Transcript Implementation of Service Learning Program to Help At Risk

Service Learning for At-Risk Youth
Grant Proposal
LUIS GAMINO-BUZO
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH
GRADUATE MAY,2013
Introduction

The number of students across the country who are dropping out, and becoming
disengaged from school settings is on the rise (Hammond, Linton, Smith & Drew, 2007).

At-risk youth are at greater risk for not completing school due to lack of bonding with
school, community, and family (Hammond, Linton, Smith & Drew, 2007).

These are the factors that put students at risk of not completing school (Sagawa, 2008).








Learning disabilities or Emotional disturbances
Parenthood
High-risk social behaviors
Low academic achievement
Poor attendance
Low Socioeconomic status
Aggression
Goals of Service Learning Project

Service Learning:

National and Community Services (2012) defines service learning as “a teaching and
learning strategy that integrates meaningful community services with instruction and
reflection to enrich learning experience, civic responsibility, and strengthen
communities” (para. 1).

The over arching goal is to provide students with relevant opportunities to teach important
social, academic, leadership, self-determination, and employment skills, as well as increase
their self-esteem (Billig, 2004).
Social Work Relevance
 School social workers help connect students and families to services
in the community, and they help facilitate school and family
engagements. One of the most important tasks of a school social
worker is to assist students in finding roles within the school and
community (Leyba, 2010).

There are many similarities between social work practices and service learning.
The most basic one is about helping others. This project is a great avenue for
social workers to utilize their many skill sets to help youth understand the value
of being a committed and active community member.

One of the vital aspects of service learning is to allow for reflection of the students
experience. Social workers have counseling experience to guide the students in
their reflection process.

Since this project will be involved with the community, the social worker will
utilize their knowledge of the community to ensure positive outcomes.
Cross-Cultural Relevance
 A child is arrested every 20 seconds, every 11 seconds a high school student
drops out of high school, and every minute a child is born to a teen mother
(Children's Defense Fund , 2012).
 Further more 1 in 15 teenagers ages 16 to 19 is a high school dropout
(Children's Defense Fund , 2012)
 The population of students at Casa Pacifica Non-Public School are not very
diverse, but reflects the local community because the school has students
from every school district of Ventura county (Casa Pacifica, 2012). .

Casa Pacifica Non-Public School served 70 students between May 2011 and May 2012.
 14.9% of those students were between the ages of 6 to 11
 72.72% of the student are males
 44.7% of the population are White ,and Hispanic/Latino make-up 34% of the population
Methods
 Target Population:

Students who attend Casa Pacifica Non-Public School are considered “at risk
youth.” Therefore, all of the students would be potential candidates to participate
in the service learning project. Most of the classes at this school consist of five to
seven students. For this project, the number of students expected to be recruited
would be six.
 Strategies Used to Identify and Selecting Funding Sources:


Google and Yahoo
 Key terms utilized: “service learning grants”, “at risk youth grants”, grant for at
risk youth”, and “civic engagement grants.”
 No potential funders were found
Ventura County Community Foundation Center
 The key terms utilized in the search were “service learning grants”, “at risk
youth grants”, grant for at risk youth”, and “civic engagement grants.”
 Potential funders found during this search include:




All Star Helping Kids Foundation
The Confidence Foundation
The California Wellness Foundation
The Applied Materials Foundation
Methods Cont.
 Identify the Funding Source
 The Applied Materials Foundation


Likes to invest in the areas of education, civic engagement, arts, and environmental awareness.
The majority of their investments are directed towards education (50%), and civic engagement
(25%).
 Sources Used for the Needs Assessments
 National Service Learning Clearinghouse
 The Journal of At-Risk Youth
 National Dropout Prevention Center / Network
 National Youth Leadership Council
 Project Range and Categories
 The total budget needed to implement the service learning program is $16,100 (See
Appendix A for line-item budget). This amount will be used to pay the MSW
program coordinator, and all the materials necessary for this program to be
successful.




Salaries and Benefits
Direct Program Cost
In-Kind Donations
Grant Proposal
 Program Summary and Description

The service learning program will be in the form of an elective class. In order for the
students to fully benefit from the service learning project, the elective class will be structured
as a semester long class. The elective class needs to fulfill and teach the skills that the
elective requires. The other component is to incorporate what the students are learning in
the other academic courses into the service learning projects.

students will have to incorporate the stages of service learning in order to implement their
service learning projects






Investigation
Preparation
Action
Reflection
Demonstration
Celebrations
 Population Served

Since the majority of the NPS population is mostly composed of males, it is expected to have
more male participants than females. Essentially, all middle school and high school students
that attend this NPS will have the option to participate in this program.
Grant Proposal Cont.
 Sustainability



Applied Materials Foundation has a long history of continuing the funding for similar
projects for up to two years.
The host agency has most of the needs for this program already in place.
There may be opportunities to develop outside funding for continuation of the service
learning component at Casa Pacifica Non-Public School after the initial 2-year period.
 Program Objectives

The goal for this service learning project is to provide real life learning opportunities,
increase their academic achievement, increase their leadership skills, and improve their
behavior.
 Program Evaluation

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of this project, different aspects need to be analyzed.
•
•
•
•
Student’s grades will be closely monitored
Reflection from the students through all the aspects of the project
Master Treatment Plan Goals will be closely monitored.
Any other behavior goals that student might have will be closely monitored.
Lessons Learned
 Every one has the ability to help

During the process of writing this grant, I learned that every human
being has the responsibility to help one another. It does not matter
how much people have, or where they come from. Every one can
help.
 Many lessons were learned while working on this project.
One of the most valuable lessons learned was learning
the steps needed to complete a grant process.

Having the opportunity to have learned the whole process of writing
a grant, it is probably the most valuable lesson learned. Knowing this
whole process makes for a more well-rounded social worker.
References








Applied Materials. (2012). Grant guidelines. Retrieved from
http://www.appliedmaterials.com/about/cr/community/grants
Billig, S. H. (2004). Heads, harts, hands: The research on k-12 service learning.
Retrieved from http://nylc.org/sites/nylc.org/files/files/135K12Res.pdf
Casa Pacifica. (2012). Score card. Unpublished document, Casa Pacific Non-Public
School, Camarillo, CA
Hammond, C., Linton, D., Smink, J., & Drew, S. (2007). Dropout risk factors and
exemplary programs. Retrieved from http://www.dropoutprevention.org/
sites/default/files/uploads/major_reports/DropoutRiskFactorsandExemplary
ProgramsFINAL5-16-07.pdf
Leyba, E. (2010). How school social workers integrate opportunities into multiple
elements of practice. Journal of the National Association of Social Workers,
32(1), 27-49. doi:1532-8757/10
National and Community Services. (2012). What is service learning? Retrieved
from http://www.learnandserve.gov/about/service_learning/index.asp
Sagawa, S. (2008). Summer service: A new American rite of passage. Retrieved
from http://www.servicelearning.org/topic/theory-practice/summer-of-service
.