Progress 06/01/22 to 05/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Juntos 4-H Program serves Latinx students and their parents/guardians. Students include 8th to 12th graders from three counties in Indiana. Three schools are located in urban counties and the fourth school is in a rural county. Lynhurst and Chapel Hill Middle schools (Indianapolis) have the following enrollments: Lynhurts 7th & 8th Grade Center - American Indian 3, Asian 11, Black 276, Hispanic 484, White 413, % Free/Reduced Lunch 81.5%. Chapel Hill 7th & 8th Center - American Indian 1, Asian 4, Black 672, Hispanic 329, White 258, % Free/Reduced Lunch 66.4%. River Forest High School (Hobart) has the following enrollments: 40.1% Hispanic, 12.2% Black, 6.4% Two or More Races, 40.7% white, %Free/Reduced Lunch 68.7% Seymour Middle School (Seymour) has the following enrollments: American Indian 2, Asian 22, Black 11, Hispanic 443 (37%), Multicultural 46, White 678, % Free/Reduced Lunch 64%. Changes/Problems:At the end of the previous reporting period, one of the Co-PIs left the university. Since that time, we have identified an individual to assume the statewide coordinator role which has already resulted in tremendous enhancements to the sustainability of the program beyond the grant cycle. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During this reporting period, monthly update meetings have continued for county-level programmatic staff and contractors. Twenty-three participants, staff, and volunteers attended the national Juntos convening in Corvallis, Oregon in March 2023 at Oregon State University.Astatewide, face-to-face training for growth and sustainability was held in April 2023, with agenda topics including: Overview of Four Components, Forming Juntos Advisory/Sustainability Committees, Target Schools/Relationship Building, Recruitment of Families, Community Mapping of Latino Resources, Budget, and Evaluation. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been disseminated to stakeholders on campus including the Purdue Office of Engagement, Purdue Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, college-wide stakeholders, and others. Most importantly, the results of the program have been disseminated to the local communities supporting the program.These results have led to increased interest in the program by other counties within the state, elected officials, and school representatives. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, we will host Family Nights, bi-monthly club meetings, success coaching sessions, and summer programming both locally and at Purdue University. Juntos 4-H members from throughout the state of Indiana will attend the Purdue Agribusiness Science Academy on Purdue's campus in June of 2023 through a partnership with the College of Agriculture's Office of Multi Cultural Programs.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Through the most recent year's reporting, we found: 100% of participants respondingthinkcollege is important to them 95% of participants responding plan on attending college 100% of participants' parents expect their student to attend college 58% of students feel underprepared to attend college 67% of students feel underprepared to be successful in college 52% of parents feel confident in helping their student now 33% of parents feel confident in helping their student in college Over the course of the program, students reported small to moderate gains across all measured life skills. Students/familiesat Seymour Middle School, Seymour High School,River Forest High School,Lynhurst 7th & 8th Grade Centers, and the Lynhurst 9th Grade Center have particpated in bi-monthly 4-H Club activities, success coaching sessions, Family Nights, some students have had the opportunity to attend the National Ignite by 4-H Conference in Washington, D.C. and the National Juntos 4-H Convening at Oregon State University, and summer educational programming both locally and at Purdue University. Youth and families have learned about the educational system in the United States, how to access their grades and progress reports through school management systems, the transition from middle school to high school, post secondary schooling options, and how to fund higher education.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
McDavid, L., VonDielingen, H. D., Haynes, J., Ruiz, Y., & Mull, C. D. (2023). Juntos: Together, annual report, AY21-22. Purdue University.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Ruiz, Y., VonDielingen, H. D., McDavid, L., Haynes, J., & Mull, C. D. (2023). Mobilizing Families and Communities: Preventing School Drop-out among Latine Students. Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC). East Lansing, MI.
