HA). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results were reported to parents and school personnel at parent meetings that were held each semester at each school. Project personnel likewise have participated in back to school night in the fall at each school to introduce parents and families to the opportunities the program made available to youth. This project was included annually in the National CYFAR Report and annual reports and meetings of the Tippecanoe County Extension Annual Meeting. During the CYFAR coach's recent site visit, special meetings were planned with the following: faculty/staff and grad students on the Purdue University campus who supported this work, in addition to teachers who served as afterschool volunteers with the program, 4-H PALS Program participants, their parents and school principals at both participating schools. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the five years of the grant, the Indiana 4-H PALS Project connected 4-H clubs operating after school during the school year with the Purdue University PALS summer program conducted by the Dept. of Health and Kinesiology on the Purdue University campus each summer. The Indiana 4-H PALS Project is based on the pillars of responsibility, kindness, fairness and caring. Club activities, lessons and events were all based on these pillars as well as the mission and vision of the 4-H program. Club meetings provided a variety of experiences including field trips, community service projects, guest speakers, and healthy living related activities and snacks. The overarching goal was to provide students with the skills necessary for lifelong success. The 4-H clubs operate at an elementary and intermediate school in the Lafayette School Corporation and are the first afterschool 4-H clubs established in Indiana with a specific focus on healthy living activities. During the course of the grant, both 4-H clubs have focused on age appropriate physical activities while also incorporating key pillars such as responsibility, kindness, fairness, and caring along with learning to prepare healthy snacks. Community guest speakers were identified to engage with students when appropriately connected to the educational focus. Examples of topics covered included the basics of Judo, rock-climbing at a local activity center, photography, gardening, and food safety. As a result of the food safety lessons, club members attended a field trip to a local candy making factory to study their sanitation practices. The older youth learned how to do arboreal climbing with harnesses and rope work and were able to participate in a weekend caving trip that allowed youth to experience spelunking and outdoor cookery while camping. Youth also participated in a service hike where they picked up litter from the city blocks near their school and created "T-shirt necessities bags" for homeless men and women in the community. This involved sewing bags out of t-shirts and filling them with hygiene and other necessary items. Both clubs have focused on encouraging service to their community with youth engaged in brainstorming service projects resulting in the creation of an enhanced "spirit of community" among the club members. State and County 4-H Youth Development Staff worked with the leaders of each of the 4-H clubs to more fully integrate their work into the school community. The 4-H clubs were active with school-wide parent nights so that families whose children have not been involved, could learn about the opportunities the 4-H club could offer their children. Likewise, evening programs for parents were planned by each of the 4-H clubs twice per year so that parents had the opportunity to see first-hand what the clubs had been focused on. Several of the club activities/field trips were planned on Saturdays or during the summer which also created the opportunity for parents to serve as chaperones, allowing another opportunity for them to become engaged with their child's 4-H experience. The 4-H volunteers providing leadership for the clubs were included in general, leadership development opportunities for all 4-H volunteers in the Tippecanoe County 4-H program. Youth in each of the 4-H clubs were registered with the Tippecanoe County 4-H Program and received monthly newsletters that inform their families of additional, educational opportunities available. We had a number of students participate in a multi-county, 3 nights/2 days, 4-H camp. Technology was utilized during club meetings for online research regarding current topics, to complete evaluation surveys, to create posters/pamphlets, and to take photographs of activities. Surface laptops, tablets, and camera were the most frequently used technology. Recruitment of parent volunteers and community partnerships was ongoing throughout the grant period. Both schools purchased equipment and supplies that will aid in the sustainability of their programs. They also conducted fund raisers during school-wide events to acquire funds for longer-term sustainability.
