Project YES Service Learning Program

Vital Stats

Allie V

Lafayette, CO

people helped2000
People Doing It 10

The Problem

There is a critical need for programming focused on the assets of youth in East Boulder County. The following supports the establishment of this need: • The Child Welfare League of America reports that approximately 8 million children ages 5-14 spend time unsupervised on a regular basis. In addition, the hours of 3:00pm-6:00pm on school days are the peak hours for teens to commit crimes, smoke, drink, use drugs and engage in sexual activity • The 2007 Boulder County Youth Risk Behavior Survey indicates that Hispanic youth and young people who classify themselves as “Other” within the race/ethnicity category demonstrate significantly higher rates of early initiation into risk behaviors such as drug, alcohol, and tobacco use and sexual activity compared to Caucasian youth, however, overall, all Boulder County Youth reported higher rates of early initiation into risk behaviors when compared to the state of Colorado and the nation. • The National Institute on Out of School Time (NIOST) reports that out-of-school opportunities complement environments created by schools and families and provides important “nutrients” that deter failure and promote success. • The Arts Educational Partnership reports that arts focused after school programs can increase academic achievement, decrease youth involvement in delinquent behavior and improve youth attitudes toward themselves and others. • Child Trends reports that service-learning activities are considered a “best bet” in the prevention of school drop-out and truancy. • The Search Institute and the Institute of Medicine, both, emphasize the need for a sense of belonging, involvement in the community, support from non-parent adults, and physical and psychological safety as key elements to positive youth development.

Plan of Action

The Project YES Service-Learning Program (SLP) promotes academic success and civic engagement through after-school programs focused on art and service to the community. During the 2007-2008 program-year, the SLP program provided daily, community-based programming for 396 young people ages 5-14. We anticipate a similar number of participants for the 2009-2010 program-year. Youth participants in SLP engage in reflecting on and identifying community needs and planning and implementing service-based action plans. For example, in the Fall of 2008, Project YES participants at Angevine Middle School identified a need for members of their community to become more health conscious. Using the consensus decision-making model, they chose to act upon this need by creating a solarography art piece to hang in the cafeteria of their school. The students decided to not only learn more about this issue by visiting a local recreation center and natural food market to speak with professionals, they also requested to present their project to the Lafayette City Council to initiate more discussion of their topic. Other needs Project YES students have indentified include - homelessness, racism, environmentalism, education, immigration, democracy, and censorship. Their action plans, which take the form of art and/or service, have included - clay, ceramics, written word, dance, paints, tile and graphics and/or cleaning, collecting, fundraising, reading, tutoring, marching, fixing and educating. The SLP program also provides community–wide, professional development workshops and community service events, including SeLebration: A Day of Service, which is attended by over 600 youth and adult community members. The Service-Learning Partnership results in youth action that is useful and of great benefit to the Lafayette community.

Physical and Mental Health

Sex and Relationships

Human Rights

Homelessness and Poverty

Bullying and Violence

Our Troops