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Progress 06/01/21 to 05/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Juntos 4-H Program serves Latinx students and their parents/guardians. Students include 8th to12th graders from three counties in Indiana. Three schools are located in urban counties and the fourth school is in a rural county. Lynhurst and Chapel Hill Middle schools (Indianapolis) have the following enrollments: Lynhurts 7th & 8th Grade Center - American Indian 3, Asian 11, Black 276, Hispanic 484, White 413, % Free/Reduced Lunch 81.5%. Chapel Hill 7th & 8th Center - American Indian 1, Asian 4, Black 672, Hispanic 329, White 258, % Free/Reduced Lunch 66.4%. Hammond High School (Hammond) has the following enrollments: American Indian 2, Asian 2, Black 384, Hispanic 361 (63%), Multicultural 625, White 36, % Free/Reduced Lunch 76%. Seymour Middle School (Seymour) has the following enrollments: American Indian 2, Asian 22, Black 11, Hispanic 443 (37%), Multicultural 46, White 678, % Free/Reduced Lunch 64%. Changes/Problems:At the end of this reporting period, Xiomara Diaz-Vargas was on extended leave and left the university. This poses a significant problem, but an interim leader has been identified who is more focused on sustainability. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Monthly update meetings have continued for county level programmatic staff and contractors. Staff are planning an in-person training with the staff changes which have occurred. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Updates have been shared with the program stakeholders at state and local levels. Local elected officials have also expressed an interest in the project and these result swill be shared at the appropriate times with them. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, we will focus significantly on sustainability. Staff changes affected our ability to complete this report in a timely manner and lack of continuity documents presented a challenge. To resolve these problems for the future staff will focus on sustainability.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Increase youth's knowledge, attitudes, life skills and aspirations toward academic success' Two items in the resilience scale point towards academic success Getting an education is important to me (YRM2) Attitudes towards schools I feel that I belong at my school (YRM10) How many participated in the evaluation? Two cohorts (Fall 2021 and Spring 2021) of students in the program completed surveys. Fall 2021: N = 14 Spring 2021: N = 5 Evaluation Type used: Students completed online program surveys at the beginning of program participation that assessed perceptions of value of education and belongings at school. Items were on a 5-point scale where students responded the degree that they agreed with each statement (Not at all, a little, somewhat, quite a bit, a lot). When was it given or conducted? The Spring 2021 cohort completed post surveys, however, a technical problem with the online surveys prevented them from completing the post survey. The Fall 2021 cohort will completed post surveys are not yet available for this analysis. Therefore, this analysis only include PRE-student survey findings and describes student perceptions at the beginning of program participation. Analysis Descriptive statistics (Mean and Range) were calculated to communicate average and variability in responses for each item/subscale across each cohort. Findings At the beginning of the program Students indicated strong and positive perceptions that they valued education (Fall 2021, M = 4.64; Range = 3-5; Spring 2021, M = 4.2; Range = 3-5) and strong and positive perceptions of belongingness at school (Fall 2021, M = 4.21; Range= 1-5; Spring 2021, M = 3.2; Range = 1-5). Implications Students in both cohorts indicate that they value education and feel relatively close to others at school. These findings demonstrate that students may also value program offerings designed to support their educational success and to improve their social connections at school by providing opportunities to interact with students apart from the school-day. Increase youth in workforce exploration and improve workforce preparation skills Workforace prep Resilience YRM16 I have opportunities to develop skills that will be useful later in life. (YRM16) LifeSkills scale (decision making skills, using information (YLS1-5) Communication skills (YLS11 - 16) Goal setting (YLS17 - 20) Problem Solving skills (YSL21 - 26) How many participated in the evaluation? Two cohorts (Fall 2021 and Spring 2021) of students in the program completed surveys. Fall 2021: N = 14 Spring 2021: N = 5 2. Evaluation Type used Students completed online program surveys at the beginning of program participation that assessed perceptions of opportunities to develop skills useful in later life, decision making skills, communication skills, goal setting skills and problem solving skills. Items were on a 5-point scale where students responded the frequency that they were able to apply each skill (Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Always). 