Sacramento ACT convenes countywide effort to increase graduation rates
Alli Swan
Community Organizer,
Sacramento Area Congregations Together
One in four students in California drops out of high school. This staggering statistic inspired Sacramento ACT youth and adult leaders to launch a long-term, countywide effort to improve high school graduation rates. With generous support from Sierra Health Foundation, ACT held a Summit for Increasing High School Graduation Rates on March 28, bringing together 100 parents, teachers, students, community members, school district leaders and city officials to publicly pledge their commitment to work together and increase high school graduation rates in Sacramento County.
“Not having our children graduate from school is not the schools’ problem, it’s all of our problem,” said ACT community leader Crystal Xiong, a parent of five students in the Sacramento City Unified School District.
A team of ACT youth and adult leaders facilitated the event, lifting up key strategies to tackle the problem. They focused on four themes: better use of data to identify students as early as sixth grade who are at risk of dropping out; putting in place a system of early intervention for these students; building stronger relationships among the school, students and their families; and increasing student engagement at school. The leaders pointed to successful efforts they are currently piloting, and superintendents talked about efforts underway in their respective districts.
ACT youth leader Pow Vang described how important relationships are to student success: “A lot of kids ditch because they don’t feel comfortable or safe at school. They don’t have anyone in the school they can trust and talk about their problems, so they skip school and meet their friends, where they can feel comfortable to talk about their problems.”
An action plan was set in place to bring together smaller working groups of superintendents and community leaders in the coming months to better flesh out a county plan. In six months, ACT will hold a second large convening to follow up on progress made.
“This is more than an education issue. It is a social issue that could harm us for generations to come if we don’t address it,” explained Sacramento County Office of Education Superintendent David Gordon, a key partner in the effort. “Increasing graduation rates must be a priority that both our education and business communities must work on together.”
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West Sacramento youth experience the power of art
By Bradly Palmer and Yaminah Bailey
West Sacramento Youth Resource Coalition
Community, Networking, Change and Art. Three out of the four seem to go together at least, but it seems we often mistake the power of art. The beauty lying within, the mark it could leave on a community or even the world. Through networking, we, the Sactown Heroes, Master Gardeners, Riverbank Elementary School staff, Juvenile Probation and volunteers were able to join together for the betterment and change of our community.
We decided to beautify an old brick sitting area and bring new life to it. The Riverbank Elementary campus, formerly known as Golden State Middle School, has called West Sacramento home for nearly four decades and has seen its share of wear and tear. We knew we wanted to make it better, but how? We decided to put a creative spin on things and do a mosaic project. Thanks to the efforts of Master Gardener Carol Klesow, we have been able to collaborate with Sal Gavin, a local business owner who is very well known for his restaurant that is covered in beautiful mosaics that he created himself. Sal is a very talented individual. He dedicated much of his time and donated all the materials for the project. Sal continues to give time on the weekends to mentor the Sactown Heroes and teach the art of mosaic.
Over the past month, our members have gotten together for three work days to contribute our time and efforts to adding life in this area of the campus. This area was maybe one of the most unappealing and oldest areas of campus, but after this process it will be full of life. Today we are at the halfway mark and continue to make progress.
Another area of our project is the Sunflower Garden, which is almost in bloom. We also are replanting in flowerbeds and new decorative pots to accent the school’s entrance. It was discussed early on that students wanted more places to sit. So, Northern California Construction Training, Inc., which works with youth through Yolo County Probation, will be installing six new benches into the cemented walkway at the front of the school. This will create a whole new sitting area for the students to enjoy. This goes to show that little thing you call art is Community, Network, Change, Passion, Beauty and Gold.
The West Sacramento Youth Resource Coalition is a REACH Community Action Coalition.
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Young filmmakers premiere their work on the big screen
After eight months of planning meetings, filming in their communities and long hours in the editing lab, members of the REACH Youth Media Project celebrated the premiere of their four youth-led documentaries at the Guild Theater on May 22.