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Students involved in this project are enrolled in 3rd and 4th grade at the Oakland Elementary School and in the5th and 6th grade at Sunnyside Intermediate School in the Lafayette School Corporation in Lafayette, IN. All students transitioning to 5th grade move to the Sunnyside school, thus resulting in the ongoing and familiarafter school 4-H club activities and programs. 67% of the students atOakland Elementaryqualify for free and reduced lunch. 52 students participated in the afterschool 4-H club this yearwith the following demographics: 55.7% white; 21.1% hispanic; 13.4% black; 9.6% multi-racial. At the Lafayette Sunnyside school, 63% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch with 79 of them enrolled and participating in the 4-H club after school. The demographics for that club are 67.1% white; 17.7% hispanic; 10.1% black; 1.2% native hawaiian; and 3.89 multi-racial. Changes/Problems:We made a significant reduction in the coming year's budget request. During the first 18 months of this project we had two failed starts at a middle school that was initially expected to host an after school 4-H club. We adjusted our programming plan when we realized the needed and expected support of the school principlewas not going to be available. In January of 2016 we launched the 2nd 4-H club that now meets and has beenvery effective at Oakland Elementary. It took awhile for the teachers on this project to "take hold" but during that 18 month period weaccrued funding designated for the second club that was carried forward. Due to the accruedfunds, weneeded to made an adjustment to our funding request. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We provide ongoing training and support for the teachers who lead the 4-H after school clubsand always open that to other school personnel and parents who serve as 4-H volunteers. All of these individuals additionally participate in 4-H training specific to working with minors. Faculty and staff who work with the project likewise have participated in the Annual CYFAR Professional development opportunity as well as having the opportunity to present seminars and posters at the annual National Association of 4-H Agents Conference (NAE4-HA). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been reported to parents and school personnel as 2 parent meetings are planned at each school per year. Project personnel likewise have participated in back to school night in the fall at each school to introduce parents and families to the opportunities the program makes available to youth. This project is included in the annual report and meeting of the Tippecanoe Extension Annual Meeting and during the CYFAR coach's recent site visit special visits were planned with the following: faculty/staff on the Purdue campus who support this work; parents and school principles at both participating schools. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?As we move to the 5th and final year of funding for this project, we will continue our work with parents and teachers to provide future, ongoing support for this program. It has been well received at both schools and has provided new ideas for engaging youth in hands on learning focused on their health and well-being. We will continue programming at both schools on a weekly basis throughout the 2018-2019 school year.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Indiana 4-H PALS Project connects 4-H clubs operating after school during the school year with the Purdue University PALS summer program conducted by the Dept. of Health and Kinesiology on the Purdue University campus each summer. The 4-H clubs operate at an elementary and intermediate school in the Lafayette School Corporation and are the first afterschool 4-H clubs established in Indiana with a specific focus on healthy living activities. Over the past year, both 4-H clubs have focused on age appropriate physical activities while also incorporating key pillars such as responsibility, kindness, fairness, and caring along with learning to prepare healthy snack choices. Community instructors have been engaged to teach the basics of Judo and rock-climbing at a local activity center. The older youth also learned how to do arboreal climbing with harnesses and rope work and were able to participate in a weekend caving trip that allowed youth to experience spelunking. Parental response has been very positive as more parents are engaging as volunteers providing additional hands and assistance when needed. Both clubs also have a focus on encouraging service to their community with youth engaged in brainstorming service projects resulting in the creation of an enhanced "spirit of community" among the club members. The Indiana 4-H PALS Project is based on the pillars of responsibility, kindness, fairness and caring. Club activities, lessons and events are all based on these pillars as well as the mission and vision of the 4-H program. Club meetings provide a variety of experiences including field trips, community service projects, guest speakers, and healthy living related activities and snacks. The overarching goal is to provide students with the skills necessary for lifelong success.We continue to work with the leaders of each of the 4-H clubs to more fully integrate their work into the school community. The 4-H clubs are active with school-wide parent nights so that families whose children have not been involved, can learn about the opportunities the 4-H club offers their children. Likewise, evening programs for parents have been planned by each of the 4-H clubs twice per year so that parents have the opportunity to see first-hand what the clubs have been focusing on. Several of the club activities/field trips have been planned on Saturdays or during the summer which also creates the opportunity for parents to serve as chaperones, allowing another opportunity for them to become engaged with their child's 4-H experience. The 4-H volunteers providing leadership for the clubs are included in general, leadership development opportunities for all 4-H volunteers in the Tippecanoe County 4-H program. Youth in each of the 4-H clubs are registered with the Tippecanoe County 4-H Program and receive monthly newsletters that inform their families of additional, educational opportunities available. We have a number of students who will participate in a multi-county 3 nights/2 days 4-H camps and several of the younger youth who will be meeting at their school with 4-H leaders twice weekly during June to continue working on building skills by learning and creating projects they will exhibit at the county 4-H Fair.Technology is utilized during club meetings for online research regarding current topics, to complete evaluation surveys, to create posters/pamphlets, and to take photographs of activities. Surface laptops, tablets, and camera are the most frequently used technology. Recruitment of parent volunteers and community partnerships is ongoing. Both schools have purchased equipment that will aid in the sustainability of the programs. They have also developed products that can be sold during other school-wide events to acquire funds for long-term sustainability
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Riciputi, S., Boyer, P., McDonough, M. H., & Snyder, F. J. (2018) Formative evaluation of a pilot after school physical activity-based positive youth development program. Health Promotion Practice.