3. When was it given or conducted? The spring 2021 cohort completed post surveys, however, a technical problem with the online surveys prevented them from completing it. The fall 2021 cohort completed post surveys are not yet available for this analysis. Therefore, this analysis only include PRE-student survey findings and describes student perceptions at the beginning of program participation. Analysis Descriptive statistics (Mean and Range) were calculated to communicate average and variability in responses for each item/subscale across each cohort. In the fall 2021 cohort, items for the life skills items were combined into their retrospective scales when needed (all except the single item indicator for the item "I have opportunities to develop skills useful for later in life." All scales demonstrated adequate internal reliability. For the spring 2021 cohort, most likely due to a small sample size, scales did not demonstrate adequate internal reliability. Reported findings indicate the range of means across items within a scale where necessary instead of the range of the scale itself. We hope to be able to conduct a change in perceptions analysis in the near future. 5. Findings Develop skills useful in later life (Fall 2021, M = 4.9; Range = 2-5; Spring 2021, M = 4.2; Range = 3-5) Decision making skills (Fall 2021, M = 4.21; Range = 2.8-4.8; Spring 2021, MRange = 2.6-4.2; Range= 1-5) Communication skills (Fall 2021, M = 4.18; Range = 2.0-5.0; Spring 2021, MRange = 2.2-4.2; Range =1-5) Goal setting (Fall 2021, M = 4.29; Range = 2.8-5.0; Spring 2021, MRange = 2.75-4.4; Range = 1-5) Problem solving skills (Fall 2021, M = 4.29; Range = 2.5-5.0; Spring 2021, MRange = 2.2-3.8; Range = 1-5) 6. Implications Students in both cohorts had varying degrees of perceptions of capacity across life skills. The fall 2021 cohort indicated a consistent and positive perception of each life skill responding that they often are able to apply the skills in their life. Although scale scores were not available for the spring 2021 cohort, the range of means somewhat aligns with the fall 2021 range of means across scales. It is likely with a larger sample size and power to calculate scale scores, their responses would be near to the fall 2021 cohort. In all cases, although mean scores were relatively strong across all items, student perceptions of their ability to execute life skills range the entire scale indicating opportunities for growth in student communication, decision making, problem solving, and goal setting skills that students can use now and in the future. Program efforts that are able to narrow the range of experiences and foster more desirable perceptions overall will serve all students in attendance. We hope to be able to conduct a change in perceptions analysis in the near future. Long-Term Results Increase Latino parental engagement in their youth's academic success How many participated in the evaluation? Two cohorts (Fall 2021 and Spring 2021) of adults completed the survey Adults Fall 2021: N = 9 Spring 2021: N = 12 Evaluation Type used: Post Program Surveys included eight questions about the degree that adults were engaged in program activities. Adults responded to each item on a 4-point scale that indicated the how much engagement they experienced (not at all, a little, somewhat, very much). When was it given or conducted? Surveys were administered in the Spring of 2021 and the Fall of 2021 Analysis Due to small sample sizes across time points and poor scale performance, descriptive statistics were calculated to communicate average and variability in responses for each item across each cohort. Findings Adults in both cohorts indicate strong and positive perceptions of engagement with the program with most means demonstrating that adults were somewhat and very much engagement (Fall 2021, M = 3.6-4.0; MRange = 3-4; Spring 2021, M = 3-3.92; MRange = 2-4). Implications Engagement with the program indicates that adults are attuning to content designed to help them participate in their students' academic success. Across both cohorts, adults indicated strong and positive perceptions of engagement across all items, thus setting the stage for learning of new strategies student and pursuit of new opportunities to support their student's academic success. Scale/Item Fall 2021, Mean Fall 2021, Range Spring 2021, Mean Spring 2021, Range I have opportunities to develop skills that will be useful later in life. 4.9 2-5 4.2 3-5 Decision making skills 4.21 2.8-4.8 2.6-4.2 1-5 Communication skills 4.18 2.0-5.0 2.2-4.2 1-5 Goal setting skills 4.29 2.8-5.0 2.75-4.4 1-5 Problem solving skills 4.29 2.5-5.0 2.2-3.8 1-5
Publications
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Progress 06/01/20 to 05/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Juntos 4-H Program serves Latinx students and their parents/guardians. Students include 8th to12th graders from three counties in Indiana. Three schools are located in urban counties and the fourth school is in a rural county. Lynhurst and Chapel Hill Middle schools (Indianapolis) have the following enrollments: Lynhurts 7th & 8th Grade Center - American Indian 3, Asian 11, Black 276, Hispanic 484, White 413, % Free/Reduced Lunch 81.5%. Chapel Hill 7th & 8th Center - American Indian 1, Asian 4, Black 672, Hispanic 329, White 258, % Free/Reduced Lunch 66.4%. Hammond High School (Hammond) has the following enrollments: American Indian 2, Asian 2, Black 384, Hispanic 361 (63%), Multicultural 625, White 36, % Free/Reduced Lunch 76%. Seymour Middle School (Seymour) has the following enrollments: American Indian 2, Asian 22, Black 11, Hispanic 443 (37%), Multicultural 46, White 678, % Free/Reduced Lunch 64%. Changes/Problems:Because Juntos 4-H is linked directly with the school corporations, we faced extreme challenges with accessibility and