Greetings!
As staff plans for the coming year, they reflect on the past. What worked? What didn't? And as always, we find that youth development principles prove their value.
Here are a few success stories the staff has shared recently.
- Editor
|
High School, Here We Come
|
  When it comes to anxiety-provoking events, starting high school can rank right up there with getting married or being a contestant on American Idol. This summer, about thirty of the new freshmen at the CSI High School for International Studies got a head start at overcoming that anxiety by attending the three-week Freshman Academy, co-sponsored with NYCID. Showing up is infinitely easier when you already have friends, know where you are going, and what's expected of you.
How does this work?
Mark Magrone's mother, Michelle, wasn't sure how leadership and teamwork fit with drumming circles and scavenger hunts, but after spending the day last week when parents were invited, she said, "I see how successfully it was done. And, Mark worked on an amazing PowerPoint presentation about himself, having never used PowerPoint before. It was three weeks he really enjoyed."
Teamwork wins
When asked what these three weeks gave her, Victoria Manzo replied, "Teamwork was the most important thing I learned -- that even though a leader comes up with an idea, that idea can change and grow when others on the team add to it." The students have been planning Freshman Spirit Day, designed to help their other new classmates with their transition.
The PowerPoint presentation each student prepared shared 25 things about themselves in pictures, text, music.... NYCID coordinator, John Tyrcha, says student creativity was impressive, but he was especially delighted that the presentations showed the Academy was a success -- the students had embraced each other and the school.
Wouldn't it be great if every high school could offer a Freshman Academy?
-- John Tyrcha, Freshman Academy and McKee After 3
|
Perseverance
Grandmother's Dream
|
You never know what will motivate a student. In June, the Olympus Academy family completed our first school year, graduating six students who were failing at their prior schools. For one student, Janay, it was a bittersweet graduation -- one she'll always treasure despite it coming a month too late.
The ChallengeIt was a rocky road. Her mother's drug abuse had landed Janay and her two brothers with her grandmother. Then, Janay made a number of bad choices -- cutting classes and hanging out. She fell way behind. Her future was beginning to look like her mother's past. But then her grandmother got sick -- cancer. The prognosis was not good.
Her grandmother's greatest disappointment was that Janay's mother hadn't graduated from high school; her cherished dream was to see Janay graduate and go on to college. Janay suddenly found that she wanted to make that dream real, and she didn't have much time to do it in.
The PlanHer guidance counselor at Abraham Lincoln High School told her about our new school -- Olympus Academy. She enrolled, met her advocate, Jessie Masterson, and started a race to the finish. While her grandmother's health deteriorated, Janay mastered her regular classes and completed four independent studies to make up lost credits. She cared for her two brothers, including missing class if one was sick, while religiously completing her schoolwork. She was determined to get her degree before her grandmother died.
Reality Strikes One month before she graduated, Janay's grandmother passed away. Janay, of course, took it really hard. June was the toughest of months, but with Jessie's support and the teachers and staff cheering her on, she graduated with Olympus Academy's first class on June 25th. She will start college in Atlanta, Georgia in spring 2010.
Janay stood before the graduation audience and said, "I didn't think I would make it, and I want to dedicate the rose I was given to my grandmother who is no longer with me. She is the reason I am graduating and will be attending college."
Janay's perseverance and hard work made June, 2009, a time she will cherish for the rest of her life. Her accomplishment was tempered with sorrow, but she learned she had the strength and the ability to succeed -- a lesson that will last a lifetime.
Our job at Olympus Academy is to help students like Janay find the trigger that will motivate them, and provide the support they need to overcome a history of failure. Janay's advocate celebrated her success and shared her tears.-- Dina Molina, Olympus Academy
|
Sometimes the shell is the problem
Finding the Nutcracker...
|
Timothy Flemm just might have been one of the toughest nuts we've ever cracked at the Staten Island Young Adult Borough Center. He was already 18 and missing many necessary credits when he arrived at the YABC in 2007, almost two years ago.
And, no one could reach him.
Year One
Tim was more focused on working than he was on school; he would work into the late hours of the night and arrive late for class, even though classes don't start until 4:00 p.m.
And, Timothy didn't trust anyone, especially if they offered support. Jennifer D'Antoni, his advocate, chipped away at his shell, recognizing his accomplishments; expecting more; always there pointing out his choices. He resisted every step of the way.
Year Two
This year things changed for Timothy. In the fall, our job developer, James Orlando, secured him an internship at The Staaten catering hall. Tim started arriving early to talk with Jen about his internship and how he was doing in class. His mistrust of Jennifer crumbled; together they put together a program that would enable him to graduate in June.
We were very proud when we had an opportunity to see him in action at the Staaten at a Rotary meeting this spring. He was polished, courteous, and clearly a valued member of the Staaten team.
The Recipe for Success
We have found that consistent support, coupled with the right internship, proves to be a great formula for success for YABC students. It doesn't happen in one term. Jen worked hard to gain Tim's trust, and Tim proved to be the kind of student who needed time to adjust to the personal attention he was getting from her. When the light bulb went on, though, there was no stopping him.
Some students take longer than others. Some leave and then come back to us. Tim passed all his classes and completed the required credits for graduation. This June, at 20 years old, he proudly earned his diploma. We're proud, too.
