Progress 08/25/23 to 08/24/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for the Nia program is youth from low-income, BIPOC backgrounds (with an emphasis on youth first within their families to pursue higher education) in both rural North Carolina and suburban Wisconsin. In total, six community sites across our two states reached a total of 231 youth in school-based programs and out of school time activities. North Carolina has also built and integrated an undergraduate internship program to pair young adult college student mentors in supporting the engagement and learning outcomes of the youth participants. Changes/Problems: Major changes in Year 2: The Project Director/Principal Investigator for UW-Madison was changed to Dr. JulieAnn Stawicki Project Directors across both sites provided additional budget coordination to support aligned and effective fiscal support. A revised budget was provided for year 4 continuing application and approved. The reasons for these changes include challenging administrative and budget coordination and increased need for clarity and transparency for processes. Our hope is that this realignment and re-establishment of the cross state collaboration will lead to stronger outcomes for participants and lead to longer term sustainability of the Nia program model. Other challenges that have been identified include staff and project partner turnover and use of the CYFAR common measure data collection portal. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Eight members of the Nia team attended the 2024 CYFAR Professional Development and Technical Assistance event. NCATSU undergraduate students were provided in-depth internship opportunities that fall under a professional degree program (social work) with specific standards. Learning goals are explicit and are captured in learning contracts that include tasks that lead to the development of professional competencies. Co-investigator, Dr. Kendra P. Alexander and three interns spoke about Nia and the critical mentoring approach at the 2024 National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference in Savannah, GA in March. Co-investigators Dr. Kendra P. Alexander and Dr. Shannon Wiley had a paper presented at the 2024 Family Science Association annual conference in June in Puerto Rico. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?NORTH CAROLINA We have and are scheduled to present findings at professional meetings as described above. In February 2024, interns at JMS presented during grade level teacher meetings to share about the goals and activities of Nia. Interns also shared which students were in their caseload which has resulted in increased collaboration and communication within the school setting between Nia and the faculty there. WISCONSIN Within Extension, educators report their activities in a Planning and Reporting Portal, which feeds into statewide reporting from Extension leadership. Locally, Nia is shared within local Extension offices and the public through County reports. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Site-based programming will continue in 4 counties across the two states, with ongoing programming related to pathways literary and action, social emotional learning, and cultural identity development through mentoring activities and experiential learning opportunities. In two sites (Kenosha Co, WI & Martin Co, NC) programs are seeking to be re-established after staffing transitions. Continued cross-state collaborations to provide opportunities for shared learning amongst the site leaders and state teams, as well as opportunities for program development and evaluation alignment. Our shared vision is that we are able to document core programmatic elements that lead to meaningful and sustained pathways programming for Black/BIPOC youth. The project leadership team will be reinstating core team meetings to help prioritize and move forward several shared objectives identified at our team meeting in June, 2024. Potential alignment areas named include documenting cultural responsive program planning and youth co-design, infusing youth participatory evaluation methodologies, and exploring sustainability and staffing models. In Wisconsin, the team is exploring opportunities to implement a similar internship/mentorship program that has been proven successful for the North Carolina project. We are also seeking to replicate and expand the multi-state program opportunities for young people and mentors to have exposure/support to one another's program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In Year 3, Nia programming grew in number of youth served, consistency and regularity in programming offered, and documentation of program impact. A total of 231 youth were served across the sites in both states, with high retention of cohort members (for example Guildford Co, NC noted 100% program retention of their middle school members). Programming was offered a minimum of monthly meetings and engagement opportunities up to twice/week regular school and after-school time programming. Youth had the opportunity to learn from Black and BIPOC speakers and/or mentors and interns across each of the sites. Strong partnerships with schools, non-profit organizations, and community members improved program relevance and supported continuing and sustaining the program. Key features of Nia programs across all of the program sites include 1) the incorporation of youth voice in programming offered and 2) a specific focus on and support for youth skill development in social, emotional and leadership domains. For example, in Wisconsin, youth leadership teams and general youth feedback using technology like Snapchat polls