The filmmakers, their adult allies and guests walked down the red carpet and into the historic theater for the evening film premiere. Members of each filmmaking team went onstage to introduce their videos, which addressed topics of interest to the youth and their communities. The teams represented four REACH Community Action coalitions, and included two to five youth and at least one adult ally. Following are the coalitions and their documentary titles:
Galt Area Youth Coalition
Small City, Big Problem: What Would You Do About It?
Sacramento ACT Meadowview Partnership
A Lack of Role Models In Our Community
South Sacramento Coalition for Future Leaders
Education Depletion: Rising Up and Taking Action
Woodland Coalition for Youth in partnership with KOLORS
Open Your Eyes: Teen Pregnancy
In the next phase of the project, the coalitions will work locally to foster community dialogue and help bring visibility to these issues.
Learn more about this exciting project and watch the documentaries on the REACH Web site.
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Great Valley Center report looks at transportation challenges, opportunities in connecting youth to the outdoors
In an increasingly electronic and high-tech society, the simple pleasures found in nature are often lost in the younger generation. Schools and youth-serving organizations are finding it hard to provide these experiences, most frequently due to issues of transportation. With this in mind, the Great Valley Center, the Stewardship Council and PG&E commissioned a report to assess the common problems of cost, administration and availability associated with the logistics of connecting youth to outdoor experiences, and then propose alternatives to traditional transportation methods. The report, Transportation Challenges & Opportunities: Connecting young people to the great outdoors, is available on the Great Valley Center Web site.
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Nominate a Sacramento youth of the month!
Christina DeMoss-Giffin
Youth Resource Coordinator,
City of Sacramento Office of Youth Development
The City of Sacramento, in partnership with Fox40 News, is accepting nominations for the July Youth of the Month. The Youth of the Month Program is designed to highlight good deeds and accomplishments of youth who reside or attend school in the city of Sacramento. Community leaders, students, parents, schools and youth service providers are encouraged to nominate youth who have significantly contributed to the betterment of our community.
The Youth of the Month award will be presented at a Sacramento City Council meeting and a story about why this youth was selected will be featured on Fox40 News. The Youth of the Month will receive a plaque, a $200 award and be invited to attend an annual dinner of all awardees with invited members of the City Council.
The Youth of the Month Program is designed not only to reward outstanding young people, but also to provide an incentive for young people to strive for high levels of achievement. This program will encourage members of the community to look at all of the positive things youth are doing in the community.
Please visit the City of Sacramento Web site to learn more and nominate a youth.
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Opportunities
The California Youth Advocacy Network has an opening for a full-time Youth Program Coordinator. This person will work with youth leaders from throughout California to develop and implement tobacco education and prevention programs, and provide technical assistance and training to local and state tobacco control organizations to increase youth involvement. Applications are due by 5 p.m. on May 29. Download the job description (PDF) for more information and application instructions.
The City of Sacramento’s Office of Youth Development and the Neighborhood Services Department will host a Youth Empowerment Summit on June 13 at the Sacramento Convention Center. Youth, parents, youth service providers and community-based organizations are welcome to attend this free event. Download the Summit flyer (PDF) for details.
Applications for the Stewardship Council’s Catalyst and Impact Grants Round 2 are due June 19. The Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council invites Northern and Central California nonprofit organizations to apply for grants focused on getting youth outside. As part of its Youth Investment Program, the Stewardship Council will grant between $2 million and $2.5 million to parks and programs that connect underserved youth (ages 13 to 18) to the outdoors. Get more information on the Stewardship Council Web site.
Sacramento Youth Leadership Program Camp 2009 will be held at Sierra Health Foundation’s Grizzly Creek Ranch Aug. 20-23. SYLP is a camp for youth who are interested in leadership and want to create change in their community. The Youth Development Network is accepting applications from teams of two to four students who are connected by a school, church or organization. Applications are due by May 31. Download the SYLP 2009 flyer (PDF).
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E-mail story ideas, funding opportunities, resources and calendar items to us at REACH.
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