communication in regular settings during this pandemic. At the time the pandemic started, we have no families recruited. A year of onboarding a new staff member to oversee Juntos 4-H in Marion County included introductions to the local Latinx/Hispanic community and national Juntos network, all virtually. We lost a school site and had to start identifying a new school. County Educator and Technology Specialist met with three schools (two public and one charter) to explore a possible MOU to launch Juntos. Schools included Metropolitan School District (MSD) of Pike Township (~25% Latinx/Hispanic student population), Christel House Schools (~50% Latinx/Hispanic student population), and MSD of Wayne Township (~33% Latinx/Hispanic student population). Ultimately, the MSD of Wayne Township was chosen due to the administration's commitment to Juntos 4-H by assigning teachers to be Juntos liaisons in four of their buildings and providing space for our future Juntos staff to occupy. In addition to their past familiarity and positive partnership with 4-H, they focus on post-secondary pathways and their Latinx/Hispanic demographics. Starting the implementation and coordination process during the pandemic added a greater level of complexity to this process. An alternative approach to recruit potential participants was used. The first cohort was recruited by phone, home visits, and family interviews (Seymour). The program was delivered virtually and in-person due to the restrictions established by the pandemic and safety plans. These variations and alternative delivery modes increase phone calls, home visits, and text messages to generate the level of trust and commitment needed to complete the first phase of the Juntos program, the Family Engagements-family workshops. The families recruited have low proficiency in English or Spanish and digital technology. 100% of the parents only speak Spanish or Chu - Guatemalan indigenous language. With the community's help, our team assisted all these families during the recruitment process and participation in the program. When planning the in-person family workshops, we experienced limited options for meeting a location on weekends. The school where Juntos 4-H is available couldn't open on Saturdays to host the family workshops. A local Catholic School offered the facilities for the family workshops free of charge at the gym on Saturdays, allowing us to accommodate the families' work schedules. Most families were not allowed to be absent from their jobs to attend school meetings; a letter explaining was provided asking their employers to permit the parents to attend Saturdays' sessions. Another challenge encountered was after-school transportation for students participating in the program. Because the regular calendar was altered, youth participated in seven 4-H club meetings and two Family nights after completing the family engagements. Most of the students don't have transportation after school hours, limiting the access to attend 4-H club meetings. With the intervention of the county educator, the school corporation offered a school bus, and the county 4-H program committed to cover the cost of the school bus driver designated the Tractor Supply annual 4-H fundraising funds to support Juntos 4-H programming. This cost was not considered in the original budget. Purdue University requires a minimum of two adults to be present when working with youth. This policy commits us to always recruiting and coordinating the Extension staff's attendance or a volunteer at club meetings. For next year we will try to have a sponsor teacher from the school or parent volunteers. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During this reporting period, the Juntos 4-H team participated in the National Conferences offered by PDTA CYFAR and Juntos National North Carolina. The staff that joined the team were trained in the program's content and how to implement it. The Juntos 4-H state team focuses on learning more about the higher education system in our state and the current opportunities for Juntos 4-H participants and their families, in addition to what the Juntos 4-H Program offers. We focused on training county educators in creating and maintaining relationships in the community, cultural awareness, challenges faced by first-generation college students and immigrants. The team also participated in two mini virtual Juntos training hosted by North Carolina State University. Juntos IN 4-H principal investigators and evaluator had met with the CYFAR coach monthly and participated in two Juntos 4-H national focus groups this year. Juntos State Team Staff will be participating in the 2021 CYFAR Annual Professional Development Conference in June. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been disseminated by word of mouth, social media, press releases, and during intentionalconversations with the community partners. Working intentionally with Latino families in Indiana is a necessary step and a new journey for Indiana 4-H. The Indiana 4-H program will continue gaining new knowledge of area Latinx populations and places, new partnerships, and expanded Latinx youth and family participation in 4-H programs as we also grow in knowledge and competencies. This will also produce a better understanding of how to better serve and meet the needs of Latinx youth and their families. Our first research data will be available by fall 2021 and until then we have been referring to data collected by other states working with the Juntos 4-H program. Indiana Juntos 4-H has done a fantastic job partnering with local business and community organizations in all three sites and statewide, school corporations, government, corporate, and higher education entities, including our University College of Ag and various departments. Purdue College of Agriculture Office of Multicultural Programs provides an in-person Juntos 4-H Summer Academy experience in one of the sites this summer. Partnering with the Indiana Commission on Higher Education had brought opportunities for Extension professionals and Juntos staff. They have conducted virtual training on how to have all Juntos 4-H'ers enrolled in the scholarship program offered by the state and providing one on one consultations to those counties who are pursuing to establish Juntos 4-H or similar programs in their counties. Community faith-based organizations have opened their doors for free for Juntos 4-H in-person sessions and distribution of "to-go" meals. We also have been intentional in securing funding from corporate sponsors and local 4-H councils. Farm Credit Mid America awarded Indiana 4-H with the first Juntos 4-H Ag Science Aeroponic farm to be used as a skill-lab for the Juntos 4-H'ers STEM project experience. The school corporation had provided the space in a brand new career development center where Juntos 4-H students will be transported twice a week to work on this skill lab. A designated school teacher and the County Ag Extension educator will lead the school year's educational and hands-on experience. Farm Credit Mid America expressed that as soon as the other Juntos 4-H sites get established, they would like to consider sponsoring Juntos 4-H projects in other sites and a Career Exploration experience for the students. We will continue working with Community Foundations, Indiana 4-H Foundation, school corporations, local businesses, and corporate sponsors to sustain and expand Juntos 4-H and make it as accessible to as many communities as possible in the state of Indiana. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To serve 100+ youth by 2022 and to expand Juntos 4-H in diverse communities in Indiana.Family focus groups will finish this programming year and offer Juntos 4-H Summer Academy in June 2021. Year three activities will include, recruiting a new cohort of students in two sites and a second cohort for one of the sites. All sites will provide success coach students, family workshops, and family nights will be conducted from beginning to end of the school year. Juntos state leadership will start to develop a sustainability guide based on the success of a current site's effort to build sustainability within their local community.To help support this goal, the state team is pursuing to increase human capacity to support educators, coordinators, and success coaches by identifying ways to integrate College Students Workers and Ameri Corps to Juntos four components focusing on the success coaching/mentorship and summer academies components. The Indiana 4-H Foundation registered in a universal college platform created for colleges in Indiana called Handshake to help advertise and recruit interns for new audiences initiatives with a primary focus in Juntos 4-H.Indiana 4-H Juntos team will present on the IN Juntos 4-H program community impact at the Purdue Extension Professional Development Conference.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The second year of this grant and the first year for Juntos 4-H began with the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. Despite the helplessness and challenges that this global situation caused, the Juntos Indiana 4-H team continued to meet to review plans, professional development and communicate with our collaborators inside and outside the organization. MOUs are signed and approved, and interview processes were conducted for four of the six existing positions resulting in three active contractors currently serving the program as part of this grant. Extension staff actively recruited for these positions, visited local businesses, used social platforms for recruitment, and supported school and community corporations. Educators and state 4-H staff met with school administrators to discuss and review the Juntos programming calendar, which changed four times. We began recruiting the first group at one of the schools; 29 names and phone numbers were provided to us, and we immediately started the process in November. We met with the program evaluator to review the protocol for administering consents, assents, and pre/post surveys by phone, video conference, and in person. The Indiana Juntos 4-H Team identified and created a virtual stand-in to sustain our program's family engagements and hands-on experience. This was subject to change if and when new developments are made on group gatherings by the state/local schools. All the family workshop lessons were adapted for virtual delivery, and activities were modified to comply with the restrictions during the face-to-face sessions. The group of 20 families was divided into two (10 virtual and 10 in person) to abide by the University and the school's safety plans and meet the needs of those families who do not have the skills of the Spanish or English language. The modifications to meet the needs of the time and our target audiences doubled up the implementation work, but it was accomplished. In December, students received a holiday gift as part of the family