helped define youth interest and motivation in attending regular meetings and identify potential guest speakers and field trip opportunities. Site leaders in WI and NC also documented effectiveness of youth recruitment and engagement through the use of photos and videos. Example activities that have aligned with short-term results include participation in 4-H STEM activities, community business and workplace field trips, and tech and 4-year comprehensive campus visits, support for resume and personal statement development, and financial aid presentations. Social, emotional, and leadership skill development was supported through youth personal assessments and goal setting activities, guest speakers, and supportive mentoring relationships. North Carolina has successfully completed two years of an internship model where undergraduate Bachelor of Social Work students at NCATSU serve as mentors to students at the school sites. Intern mentors created a whole school social emotional learning intervention. They also created videos to promote week-long contests to help students practice and reflect growth mindset, empathy, self-advocacy, conflict resolution and managing emotions. Mentors had spent over 100 hours each semester of the 2023-24 school year. Preliminary analysis demonstrated that Nia NC has made substantial progress in facilitating intensive exposure to young adult mentors from BIPOC backgrounds. NC interns have also supported cross-state Nia implementation, facilitating virtual meetings with students at the Waukesha, WI site. Interns presented their pathways and experiences attending a Historically Black College/University (HBCU), and facilitated SEL learning content specifically designed to address the experiences of BIPOC youth. Using session surveys, 87.5% of the Waukesha youth participants indicated that prior to the sessions they had "not at all" or "only somewhat" knowledgeable about HBCU pathways. Similarly, the majority of youth (75%) reported not being knowledgeable about the SEL topics, and that these sessions had a positive impact on their understanding and future pathways. Both states had difficulty collecting and using the common measures portal this fall and spring. Adaptations were made to administer paper and qualtrics surveys. In WI, we had a total of 53 youth complete pre-surveys and 41 youth complete the post survey (77% retention). Due to technical difficulties we were not able to do a match analysis. In the post survey, youth that completed the survey indicated that the programs offered 'very much' reflected their choice in programs (73.5%) and the content was somewhat or 'very much' important to them (94.2%). The large majority of youth also indicated that they were somewhat (32.%) or very much (58.8%) using their skills as a result of participating. North Carolina also included comprehensive qualitative methodology including notes and activity logs during sessions as well as mentor notes. Analysis and results are being led by Dr. Alexander.
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Progress 08/25/22 to 08/24/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Within the youth development landscape, a gap exists in the important area of culturally relevant, evidence-based models that integrate identity development and post-high school pathways exploration for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) youth. Juntos, designed to support students from Latinx backgrounds, is a notable exception and represents a framework that informs the proposed program model. Given the lack of existing integrative models, we designed a program that will incorporate elements of prominent educational models including GEAR UP and The Expanded Success Initiative, nationally renowned culturally-based programming such as Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc's "Go to High School, Go to College", and promising demonstration models including University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension's recent "Summer Pathways" pilot. The proposed framework of the Nia project model rests on two premises. First, youth should be encouraged to explore broadly and afforded opportunities to critically examine multiple post-high school pathways into adulthood. This is especially important for youth from low-income, BIPOC backgrounds who are often the first within their families to pursue higher education and who experience stark disparities in outcomes related to college access, persistence, and completion when compared to their white and more affluent peers (Perna & Jones, 2013). Therefore, it is imperative that BIPOC youth have access to critical information to help assist them in reaching their goals, what we call pathways literacy. However, access to information is not enough. For this reason, the second part of our program design prioritizes scaffolded, mentored learning that guides youth through developmentally appropriate decision processes and goal-oriented activity, what we call pathways action. BIPOC youth in both rural North Carolina and suburban Wisconsin lack ready access to an extensive network of communitybased mentors who share a cultural background with the youth and who can serve in important relational roles related to post-high school pathways. Despite this shared challenge, each state's challenges are different. In Martin and Wilson Counties in North Carolina, low overall population density and depressed economic prospects are the main culprit, eventhough families from BIPOC backgrounds make up a significant percentage of each community. In contrast, there are thriving urban economies in the vicinity of Kenosha, Rock, and Waukesha Counties in Wisconsin, yet BIPOC youth and