|
Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Students involved in this project are in 3rd and 4th grades at Oakland Elementary and then proceed to 5th and 6th grade at Lafayette Sunnyside Intermediate School. Indiana State Department of Education Statistics for the 2016/2017 school year indicate 67.2% of the population eligible for free or reduced lunch at Oakland Elementary and 72.0% of the student population at Sunnyside are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Student ethnicity in 2016/2017 at Oakland was Black (15.4%); Hispanic (18.0%); Multiracial (8.6%) and White (57.9%); at Sunnyside it was American Indian (0.5%); Asian (0.5%); Black (16.2%); Hispanic (27.9%); Multiracial (6.8%) and White (48.1%) Changes/Problems:Due to an issue with Lafayette School Corporation payment methods for non-teaching staff, we needed to find a way to ensure retention of one of our best club leaders. We were able to convert this person to a temporary Purdue staff position so that she could continue to be paid via the grant funds. This club leader has been instrumental in moving the club forward and incorporating new and interesting activities for the members. We also need to continue working with the School Corporation's timeliness with submitting reimbursement requests as described in their contractual agreement with the university. Other issues that we continue to work toward solving include school calendar conflicts, which have hampered our ability to bring club leaders from both schools together for professional development in addition to difficulties recruiting and retaining long-term volunteers. We will be focused specifically during the coming year on identifying and recruiting parents to begin assisting (beyond chaperoning field trips) to transition them into leadership roles. We need to work with the teachers currently serving as leader/volunteers to help them understand they should allow parents to make their own decisions regarding future leadership roles, rather than "pre-determining" what they believe an individual parent will or won't agree to. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The teachers were screened and approved as volunteers in the 4-H Program and received fundamental 4-H volunteer training and the principles of the CYFAR project. The Principal Investigator on this project, the CYFAR technology coordinator and one of the faculty members assisting with the evaluation component of the project participated in the required Annual CYFAR conference. These individuals are excited to attend these opportunities and leave with many new ideas to create more impact for the youth served in their club. The faculty members from Health & Kinesiology had the opportunity to learn about the mission and goals of the 4-H Youth Development Program while extension personnel assigned to the project learned the philosophy, goals, structure and history of the PALS program that served as a fundamental, core piece of the project. The graduate students were introduced to both project management and evaluation components of a grant-funded effort. We have additionally conducted a professional development for all 4-H PALS staff that included the following: ideas and supplies for new healthy living club activities; discussion regarding integration of PALS pillars along with demonstrations of activities that incorporate those components of the program; a discussion of data collected after 3 years of programming and plans for ease in collecting parental consent forms in the fall; time for idea sharing between the volunteers (particularly important as students transition from one school/4-H club to the other). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Club leaders from Oakland Elementary School attended an Extension board meeting and dinner to present information about their program. Several board members are generally unaware of the healthy living focused programming offered by 4-H in the after-school setting. Additionally, urban 4-H programming is not common in this county and many of the Extension board members were excited to see this programming available to more youth. Ongoing discussion with Extension board members allows individuals in the greater Lafayette/West Lafayette community to have a knowledge of unique programming such as this being made available via Purdue Extension - Indiana 4-H Youth Development. Of particular interest is meeting new audiences of young people where they are and providing opportunities to build their skills and abilities. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The clubs will continue to host family nights in order to engage with parents and guardians who may wish to volunteer with the club. Parent/guardian involvement is crucial to the sustainability of the after-school 4-H clubs. The family nights will also serve as an opportunity for the youth to demonstrate and share with the adults what they have learned in the after-school 4-H club. We intend to create stronger integration between the school year 4-H club participants and summer participation in the PALS on-campus experience. We were able to begin establishing processes for creating this integration during the current reporting period and have learned how to better implement and integrate the process for next year. Additional measures and procedures are being implemented to improve survey administration and response rate.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1. Each school identified current teachers to serve as leaders for the 4-H clubs, which operate after school. Sunnyside has two leaders serving in this role while Oakland has three. Both clubs meet one to two times per week during the school year and have scheduled special events during the summer. Activities at each siteinclude: Oakland - 54 youth enrolled in 4-H Online. Oakland began offering family nights, which expanded to encompass the entire school. In the winter of 2016, a family night was jointly hosted by the club and the school and included a meal and smoothie bike demonstration. This provided an opportunity for the CYFAR 4-H club to share their mission and healthy living activities with the entire school. Another family night is planned for the fall. Youth attended and participated in the area 4-H talent show and won first place. Several youth are interested in attending PALS camp, a summer on-campus day camp that connects to the mission of the 4-H club. Sunnyside - 38 youth enrolled in 4-H Online. Youth learned first aid techniques and proper wound care as well as how to identify wounds. They also created personal first aid kits for their homes. The club learned about archery then attended a Medieval Festival to practice their new skills. Field trips were taken to the Chicago Field Museum and ice-skating. Youth have an interest in learning how to do 4-H demonstrations and want to learn a non-combative martial art. Youth are planning to create a healthy muffin recipe to sell at the county fair. Students have expressed interest in PALS camp and several youth are interested in attending 4-H camp. Goal 2. Teacher observation indicates this program is creating a culture of change for youth participating. Youth participating in this club have benefitted by continuing friendships made outside of 4-H club time. Youth who have struggled with team/group work activities have made improvements from the beginning of the year, such as improving the time it takes to "form" and begin a task, the quality of task production, the inclusion of less vocal members, the fairness of idea exchanges, etc. The clubs are also diverse. Youth from multiple (5+) ethnicities, male and female, describe themselves as being "physically fit" while others describe themselves as being "out of shape." The clubs include youth from the honors program and youth who receive special services or are on a "discipline plan" due to issues at school. The joining of such a variety of students is amazing to see, and very different from what is experienced with other clubs offered at the school. Baseline psychological and social data were gathered. The surveys were measured on a scale of 1 (low) to 4 (high) and found that self-esteem (M = 3.38), hope (M = 3.32), social conscience (M = 3.82), personal values (M = 3.75) and caring (M = 3.45) at or above average. The variable with the lowest mean was physical competence (M = 2.98). These data indicate that physical competence has opportunity to improve. This provides an opportunity to adjust programming and continue to measure and track change over time as youth participate. Goal 3. Survey data indicated the number of days students reported being physically active for at least 60 minutes. M = 4.48, SD = 1.57 On an average school day, how many hours do you watch TV? M = 2.48, SD = 1.84 On an average school day, how many hours to you play video games or use a computer for something that is not schoolwork? M = 2.61, SD = 2.23. These baseline data suggest that the youth who participated in the program during the planning year are somewhat physically active, but were not, at baseline, meeting public health recommendations for physical activity among children (which is to participate in at least 1 hour of physical activity each day). These data show that this population could benefit from ongoing participation in this program that includes physical activity and promotes health and lifestyle physical activity among youth. In future semesters we will be able to track change over time as youth participate in the program. Goal 4. The wide selection of activities the club engages in has been a real draw, and has inspired some unlikely interests in students. Activities such as first aid awareness, outdoor hiking, photography, archery, arboreal climbing, video editing, swing dancing, and non-combative martial arts were popular among youth. The planned healthy snacks during club time have become popular. Students have really responded to having things like meatless pasta dishes, roasted vegetables, fruit & yogurt parfaits, smoothies, and cheese slices as alternatives to the high-sugar, high fat snacks they indicate they generally consume. Each club's recreation committee is in charge of the snacks and has developed excellent snack choices.