recruitment (a bag of baked cookies) provided by a local Latino business and delivered by 4-H community club members. Before starting the family workshops aJuntos 4-H gift box with supplies, 4-H promotional items, notebooks, markers, and a soccer jersey were provided to all students. Eighteen families completed the first component of Juntos 4-H, Family Engagements - family workshops, in February.Juntos 4-H Coordinator and Technology Specialist delivered groceries baskets to the virtual session families at the end of the seven weeks of participation. Families participating in the face-to-face session were offered take-out food at all meetings, following all the organizations' sanitation practices and safety plans. In March, the first Club of the Juntos 4-H program was formed with the participation of 17 students. The students began the interviews with the Success Coach, families attended two Family Nights and the Juntos 4-H Coordinator conducted seven club meetings from March to May. Due to the actual restrictions, we cannot offer the Juntos 4-H Summer Academy at the University for the students this year, but the University will come to them. The Purdue College of Agriculture Office of Multicultural Programs will offer a STEM Career Experience Day as the Summer Academy event. We are also authorized to conduct the face-to-face focus groups in June 2021.
Publications
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Progress 06/01/19 to 05/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Juntos 4-H Program serves Latinx students and their parents/guardians. Students include 8th to12th graders from three counties in Indiana. Two schools are located in urban counties and the third school is in a rural county. Arsenal Tech High School has the following enrollments: American Indian 1, Asian 16, Black 1044, Hispanic 812 (38%), Multicultural 93, White 187, % Free/Reduced Lunch 68%. Hammond High School has the following enrollments: American Indian 2, Asian 2, Black 384, Hispanic 361 (63%), Multicultural 625, White 36, % Free/Reduced Lunch 76%. Seymour Middle Schoolhas the following enrollments: American Indian 2, Asian 22, Black 11, Hispanic 443 (37%), Multicultural 46, White 678, % Free/Reduced Lunch 64%. Changes/Problems:Due to the differences between school corporations and the opportunity on maximization of resources the state leadership, in agreement with the schools, decided to start the first cohort in a rural county school in the 8th and 9th grade in urban schools instead of starting the program in all the counties in 8th grade. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Extension Educators and Technology Specialist traveled to Florida to participate in a three days Juntos 4-H training. Project Director, Technology Specialist and Evaluator participated in the required orientation for new project grantees under this award in June 2019. Since November 2019, Extension Educators join monthly calls where specific resource topic is discussed (i.e. evaluation instruments and protocols, effective communication with advisory groups, how to create community maps, social capital, etc.) and Educators can report on updates and support needed. School monitoring visits were conducted this semester focused on how to support the individual sites. Evaluator and Technology Specialist were registered to participate in the inaugural National Juntos 4-H in North Carolina at the end of March but this professional development opportunity was reschedule to September 2020 due to COVID-19. Extension Educators and State grant managers were attending to the CYFAR Conference in June for professional Development but this event was also canceled. Because Juntos 4-H is a program linked directly with the school corporations as of present we are facing challenges with accessibility and communication in regular settings during this pandemic. The Indiana Juntos 4-H Team is identifying and creating a virtual stand in for the purpose of sustaining the family engagements and hands on experience of our program. This is subject to change if and when new developments are made on group gatherings by the state. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results and success stories will be disseminated to all community partners to show program impact throughout the next year cycle. Social media and other platforms have been created to facilitate the outreach and accessibility to the impact of this program. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Starting in June, local Juntos 4-H Advisory groups will advertise and interview county 4-H Juntos staff (Site coordinators and Success Coaches). Begin advertising and recruitment of students/families in addition to data collection for Juntos program participants who will start with the 2020/2021 school year. All counties will start the school program year with a welcome family night event where students and parents received an orientation on programming calendar and registration for program participants. Success coaches will work with staff to conduct Needs and Assets Assessment. Parents and students will complete pre-surveys. The fall semester will include bi-monthly families nights, by-weekly Juntos 4-H clubs and success coaching. Coordinate with the Purdue College of Agriculture Multicultural Program and the Latino Cultural Center a Juntos 4-H one day career exploration event at Purdue University. During the spring family nights; 4-H clubs; a leadership retreat for youth and staff; and end of year celebrations will be conducted. Indiana 4-H Juntos team will present on the IN Juntos 4-H program impact at the Indiana Extension Educator Association.