their families make up only a small fraction of these local communities, and an even smaller fraction of those thriving educationally and economically. The recent events in Kenosha after the police shooting of Jacob Blake are one indicator of the racial climate facing youth in these communities. Nia harnesses the strengths of the nation's largest Historically Black College/University (HBCU) and one of the world's most prolific research universities to support BIPOC youth in both states. In addition to the myriad local activities of the Nia, youth in North Carolina and Wisconsin will all gain exposure to: • HBCU culture, experience and academic opportunities; • Climate, culture and resources of a large flagship state university; • Adults across both states who represent multiple post-high school pathways; and • Youth across sites and states with whom they can grow, learn, and develop relationships. In this reporting period, we served primarily middle school and some high school youth from BIPOC backgrounds throughout Kenosha, Waukesha, Rock, Martin, and Wilson Counties. For pilot group activities, 4-H and positive youth development county educators/agents recruited youth from local schools, community centers, libraries, and 4-H clubs Changes/Problems:NORTH CAROLINA Numerous vacancies (in some cases recurring) in key positions have contributed to our delayed launch of programming in Martin County. Since the beginning of the grant, there have been three superintendent changes at the school system level and three principal changes at the partner school. In addition, the 4-H agent position that would normally support the CYFAR coordinator locally has been vacant for two years and the Extension County coordinator position was vacant for a similar extended period. The Extension County coordinator position was filled in May 2023 by Lisa Smith, who has been integral in our continuing efforts to launch programming in Martin County. During summer 2023, Nia leadership met with Ms. Smith to identify potential alternate plans for viable partnerships moving forward. Due to capacity issues in Wilson County and the lack of a formalized relationship with our incubator site at Jamestown Middle School, we were unable to collect Common Measures data for our first programming year. We have addressed these issues by training program staff and interns to collect data and obtaining permission from the Principal of our school-based site to administer surveys during the 2023-24 year. Coordination of administrative personnel across partner institutions and vacancies in key positions have resulted in challenges with invoicing for grant-related expenses. In addition to expenses that are ready to be invoiced, we have prepared a budget revision request to NIFA to reallocate unexpended year one and year two funds to best support Nia youth and their families. WISCONSIN The major challenges, described in previous sections include Challenge: Loss of Kenosha Educator: Educator recieved an opportunity to conduct research abroad and will leave Extension and the grant. She built many of the community and school connections over the past two grant years, which yielded studetns, school sites, presenters and guest speakers. Soluation: Educator gave several months notice and shared all resources, planning documents, and contact information for collaborators. Area Extension Director provided support in her interim and will hire her replacement, as well as a coordinator, in the fall. Challenge: Challenges with engaging Beloit partners. There was difficulty maintaining contact with schoolleadership in the School District of Beloit. They infrequently responded to email and telephonic communication. While they proposed two possible school based staff asNia Coordinators, staff members did not complete needed University hiring materials. Solution: Nia Wisconsin Principal Investigator and Nia Rock County Educator attempted to continue contact, but did not rely completely on Beloit to implement programming, as there was already a strong relationship with the Janesille School District. Challenge: Underspent Grant Dollars: To increase the capacity of the Nia Wisconsin program, Nia Waukesha Educator will take on a part time role leading statewide coordinator, providing support to staff acorss the state in implementing programming. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Wisconsin PI, Waukesha Coordinator, North Carolina Principal Investigator and North Carolina Evaluator attended the annual CYFAR Professional Development event in May 2023. Nia Waukesha Educator onboarded Coordinator and will supervise her in her role. Nia Wisconsin team participated in a one day retreat to plan for the year, which included an orientation to 4-H resources. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?School year programming (subject to youth feedback and input): Continue Weekly pathways, social emotional learning and cultural identity workshops, mentoring activities, and experiential learning opportunities Initiate Monthly inter/intrastate pen-pal project and guest speaker series (virtual and in-person) Create opportunities to connect Nia youth with 4-H events Develop parent engagement opportunities Quarterly field trip (including one major trip per year - possibilities include cross-site field trip, weekend college campus visit, interstate college visit) Annual end-of-year event Implementation of Family Day Summer programming: Weekly engagement over eight weeks to complete cross-site action research project and facilitate community-building Monthly field trip Administrative: Quarterly evaluation and programmatic site visits Quarterly youth, parent and community advisory board meetings?
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
NORTH CAROLINA Fall 2022: The Nia NC team grew to include six senior undergraduate social work interns who established a Nia "incubator site" in Guilford County to develop and test out Nia curricular elements. Through this site, we established a strong partnership with Jamestown Middle School, categorized by the National Center for Educational Statistics as "rural fringe", where we conducted weekly Nia activities from September through November 2022, serving 21 youth in grades 6-8. As "older youth" from underrepresented backgrounds, the college interns served as near peers and mentors to the middle-school participants, helping to meet our goal of establishing culturally congruent connections. In this first year, Nia sessions prioritized our identity development and social emotional learning goals. All interns were from underrepresented racial backgrounds - 100% African American - and the youth participants represented a diverse array of backgrounds (85% African American, 5% Latino, 5% Arab, 5% White). During the fall, we also hired program coordinators for our Martin County and Wilson County Nia sites and conducted a planning site visit to Wilson County. Winter and Spring 2022: During the spring semester, we continued our weekly engagement at Jamestown Middle School from January through April, We added a seventh intern to our cohort, as well as 14 new middle school participants at Jamestown Middle School. The program coordinator of our Wilson County Nia site began weekly programming with ten middle-school aged youth, and was supported by one college social work intern. In addition to the weekly programming in Wilson County, our campus based intern team traveled to this site in order to engage youth participants in a In addition, our college interns facilitated a cross-state virtual meet and greet session with high-school aged Nia participants in Kenosha County, Wisconsin. Administratively, we successfully recruited a new cohort of eight undergraduate interns for the 2023-24 academic year (year three of the grant), including a priority on recruiting African-American males (two), at the request of our program site. In addition to the new undergraduate interns, we also retained one of our prior interns who is now enrolled in the Master of Social Work (MSW) program at A&T. As an advanced standing student, she supports Nia for 24 hours weekly for her MSW internship. We also recruited an additional MSW student from the generalist program who will support Nia for 16 hours weekly. These students will provide vital capacity building and sustainability for Nia. We continued to explore partnership opportunities in Martin County, holding regular meetings with representatives of Koinonia Christian Center who operate a 21st Century Community Learning Center and "The Max Factor Program," a program targeting Black males, in the community. We have yet to begin active programming at this site, further contextualized and explained in our section on changes/problems. Summer 2022: Our Wilson County site offered continued summer Nia programming to existing school-year participants and was successful in recruiting additional youth that we hope to continue engage during the third grant year. We also met with the Principal of our incubator site to strategize and formalize plans for the 2023-24 academic year. This meeting was particularly productive, as it resulted in a plan to include all eighth graders (approximately 360 students) in some aspects of Nia programming WISCONSIN Fall 2022:The Nia Wisconsin team continued to meet regularly (bimonthly) in order to build out regular local and semesterly statewide programming. Each county had varying levels of success with the recruitment of coordinators, collaboration with local community partners, and implementation of programming. Rock County hired and onboarded two staff members from the School District of Janesville ('student advocates') to serve as part time Nia coordinators. One of the staff members left the position due to limited capacity, the other remained through the duration of the grant year. Both supported the recruitment of students, promotion of programming, and implementation of workshops. Rock County also chartered Nia as an official 4-H Club. Rock County Nia implemented several in person programming opportunities throughout the fall.Waukesha County planned Waukesha implemented regularly weekly programming at Les Paul Middle School, collaborating with an afterschool homework club that focused on STEM education. Waukesha County also supported the implementation of a bilingual family workshop on eliminating stress and anxiety and two visits to cultural sites in Oshkosh and Milwaukee.. Kenosha put programming temporarily on pause for the fall semester and prepared to post for a Nia coordinator position. Principal Investigator Visited North Carolina A&T to meet with North Carolina Nia leadership and visit the Nia 'shadow site' at Jamestown Middle School, conducting informal interviews with six Social Work undergraduate interns who supported onsite programming. Waukesha Nia Educator invited his Nia studetns to video conference with North Carolina Nia interns, asking them questions about their undergraduate experience. Nia North Carolina team traveled to Madison, Wisconsin for the NAE4-HYDP Conference, presenting with Nia Wisconsin team to USDA/NIFA National leadership and Extension leadership from both states. Nia Wisconsin collaborated with Juntos Wisconsin to lead a virtual college student panel for African American and Latinx students. Spring 2023:Nia Wisconsin team continued to meet regularly,focusingon local and statewide programming, hiring, curriculum development, and evaluation. Wisconsin team led a culturalvisit to Chicago's DuSable Museum, which due to snow, only allowed Rock and Waukesha Counties to participate. Nia Waukesha hired a half time coordinator, a very involved parent in Waukesha North High School Black Student Union. Nia Waukesha continued to implement regular local programming and created a leadership council for students. The Nia Waukesha Coordinator and Nia Principal Investigator both attended the CYFAR Professional Development Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Nia Kenosha implemented a hiring process for a coordinator, which did not yield a suitable candidates. Nia Kenosha also implemented several large scale events and sent young people on a school district sponsored HBCU tour. Nia Rock County continued to implement monthly local programming, co-led by Nia Rock County Educator and Coordinator. Nia Rock County had challenges connecting with local partners in Beloit; two school district staff began to complete hiring process but did not submit needed human resources materials. Nia Wisconsin evaluator created a simple tool for administering CYFAR Common Measures survey across three sites, which allowed for completion through mobile devices or paper forms. Summer 2023:Nia Wisconsin team continued to meet regularly, focused on program implementation, finalizing the hiring of coordinators, and building out full youth cohorts. Nia Waukesha sent one young person to Wisconsin Extension's Summer Academy. All three Nia sites completed CYFAR Common Measures Survey and CYFAR Spider Web activities. Nia Wisconsin team planned and implemented a summer planning retreat, focused on developing a comprehensive plan for the year. Nia Waukesha educator took on a part time role to provide coordination and support of educators and coordinators across all three sites. Nia Kenosha Educator left Extension to pursue an opportunity abroad; her Area Extension Director will lead the hiring process for her replacement and a Coordinatorin Fall 2023.
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Progress 08/25/21 to 08/24/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Within the youth development landscape, a gap exists in the important area of culturally relevant, evidence-based models that integrate identity development and post-high school pathways exploration for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) youth. Juntos, designed to support students from Latinx backgrounds, is a notable exception and represents a framework that informs the proposed program model. Given the lack of existing integrative models, we designed a program that will incorporate elements of prominent educational models including GEAR UP and The Expanded Success Initiative, nationally renowned culturally-based programming such as Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc's "Go to High School, Go to College", and promising demonstration models including University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension's recent "Summer Pathways" pilot. The proposed framework of the Nia project model rests on two premises. First, youth should be encouraged to explore broadly and afforded opportunities to critically examine multiple post-high school pathways into adulthood. This is especially important for youth from low-income, BIPOC backgrounds who are often the first within their families to pursue higher education and who experience stark disparities in outcomes related to college access, persistence, and completion when compared to their white and more affluent peers (Perna & Jones, 2013). Therefore, it is imperative that BIPOC youth have access to critical information to help assist them in reaching their goals, what we call pathways literacy. However, access to information is not enough. For this reason, the second part of our program design prioritizes scaffolded, mentored learning that guides youth through developmentally appropriate decision processes and goal-oriented activity, what we call pathways action. BIPOC youth in both rural North Carolina and suburban Wisconsin lack ready access to an extensive network of community-based mentors who share a cultural background with the youth and who can serve in important relational roles related to post-high school pathways. Despite this shared challenge, each state's challenges are different. In Martin and Wilson Counties in North Carolina, low overall population density and depressed economic prospects are the main culprit, even though families from BIPOC backgrounds make up a significant percentage of each community. In contrast, there are thriving urban economies in the vicinity of Kenosha, Rock, and Waukesha Counties in Wisconsin, yet BIPOC youth and their families make up only a small fraction of these local communities, and an even smaller fraction of those thriving educationally and economically. The recent events in Kenosha after the police shooting of Jacob Blake are one indicator of the racial climate facing youth in these communities. Nia will harness the strengths of the nation's largest Historically Black College/University (HBCU) and one of the world's most prolific research universities to support BIPOC youth in both states. In addition to the myriad local activities of the Nia, youth in North Carolina and Wisconsin will all gain exposure to: HBCU culture, experience and academic opportunities; Climate, culture and resources of a large flagship state university; Adults across both states who represent multiple post-high school pathways; and Youth across sites and states with whom they can grow, learn, and develop relationships. In this reporting period, we served primarily middle school and some high school youth from BIPOC backgrounds throughout Kenosha, Waukesha, Rock, Martin, and Wilson Counties. For pilot group activities, 4-H and positive youth development county educators/agents recruited youth from local schools, community centers, libraries, and 4-H clubs. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Wisconsin PI, Waukesha County Extension Educator, RockCounty Extension Partner, and one Wisconsin Youth attended and presented at the Annual CYFAR PD event in June 2022. North Carolina Co-PIs and county-level extension partner (Wilson County, NC) attended and presented at the annual CYFAR PD event in June 2022. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?School year programming (subject to youth feedback and input): 1. Weekly pathways, social emotional learning and cultural identity workshops, mentoring activities, and experiential learning opportunities 2. Monthly inter/intrastate pen-pal project 3. Quarterly 4-H event participation 4. Bi-monthly guest speaker (virtual and in-person) 5. Quarterly field trip (one major trip per year - possibilities include cross-site field trip, weekend college campus visit, interstate college visit) 6. Annual end-of-year event a. Implementation of Family Day 7. Recruit small pilot group of ten youth per site a. Pilot work will convene in the Fall of year b. Pilot audiences have been identified to include community organizations such as YWCA, etc. 8. Recruit larger cohort of 30 youth and build youth evaluation team a. Recruitment will reconvene during the Fall of Year 2. In addition to the site coordinators assisting with recruitment, the NC team will have the assistance of 6 student interns to assist with the work of recruitment and campus level implementation. 9. Conduct focus groups with pilot youth a. The second round of focus groups will take place during the Fall and Spring of Year 2. We are tentatively planning to host 4-5 groups. 10. Refine curricular elements based on evaluation feedback. Summer programming: 1. Weekly engagement over eight weeks to complete cross-site action research project and facilitate community-building 2. Monthly field trip Administrative: 1. Quarterly evaluation and programmatic site visits 2. Quarterly youth, parent and community advisory board meetings Training and professional development: Facilitate training and professional development (ongoing throughout the program) Although professional development training did not occur during the planning year, we did provide monthly, multi-state meetings where we discussed program progress and action items for the future. We met on the second Wednesday of each month as a multi-state team,the third Thursday of each month as a NC Team, and biweekly as a Wisconsin team. Advisory: a. State and local program staff with input from youth advisory board: b. This is ongoing. The input from the youth participants will continue to guide the development of NIA. We will continue to focus on youth and adult partnerships.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
NORTH CAROLINA Fall 2021: The Nia NC team prioritized the tasks of cultivating local relationships and listening to community leaders. In Martin County, NC we conducted a site visit where we met with the County Manager Mr. Bennett and toured various community sites. We also held a virtual planning meeting with Martin County Public Schools personnel including then Superintendent Fonseca and other administrators and support personnel from our partner, South Creek Middle School. These conversations greatly informed our understanding of the local context and planning for Nia. We also conducted a site visit in Wilson County, where we toured the community, met county Extension officials and held a meeting with our partner site, White Oak Educational Enrichment Center andExecutive Director, Pastor Sherry Lucas. Winter and Spring 2022: We turned our attention to incorporating "youth voice", an essential component of the Nia philosophy, intoplanning. We conducted two virtual focus groups, one in each partner county, where we spoke with middle schoolers to begin learning about their background, interests, prior experiences in community programming and future aspirations. One focus group consisted of youth from South Creek Middle School and the second group consisted of youth from White Oak Grove Community Center. We will convene these youth regularly as a permanent advisory mechanism for the planning, implementation and evaluation of Nia.Weare working with local partners to identify members for Community Advisory Boards in each county. Potential Advisory Board partners include representatives affiliated with: County Government, including the local sheriff and members of the County Commissioners, representatives from the local Community College, as well as members from the faith-based community. Additional partnerships were explored with respect to pathways experiences, particularly in Martin County where "The Max Factor Program," a program targeting Black males, is also being implemented. We also began tasks related to building our Nia staff, interviewing and selecting college interns for the 2022-23 academic year and developing a position description for county level program coordinators. Late Spring and early Summer 2022: We redoubled efforts to establish and nurture local relationships due to the departure of key personnel related to the project in Martin County. These efforts have paid off as co-PI's Shannon Wiley, and Kendra Alexanderhave partnered with Lisa Smith (Interim County Extension Director) to keep the project moving forward despite the transitions of the county 4-H agent, school superintendent, and school principal within six months. During this time, our proposal to present at the annual CYFAR professional development was accepted and four members of our NC team, including one youth participant, traveled to Chicago in June where we presented on the topic "Programming For and With Youth: Including Youth Leadership and Voice in the Planning Year" alongside youth and adults from our Wisconsin partner sites. Late Summer 2022: With input obtained from middle schoolers during the spring focus groups and our "advanced youth" (college-level interns) over the course of the year, we have identified a basic operating framework for Nia called "Nia STARS" which is influenced by theories and frameworks including Experiential Learning Theory, Social Cognitive Career Theory and identity Status Theory among others. Because we are developing a new model, we expect development of Nia STARS to be iterative and informed by feedback from youth, staff, administration and other stakeholders. "STARS" is an acronym for the essential components of core Nia activities (Select, Think, Apply, Reflect, and Share). Curricular topics for the first iteration of Nia are as follows: Modules and Weekly Instructional Focus Module 1: Nia Basics and Self-Inventory Module 2: World of Work Introduction to the Nia Project Culture of Work Establishing Community and Setting Community Agreements Module 3: College Life Module 4: Skilled Trades Hierarchy of Degree Options,Apprenticeship Settings, Trade Schools/Technical Schools Cost/Financial Aid Cost/Financial Aid Disciplines We are also evaluating material from existing model programs for possible adaptation in the Nia Project. These include 4-H products: Youth Aspirations: Imagining and Navigating Futures in Higher Education, True Leaders: Culture, Power & Justice and Build Your Future. We have identified strong candidates to fill the program coordinator position in both counties and are working to complete the hiring process. Due to a delay in hiring, the two staff members will come on board during year two. As we work to fill these positions, we have consistently met as a core leadership (PIs and other designated leads) team both intra-state and across state teams. We also held monthly, multi-state meetings where we discussed program progress and action items for the future. In addition, we met on the second Wednesday of each month as a multi-state team and the third Thursday of each month as a North Carolina Team. WISCONSIN Fall 2021:The Nia Wisconsin team beganto build relationships with partner organizations written into the grant. In collaboration with North Carolina, Wisconsin drafted a two page overview of the Nia Project along with an introductory cover letter and partner survey. The Wisconsin scheduled a series of biweekly planning and update meetings, two state monthly meetings, and a meeting that included partner organizations every three months. Educatorsdrafted half time support position descriptions based on the needs of each county andpartners. Educatorsworked closely with partners to determine sites forten student pilot groups in each county. Determinations were made in each county ongrade level, involvement in other community programming, setting (library, afterschool program, community site, school), multi site or single site. Finally, Wisconsin team developed a press release that went out in each county and statewide. Spring 2022:Educators drafted position descriptions forsupport staff . Wisconsin team planned and implemented a one day visit to Sherman Phoenix, a small business incubator in Milwaukee that primarily supports African American entrepreneurs. 15 youth and ten adults across three counties participated. Youth toured Sherman Phoenix and listened tocommunity organizers and entrepreneurs. Youth participated in a series of focus group activitiesto inform future programming. Educators collaboratively worked with Wisconsin State 4-H staff to determinefeasibility of chartering 4-H Clubs, which will likely occur in the second year of the grant.County educators began to meet regularly with partner organizations to plan for ongoing summer programming. Summer 2022:Wisconsin and North Carolina Nia teams presented at the 2022 CYFAR Conference. One young person from each state joined North Carolina and Wisconsin PIs in planning and executing the presentation. The Kenosha County Nia team partnered with the Kenosha Public Library to host late Spring and Summer ongoing programming for approximately 10 youth. The Rock CountyExtension Educator hired two existing school based student support staff to provide program support for Nia.. The Kenosha County Extension Educator finalized a position description for the Kenosha support staff position and will recruit and hire in the fall. Wisconsin Extension hosted SPARKS Days, twoimmersive one-day experienceson campus experience at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. 20 youth from Rock and Kenosha Counties participated in the Milwaukee SPARKS Day. Waukesha County Nia initially intended to partner with AVID classes and Waukesha North and Waukesha South High Schools, but due to the low number of BIPOC youth in the AVID Program, decided to partner with student organizations such as Black Student Union at each site.
Publications
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