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Students involved in this project are third and fourth grade students in an after-school 4-H club at Oakland Elementary and a second club at Lafayette Sunnyside Intermediate School with fifth and sixth grade students. The Oakland Club included 3 Hispanic or Latino youth and 27 Not Hispanic or Latino. These 30 youth included: 13 White, 9 Black or African-American, and 8 indicating more than one race. The Sunnyside club included 11 Hispanic or Latino youth and 43 Not Hispanic or Latino. These 54 youth included: 40 White, 7 Black or African-American, 1 American Indian or Alaska Native, 1 Asian and 5 indicating more than one race. Changes/Problems:Due to a variety of issues, we were unable to establish the proposed 4-H afterschool club and accomplish the goals of the program at our initial site of Tecumseh Middle School. Therefore, the decision was made to amend our program and plan in order to meet the spirit of the grant criteria and explored other options for a program site. Consequently, after a request to the National Program Leader for Vulnerable Populations, programming was moved to Oakland Elementary in November, 2015. Programming began at the site in January 2016 with three club leaders and 40 youth in third and fourth grades. This change provides an opportunity for third and fourth grade students to learn about 4-H and remain connected to the program when they move to Sunnyside Intermediate as fifth and sixth graders. This natural continuity will benefit the sustainability of the program. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Three new teachers at Oakland Elementary were screened and approved as volunteers in the 4-H program. The leaders received fundamental training about being a 4-H volunteer and the principles of the CYFAR project. All club leaders received ongoing support and training from the Purdue Extension Educators assigned to this project and CYFAR project staff. One of the after-school club leaders attended the CYFAR professional development workshop held in May, 2016. The club leader were very excited to attend this opportunity and left with many new ideas to create more impact for the youth served in the club. One of the collaborating Health & Kinesiology faculty members also participated in the CYFAR professional development along with the PI and technology coordinator. The Health & Kinesiology faculty members had the opportunity learn about the mission and goals of the 4-H Youth Development Program while extension personnel assigned to the project learned the philosophy, goals, structure and history of the PALS program which served as a fundamental, core piece of the project. The graduate students were introduced to both project management and evaluation components of a grant funded effort. They also participated in the webinars offered by the CYFAR Professional Development Technical Assistance Team related to program evaluation. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A presentation was shared by the evaluation team at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting in Chicago in November, 2015. In addition, youth from the Sunnyside 4-H Club shared their stories with the county Extension Board. Both of these audiences are generally unaware of the healthy living focused programming offered by 4-H, particularly in after-school settings. Members of the evaluation team presented preliminary findings at a gathering of programs and professionals at Purdue University who regularly interact with youth programs. The poster session provided an opportunity to share the healthy living focus of the after-school 4-H program with other programs and faculty on campus. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The clubs will host two family nights in order to engage with parents and guardians who may wish to volunteer with the club. Parent/guardian involvement is crucial to the sustainability of the after-school 4-H clubs. The family nights will also serve as an opportunity for the youth to demonstrate and share with the adults what they have learned in the after-school 4-H club. We intend to create stronger integration between the school year 4-H club participants and summer participation in the PALS on-campus experience. We were able to begin establishing processes for creating this integration during the current reporting period and have learned how to better implement and integrate the process for next year. In future semesters we will continue to track change over time as youth participate in the program. This will allow us to determine if youth participants have increased physical activity, changed their eating habits, or are experiencing positive changes in self-esteem, social skills, physical competence, health, and hope for the future.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1. Each school identified current teachers from the school to serve as leaders for the 4-H clubs which operate twice weekly after school. Sunnyside has two leaders serving in this role while Oakland has three due to the ages and numbers of youth who attend their club. Goal 2. Teacher observation indicated this program is creating a culture of change for participating youth. Youth participating in this club have benefitted by continuing friendships made outside of 4-H club time. Youth who struggled with team/group work activities made improvements from the beginning of the year, such as improving the time it takes to "form" and begin a task, the quality of task production, the inclusion of less vocal members, and the fairness of idea exchanges. The club is also diverse. Youth from multiple (5+) ethnicities, male and female, described themselves as being "physically fit" while others described themselves as being "out of shape." The club includes youth from the honors program and youth who receive special services or are on a "discipline plan" due to issues at school. The joining of such a variety of students is very different from other clubs offered at Sunnyside. Baseline psychological and social data were gathered. The surveys found that youth self-esteem, hope, social conscience, personal values and caring were at or above average. The variable with the lowest mean was physical competence which indicates there is more opportunity to improve this variable and continue tracking over the funding period. Goal 3. Data showed that youth participants could benefit from ongoing participation in this program that includes physical activity and promotes health and lifestyle physical activity among youth. Survey data indicated the youth were physically active for at least 60 minutes for four days a week. On an average school day, they watched TV for two hours and spent about three hours playing video games or using a computer for something that is not schoolwork. This does not meet public health recommendations for physical activity among children which is to participate in at least one hour of physical activity each day. Goal 4. According to the Sunnyside club leader, the wide selection of activities the club engages in inspired some unlikely interests in students. Activities such as first aid awareness, outdoor hiking, photography, archery, arboreal climbing, video editing, and swing dancing were popular among youth. The club recreation committee is in charge of the snacks and has developed excellent, healthy snack choices. Students responded positively to foods such as meatless pasta dishes, roasted vegetables, fruit & yogurt parfaits, and cheese slices as alternatives to the high-sugar, high fat snacks they indicated they would consume if they had not participated in this program.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Snyder, F. J., McDonough, M. H., Blankenship, B. T., Wynkoop, R., Clark, V. T., Riciputi, S., McDavid, L, & McKee, R. (November, 2015). Development of an innovative physical activity-based positive youth development program for low-income youth. American Public Health Association, Chicago, IL.