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Major goals of the project The Latino population is the largest and fastest growing population in Indiana. Thirty-seven percent of Latinos in Indiana 25 years and older have not completed high school or an equivalent level of education (three times higher than non-Hispanic whites). The Indiana State Board of Education has a priority to address the achievement gaps that occur among Hoosier youth. Juntos program addresses school dropout in Indiana and will focus on helping young Latino teens understand the importance of sense of belonging in school and community organizations (JUNTOS 4-H club) in addition to the importance of school attendance and grades. The multi-faceted approach of the JUNTOS program design will assist in terms of building towards sustainability from the initiation of the program. This program provides intensive long-term support for Latinx youth via four wrap-around components. Starting with a 5-week or 6-week family engagement workshop series followed by family nights every other month to increase parent involvement and school communication. It provides individualized success coaching by a local Juntos staff to help each student with their academic progress. It delivers after-school Juntos 4-H club meetings and activities twice a month throughout the school year; and conveys a week-long summer college experience, 4-H summer programming, and full-day college family events, and other educational events and field trips. This proposal will serve approximately 405 Latinx youth and their parents using these four components in three counties in Indiana over the next 4 years. Youth and Community: Increase Latinx youth's school attendance and grades; their preparation for college as demonstrated by ACT or SAT scores; the number of Latinx youth being accepted into college; the number of youth successfully completing the first year of college; and the number who will ultimately graduate from college with a certificate or diploma. Youth and Parent/Guardian: Reduce Latinx dropout rates in schools with 4-H Juntos Program sites; increase the successful transition of Latinx students transitioning to High School; increase the sense of belonging among Latinx students and families in their schools and communities; and increase teens use of technology for workforce skills necessary for the 21st century digital economy. Parent/Guardian: Increase Latino parental engagement in schools and in their youth's academic success. In 2015, the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics (designed to address educational disparities faced by the Hispanic community in the United States) selected JUNTOS as one of the signature program models helping to close the achievement gap. North Carolina State University developed the JUNTOS Program 12 years ago and has worked with states around the nation to train and support their own JUNTOS Program implementation. We are very pleased that NC State JUNTOS faculty and staff have been providing support and resources for the implementation of JUNTOS in Indiana. Critical to the success of this project are the relationships built and agreements made for local support provided by each community in which we are implementing Juntos 4?H. To date we have invested significant time and built excellent partnerships in each of the three identified communities. This process has taken more time than anticipated and at the request of those with whom we've worked, we delayed the recruitment of students/families for the program until year two of this project. This has provided us with the requisite time to create the additional resources needed (and that are tailored to each community). What was accomplished under these goals? The Juntos first year started with follow up meetings conducted individually (and collectively) with Extension Educators since July, 2019 to provide clarification and specifics on the planning phase (year 1) of the Indiana Juntos 4?H program with a special focus on building capacity and sustainability at the county level. The following schools were identified to implement the program beginning in July, 2020: Arsenal Tech High School (Marion County); Seymour High School (Jackson County); and Hammond High School (Lake County). Community partners, staff recruitment and families' involvement are key to the success of this project and the resulting programming with identified teens and their families. One county was about to establish a community advisory group focused on program sustainability. This site will be a model for the other two sites in the coming year. During this year community advisory groups have been learning about the Structure of the Juntos 4-H Program; about Purdue's Role in the Grant Work - Structure of Purdue Extension & Local County Purdue Extension Offices; creating community maps; and recruiting key individuals to serve as members of the Juntos 4-H Advisory groups. The number of Extension community partners had increased in more than 30% in these three counties as a result of the collaboration motivated by the Juntos 4-H program in their communities. Each Extension Educator scheduled meetings in July with school administrations to discuss and plan the Juntos 4-H programming calendar.
Publications
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