-- Michael DeVito, SI YABC
|
| Summer Headlines |
 NYCID's Summer Drama Camp at PS 50 Kids learn so much thru drama -- team work, creativity, self-confidence. And, you just can't beat putting on a play for hard work and fun.
On August 5th, our drama teacher, Tracy Rosenberg, and our dance instructor, Lee Tanenbaum, coached the kids in a wonderful production of the Wizard of Oz. You can see photos of the crew creating the amazing sets here.
******
 The 26th National Night Out took place across the country on August 4th. The NY Center joined the SI Police precincts, our elected officials, and many community agencies at Midland Beach.
What used to be an evening of crime prevention has evolved into a celebration of community and a time to share information about community resources. Thanks to staff Mary Castellana and daughter Gabrielle, Mike Baver, Gary Carsel, Robert Busan, and brand new member of our mediation staff, David Ramsey.
******
Project Linus: Earlier this spring we reported that students in our after school program at Curtis
have been making blankets for children who are seriously ill,
traumatized, or otherwise in need. Led by Khaleda Akter and Jillian Christy, they
made hundreds of blankets. This summer they delivered additional blankets to Project Hospitality to comfort the homeless children living in their shelter.
******
Alan E. Gross, Ph.D., wrote in response to our May issue, Do You Ask for Help When You Need It?"I spent approximately, 20 years working on this
question, which was more like WHY don't people ask for help when they need it?
"While specific
population base rates of those in need of assistance with disputes is
not known, there is considerable research and theorizing demonstrating
that people in need of help are often inhibited from seeking help.
"One of the major psychological reasons that people fail to ask for help
that they need is that, at least in North American culture, supplicants
often perceive themselves as weak or incompetent when they must
initiate a request. Moreover potential help-seekers sometimes believe
that others who might observe them requesting help will characterize
them as inadequate. An application of this research to increase
post-disaster assistance for conflict amelioration and other needs is
to contact victims with outreach programs so that they and others will
only have to respond to offers rather than initiate a help contact
themselves."
Dr. Gross cites a
2007 Cardozo Law Journal article, footnote 19 and See, e.g., Alan E. Gross & Peg McMullen, Models of the Help-Seeking Process, in NEW DIRECTIONS IN HELPING BEHAVIOR, Vol. 2 HELP-SEEKING (B.M. DePaulo, A. Nadler, & J.D. Fisher, eds., Academic Press, 1983).
|
| Yes, the NY Center is Hiring
|
Do you know someone who'd like to work for the NY Center?
Program Associates
- part-time positions open working in elementary after school programs.
Candidates must have some college and experience with elementary aged
children. Salary $8-$10 per hour. Send cover letter/resume to Robert Busan
Administrative Assistant- part-time position open at Olympus Academy
in Brooklyn. Candidates must have some college
and experience with at-risk high school students. Salary $10-13 per hour.
Send cover letter and resume to Erin Neubauer-Keyes.
If you know someone interested in one of these positions, have them email their resume to Candace Gonzalez.
|
|
|
Please help us expand our circle of friends. Use the "Forward email" link below to send this newsletter to someone you think would be interested. Your friend's address is protected. We don't keep it and won't use or sell it. |
|
|
| ON MY MIND
Dom's Wanderings |
 |
Last week at our summer drama camp's performance of the Wizard of Oz, I talked with a mother who had one child in the Wizard and another at our Freshman Academy.
Her son, she said, was a loner and she'd been concerned about his transition to high school. To her delight, the Freshman Academy had worked wonders for him. He loved it, and now has ready-made friends when school starts.
That conversation got me thinking.
This has been a year of new youth programs for us -- Olympus Academy in Canarsie, summer camps, more elementary after-school programs, and expansion of our work/GED program for high school drop-outs. The staff always makes them work with relative ease. They connect with the kids, provide the support they need, and success follows.
Oh, if it were only that simple. Of course, it's not. But, the challenges are usually organizational, not program related.
Two things contribute to our success -- building on solid youth development principles and teaching communication and conflict resolution skills.
Here are four of the principles we live by:
- Youth as decision makers - the more involved kids can be in planning, organizing, and running their activities, the more they learn; the more responsible and confident they become; and the more interest they have in their own futures.
- Work as a developmental tool - whether it's volunteer work in service learning, internships, or summer jobs, kids want and need a dose of the real world, doing valuable work.
- Adult support and guidance - parents aren't enough. Children, and especially adolescents, benefit from having a variety of adults in their lives.
- Extra support through transitions - Although we all talk about transitions, as a community we don't handle them as well as we could.
Whether the transition is positive, like high school graduation, or negative, like parents separating, or the death of a close relative, kids need individual support, an advocate or mentor who can see them through the period of change.
To those principles, our staff adds the ability to model and teach communication skills and conflict resolution tools.
It's a good recipe. It's the foundation for all our youth programs, old and new, for youngsters and adolescents. It works most of the time.
Enjoy summer's end.
Dom
PS - Advantage grant?
|
Help Us
Strengthen
Our Community |
|
| Our Calendar |
ACT Classes Helping separating or divorcing parents understand how to help their children cope with the changes. Tuesday evenings
August 11 & 18
5:30-8:30 orSaturday, Sept. 2310 am - 4:30 pm or Wednesday mornings, Oct. 14 & 21
10am -1:00pm
Spotlight on MediationFocus on Teen/Parent Mediation
Sept. date to be announced
Visit our calendar for additional events and details |
|
|