Snyder, F. J., McDonough, M. H., Blankenship, B. T., Wynkoop, R., Nickell, J., Maxwell, K., Hawkins, B., Riciputi, S., McDavid, L., Clark, V. T., McKee, R. (April, 2016). Development of an Innovative Physical Activity-Based Positive Youth Development Program for Low-Income Youth. Purdue P-12 Networking Summit, West Lafayette, IN. Poster.
|
Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:Students involved in this project are enrolled in 5th and 6th grade in the Sunnyside Intermediate School and then proceed to Lafayette Tecumseh Jr. High School for 7th and 8th grade which will allow for program continuity as they transition to Jr. High. Indiana State Dept. of Education Statistics for 2014/2015 school year indicate 69% of the student population are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Student ethnicity in 2014/2015 was American Indian (.5%); Asian (1%); Black (15%); Hispanic (25%); and White (53%). Changes/Problems:Sunnyside Intermediate provides an after-school activity bus which allows youth to stay and participate in after-school activities. We faced significant difficulties when recruiting youth to participate in the club at Tecumseh Middle School as this school does not have funding to provide an activity bus therefore, participation in after-school activities is very limited for the population of youth the project intends to serve. We have accepted the resignation of the volunteer assigned to developing the Tecumseh club and believe that a concerted effort with a new volunteer and the transition of the 6th grade students who were engaged in the club at Sunnyside will help to spur new interest in the Tecumseh site. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The teachers were screened and approved as volunteers in the 4-H Program and received fundamental 4-H volunteer training and the principles of the CYFAR project. One of the after-school club leaders attended the CYFAR professional development workshop in June, 2014 along with the CYFAR technology coordinator and one of the faculty members assisting with the evaluation component of the project. The club leader was very excited to attend this opportunity and left with many new ideas to create more impact for the youth served in the club. The faculty members from Health & Kinesiology had the opportunity learn about the mission and goals of the 4-H Youth Development Program while extension personnel assigned to the project learned the philosophy, goals, structure and history of the PALS program which served as a fundamental, core piece of the project. The graduate students were introduced to both project management and evaluation components of a grant funded effort. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A presentation was accepted to be shared by the evaluation team at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting in Chicago in November 2015. In addition, the county Extension Educator has shared the program and preliminary success with the county Extension Board and District Director. Common measures data from the project has been provided in the CYFAR reporting system. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We have identified a new 4-H volunteer to provide leadership to the 4-H Club at Tecumseh Middle School as well as an additional Extension educator from this community to assist with providing support to the 4-H volunteers working on this project. Extension staff will be providing the core 4-H volunteer training to the new 4-H volunteer. During the next reporting period we also plan to be more intentional in reaching out to youth who participated in the summer, 2015 PALS program to encourage them to join the after-school 4-H club. As we have students transition from the 6th grade at Sunnyside Intermediate School to the 7th grade in the Tecumseh Jr. High School, we will be assuring they are connected to the new 4-H afterschool club that will launch at Tecumseh in September. We also plan to do more focused training with the club leaders and work to begin including parents and guardians of the youth to build program sustainability. We will also be introducing a new graduate assistant to the project. The faculty working on the evaluation component of the project continue to fine tune our evaluation and performance efforts.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Each of the schools identified one teacher to lead the clubs. The teachers were screened and approved as volunteers in the 4-H Program and received fundamental 4-H volunteer training and the principles of the CYFAR project. Relationships were solidified with the Sunnyside Intermediate School and a 4-H club was successfully organized and had an average attendance of 12 youth. The volunteer who leads that club was very engaged with the students/4-H members and conducted a number of extra field trips that also engaged parents and family members. The PALS program staff prepared healthy living activities that were implemented at the weekly meetings of the after-school 4-H club. PALS and 4-H staff met regularly to begin collaborative efforts that tied the summer program component to the after-school programming.
Publications
|
|