Archive for May, 2012


Growing Up Fast

Filed Under: Families by Briana Kerensky — Leave a comment
May 31, 2012

CDC logoAs teenagers grow into adults, they learn how to become independent and take care of themselves. But some teenagers are tasked with not only learning how to take care of themselves, but a baby as well.

According to a report published in April of this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are nine times as many teen mothers in the United States than in other developed nations. Between 2009 and 2010, there were about 34 births per 1,000 young women between the ages of 15 and 19.

Getting good grades while taking care of an infant can be tough. And if the parent is holding down a job as well, it can feel downright impossible. According to the CDC’s report, only 50 percent of teenage mothers will receive their high school diploma by age 22. Studies by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy show that only two percent of young mothers obtain a college degree by age 30.

When a young parent is unable to graduate, chances are she and her children will fall into an abysmal cycle of poverty. Most jobs that pay a living wage require a high school diploma. Parents without a diploma find it difficult to provide for their children, and have to make big sacrifices to stay afloat financially. This could mean anything from not being able to afford recreational activities for their children to not having a safe place to call home.

Across our network, Communities In Schools affiliates give young parents everything they and their children need – not the least of which is hope. When 16-year-old Ashlin found herself without the financial resources to care for her baby, Communities In Schools of South Carolina Site Coordinator Kit Fox was able to get her diapers, food and even toys. He also made sure the young woman’s emotional needs were met by providing supportive guidance on topics such as goal setting, anger management and conflict resolution. Communities In Schools of Philadelphia provided Rasheedah Phillips with counseling when she had her daughter at age 14. They also gave Rasheedah the tools she needed to graduate, including a career training program geared towards teen parents. Today, Rasheedah is a successful lawyer.

Communities In Schools is also dedicated to preventing teen pregnancy. In Austin, Communities In Schools of Central Texas works with community partners to lead a group called “Girls’ Healthy Choices.” The group meets on a regular basis to help young women navigate growing up and making the right choices in life. Many other prevention programs exist throughout the Communities In Schools network.

One of the most effective ways to break the cycle of poverty is to keep young parents from dropping out of high school. It’s a difficult path to follow, but with the care and support Communities In Schools offers, teen parents can attain a high school diploma and even pursue post-secondary education. And they can create bright futures for their children.

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment

Building the Future

Filed Under: Programs by Tracey Savell Reavis — Leave a comment
May 29, 2012
Shop class

Shop class at a high school from Communities In Schools of Chesterfield, Va.

The mission of Communities In Schools is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. While we celebrate every high school graduation that our work makes possible, we don’t lose sight of the path that students can take once they graduate. Our site coordinators provide students with career counseling and opportunities to participate in job shadowing and career fairs. They also connect students with mentors. Site coordinators listen to students to learn their concerns and their dreams, and help them play to their strengths in deciding the path they choose to take.

One of the paths open to students is vocational training. Having a vocational career means students learn a specific set of hands-on skills, such as plumbing, construction or electric repair. Communities In Schools initiatives that help answer the question, ‘Is a trade for me?,’ range from high school shop classes that introduce students to manual craftsmanship and machine safety, to culinary courses that explore food preparation and nutrition, and horticulture classes that offer lessons in fruit, vegetable and plant cultivation. Such programs exist in elementary and middle schools as well.

And the benefits to students who learn how to “make” something include having a better understanding of math and science, learning the value of working on a project from start to finish, and being able to explore their strengths and passions.

There is also an economic benefit to vocational training. A study from the Manpower Group reported that the hardest jobs to fill in 2011 were those in skilled trades, and a 2011 Skills Gap Report by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute stated that 83 percent of the companies surveyed reported a moderate or severe shortage of skilled production workers.

Per the report, “Shortages in skilled production jobs – machinists, operators, craft workers, distributors, technicians and more – are taking their toll on manufacturers’ ability to expand operations, drive innovation and improve productivity.”

