Today’s youth face many risks and challenges–self-esteem, mental-health issues, bullying, drug use and more. As children get older, these risks and challenges become more prevalent, but they begin in elementary school. According to the most recent Illinois Youth Survey of middle school students in DuPage County, 18% have used substances in the past year, 7% have drunk alcohol in the past 30 days, and 38% report being bullied by another student at school during the past year.
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Today’s youth face many risks and challenges–self-esteem, mental-health issues, bullying, drug use and more. As children get older, these risks and challenges become more prevalent, but they begin in elementary school. According to the most recent Illinois Youth Survey of middle school students in DuPage County, 18% have used substances in the past year, 7% have drunk alcohol in the past 30 days, and 38% report being bullied by another student at school during the past year.
It is vital that youth have resources to combat these negative issues before they reach middle school. A piece of the solution is social and emotional learning (SEL) and a strong connection to community.
TARGET POPULATION
Our focus is preschool and elementary-age children of DuPage County. There are approximately 120,000 elementary students in 34 school districts (67% White, 14% Hispanic, 11% Asian and 5% Black).
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
What makes the Inside Out Club (IOC) program unique is that it combines social and emotional learning (SEL) with volunteerism. SEL helps people recognize and manage emotions, develop empathy for others, maintain cooperative relationships and make responsible decisions. The program:
1) provides kids and families opportunities to develop and practice character skills that translate into measurable positive outcomes
2) broadens individuals’ perspective of the community through education on social causes, and
3) empowers children and families to create change, help others, and make their community better.
Working with teachers, volunteers, parents, school administrators and partners, the Inside Out Club has positively impacted more than 5,000 students and their families.
We focus on eight important traits (acceptance, collaboration, curiosity, gratitude, self-awareness, kindness, empathy and perseverance) and six social causes (Embracing Humanity, Protecting our Planet, Meeting Basic Needs, Developing Self-Awareness and Character, Being Socially Responsible, and Supporting Troops and Veterans), which are infused into our curriculum.
Collaboration is a key piece of our success, and we partner with organizations like the YMCA, Naperville Public Library, DuPage Children’s Museum and more than 30 nonprofits highlighted in our curriculum.
In Schools: This program is in 30 elementary schools reaching 1,450+ students. It meets four times in the fall and spring for an hour after school and is run by volunteers trained by IOCD. Club lessons link the eight key character traits mentioned above with our six social causes.
For example, one lesson teaches how it might feel to have different disabilities through activities like trying to button up a shirt with rubber gloves on. We talk to the children about community organizations helping those with disabilities and that we can help too.
Results from our spring 2018 student self-assessments showed students could identify the key traits. Their drawings reflected activities from all four spring lessons (18%, 21%, 28% and 33%) with kindness and empathy being the themes most apparent. This evidence coupled with our parent survey data and anecdotal stories demonstrates our impact to the child.
Last school year, the club had a significant impact on the community, including assembling 648 care packages for Meals on Wheels.
On Weekends: We host 18-20 IOC weekend events for families with children ages 3 to 12. These events provide another opportunity for kids to practice character skills while giving back.
@Home: Designed for parents and educators of children preschool through elementary, @Home is an online database of books, videos and projects filterable by age, our eight IOC focus traits and six social causes. Thiss program has the potential to reach thousands across the country.
Through Community: Launching in 2019, this online resource will connect individuals to organizations that provide additional opportunities to practice character and volunteer skills.
EVALUATION/FOLLOW UP
We work with Dr. Rivera, Professor of Psychology at North Central College, and her students to assess the impact of our school program through parent surveys, student self-reflections and anecdotal stories. Similar metrics are used to measure the impact of the weekend program.
@Home will be measured by site visits, page views, and reviews of the books, videos and products left by participants as well as engagement through strategic partnerships.
Community impact is measured by volunteer hours, donations items created and anecdotal stories.
EVIDENCE
IOC promotes many of the developmental assets identified by the Search Institute as factors that youth need to become caring, responsible and productive adults, including service to others, and positive values such as caring for others and responsibility. Research has shown that youth with the most assets are more likely to do well in school, be civically engaged, value diversity and be less likely to have problems risky behaviors.
IOC teaches SEL, which has been shown by CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning) to promote positive development in youth. CASEL found that students with a foundation in SEL were less likely to have a clinical mental health disorder (13.5%), to be arrested (19%) and to be diagnosed with a conduct disorder (10%). And, that improvement in mental health, social skills, and academic achievement from SEL programs, continues to benefit students for months and even years to come.
CAPACITY
We are currently serving 1,450+ children and their families. Additional funding will help us reach more children and families.
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