Articles abound stating that in our current economy, job vacancies are largely unfilled because we don’t have skilled workers to fill them. And many more positions will open due to the retirement of our country’s older workers. As these articles point out, our economy could use an influx of trade workers – specialists who can both construct and repair. High school graduates, prepared for manufacturing careers, could help boost our economy down the road.

An added benefit to learning a trade is that the skill allows the individual the flexibility of working for a company or as a self-employed contractor. Introducing the entrepreneurial spirit to youth is also a way to fuel the small businesses that help drive our economy.

In addition, today’s vocational training is powered by technology, yet another useful skill. You’d be hard pressed in any manufacturing program or mechanics course to perform a job without the latest technical skills.
Making students aware of all the options available to them for their future education and career has been and will continue to be a consideration of site coordinators at Communities In Schools. A hammer and nail can’t fix our nation’s economic problems. But introducing the option to students to learn how to use those tools – as well as the latest technology – en route to becoming a skilled technician, could provide one solution.

Tags: , , ,
Comment

What We’re Reading

Filed Under: Race Equity, Research, What We're Reading by Briana Kerensky — Leave a comment
May 25, 2012
Truck Farm Chicago's truck

Truck Farm Chicago is a traveling garden; it drives across the city to teach children and families about the value of healthy food. Photo courtesy Food Truck Chicago.

New York Times: A recent New York Times analysis revealed that while the New York City public school system initially appears racially diverse, in reality the schools are highly segregated. About 650 of the nearly 1,700 schools in the system have populations that are 70 percent a single race. This causes many students to live in what the author of the article calls a “hermetic reality;” studies have shown that not giving students the opportunity to learn with children of other races and cultures eventually erodes their academic progress and leaves them unprepared for the diversity of life outside the classroom. While the article offers little in the way of solutions to this problem, we all must do more to make sure children are exposed to a wide variety of cultures and races. Not only so that they are better prepared to compete in the global market, but also to open their minds to the wide world of opportunities around them.

Chronicle of Philanthropy: This month, Indiana University handed out the United States’ first bachelor’s degrees in philanthropic studies. According to Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy, the philanthropic studies degree is a liberal arts program designed to produce future nonprofit leaders who are not only well-versed in the day-to-day operations of nonprofit management, but also comfortable with weighing the philosophical questions they may encounter. Communities In Schools always makes sure students receiving our services know about the value of philanthropy and giving back. In fact, giving back to peers and community is one of our Five Basics. It’s wonderful to see a college major dedicated to the subject!

GOOD: Nonprofit organization Truck Farm Chicago is taking the term “food truck” quite seriously. A Ford truck with a small garden in the truck bed, Truck Farm Chicago drives back and forth across the city to teach children and their families about the environment and healthy eating. In a city where childhood obesity exceeds the national average, this is an extremely important lesson to impart. Communities In Schools works hard to make sure children understand the value of healthy eating as well. Our affiliates work with local organizations such as food banks to provide cooking classes so that children know how to make their own healthy meals. We also have community gardens across the nation, giving students and their families access to a constant supply of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Tags: , , , ,
Comment

Site Coordinator Snapshots: Instilling a Love of Learning

Filed Under: Site Coordinator Snapshots, Site Coordinators by Briana Kerensky — 1 Comment
May 24, 2012

Site Coordinator Donna Wiseman.

As a teacher at North Rowan Elementary in Rowan County, N.C., for 31 years, Donna Wiseman absolutely loved her job. But her numerous duties as a teacher often left her without the time to give individual students the help they needed with problems that occurred outside of the classroom. So when Wiseman retired from academia seven years ago, she become a Communities In Schools site coordinator, and now has a chance to help children at North Rowan Elementary School in the ways she couldn’t as a teacher.

“It was not a hard transition from teacher to site coordinator at all,” said Wiseman. “When I was teaching, I always wanted the time to nurture and care for students, and sometimes I just couldn’t do that. So when I became a site coordinator, I was able to suggest to teachers, ‘let me help you find a mentor for that child, do you need me make a home visit.’ All those things that teachers would like to do but do not have the time for, I can now help meet those needs at North Rowan Elementary.”

As a site coordinator, Wiseman still loves to instill a love of learning within children. One of the first programs she ever created was a breakfast book club for students and their parents/guardians. Once a month students are invited to come to school early to eat a healthy breakfast, listen to a story and participate in fun activities that foster reader engagement and comprehension.

All the first and second-graders at North Rowan Elementary are invited to attend, but the rule is that they have to have a parent, adult family member or another responsible adult accompany them. Having this rule in place enables children to learn alongside a positive role model. Unfortunately, some children do not have parents who can participate, due to work and other commitments. Wiseman makes sure that some of these children are not left out of the program. A number of adults, including teachers and school staff members, volunteer to be “book buddies” and attend the breakfast book club with children who would otherwise be unable to attend.

breakfast book club

North Rowan Elementary Schools' breakfast book club.

“In the first year I expected to have maybe 15 people,” Wiseman said. “We registered about 50. And once parents know about the breakfast book club, they talk it up to other parents and get them involved. Sometimes they become book buddies even after their child has finished the program.”

Donna Wiseman is a teacher through and through. As a Communities In Schools site coordinator, she gets to fulfill her passion to help children get everything they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond.

Tags: , , ,
Comment

Helping Students by Helping Parents

Filed Under: Families, Programs by Briana Kerensky — Leave a comment
May 22, 2012

“The most important thing about this program is that it builds confidence in parents and enables them to communicate with their students’ teachers, ask questions and talk to the principal."

When a student doesn’t understand a subject in class, it can feel as though the teacher is speaking a different language. But for some students served by Communities In Schools, the teacher really is speaking another language. Born outside of the United States or to parents who do not speak English as a native language, these students struggle to both stay on top of their classwork and understand the language it’s being presented in.

Communities In Schools works within the school system to make sure students receive services to help them learn English, such as tutors and after-school programs. We also reach out to parents who are not fluent in English so they know what local resources are available to their families, such as food and health care.

Across the country, Communities In Schools affiliates have bilingual site coordinators and volunteers. Communities In Schools of Lakewood, Wash., takes it to the next level and offers an ESL (English as a Second Language) program to parents at a local elementary school. About 40 percent of the students attending Tillicum Elementary come from Spanish-speaking households. By partnering with a local community college, up to 50 adults at a time have participated in the year-round ESL program. Communities In Schools also provides childcare so that parents with young children can attend the class.

“The most important thing about this program is that it builds confidence in parents and enables them to communicate with their students’ teachers, ask questions and talk to the principal,” said Leah Livingston, a Communities In Schools of Lakewood site coordinator at Tillicum Elementary. “And now that they can speak English, they can communicate with their English-speaking neighbors and participate in the community. They don’t feel culturally closed off.”

One of the things about the program that Livingston is most proud of is its ability to help families overcome major obstacles. A few years ago, a large group of Spanish-speaking families with parents in the ESL class were at risk of being evicted from their homes. Because the notices from the community were available only in English, they were unaware that their homes were violating local building regulations. More than 20 Tillicum Elementary students and their families were going to be homeless if they didn’t make the needed repairs.

“What they needed was face-to-face interaction,” Livingston said. “The parents were willing to make the changes but needed help figuring out exactly what had to be done.”

While looking for a solution to the problem, Livingston found out that a local Communities In Schools mentor was actually a code enforcement officer. She invited him to come speak to the ESL class, and he was able to explain in person the situation and help them find the resources they needed to repair their homes.

“Because of this class, these people are still living in their homes,” Livingston said. “The class has really given us an opportunity to flex the best muscles of Communities In Schools and see it function at its best.”

Learn more about how students and their families benefit from Communities In Schools of Lakewood and Pierce College’s ESL class in this fantastic video they made.

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment