I am attaching information from Bob Rainville, Sunrise Rotary, about a program called Everyday Leadership...a leadership program for 5-6th graders at some local Title 1 schools. I volunteered a few years ago to help facilitate a day of this program and found it engaging, meaningful, and based on the attachment, the program is having notable success.
Bob will be presenting the program March 13th, 7-8 AM at his Sunrise Rotary club, which meets at the Riverside Hotel.
I would like to invite any interested Boise Metro Rotary members to attend as well so we can learn more about the program. Perhaps if it's viable, our club could entertain the support of it?
EVERYDAY LEADERSHIP BRIEFING PAPER
Objective
Everyday Leadership is a collaborative effort created to provide low-income 5th and 6th grade youth with the skills and confidence they need to graduate from high school and attain post-high school educations.
Importance
Students who fail to graduate from high school or achieve post-high school training are frequently unprepared for the workplace and especially vulnerable to negative influences. They become a breeding ground for the social and economic issues being experienced in Treasure Valley communities A Northeastern University study found that high school dropouts comprise over 80 percent of the incarcerated population. Because of their low earning potential, they frequently become dependent on public resources, costing taxpayers $292,000 over the course of their lives (May 30, 2014).
The problem in Idaho is especially significant. Idaho’s high school graduation rate rests at 79.7%, lower than all but ten states (Stebbins and Frohlich, 2018. 24/7 Wall Street). Currently only 42% of Idaho’s workforce (ages 25 to 34) has obtained post-high school certificates or degrees (Idaho Statesman, April 9, 2017).
Everyday Leadership targets fifth and sixth grade students because these youth are at a “gateway” where students with low self-esteem and poor academics are nineteen times more likely to drop out of school as their peers (United Way of Treasure Valley, 2011 Assessment). Low-income youth are especially at risk. With forty to sixty percent of Treasure Valley students (dependent on school district) coming from low-income families, the long-term significance of this issue is too big to ignore.
Collaborators
- Title I Schools (Currently Taft, Grace Jordan, Jefferson , and Garfield Elementary Schools, Whitney will be added in the 2018/19 school year)
- The Treasure Valley YMCA
- Parents
- Rotary International (Currently the Rotary Club of Boise Sunrise)
- The Boise School District
Everyday Leadership Activities - Thirteen bi-weekly, after-school sessions scheduled throughout the school year. Topics include life skills: leadership, teamwork, communication, cooperation, conflict resolution, decision making.
- Community service projects.
- A three-day leadership retreat at the YMCA’s Horse Thief Camp.
Outcomes
- 2013/14 and 2014/15 school years (20 to 25 students attending Grace Jordan). Principal, parents, and instructors reported positive changes in participants’ academic performance and personal behaviors. They positively influenced the behaviors of other students.
- 2015/2016 school year (81 students attending Grace Jordan, Jefferson and Garfield). School attendance increased for 60% of the students. Grades improved for 54%. Educators and parents report nearly all of the youth were adopting leadership skills.
- 2016/17 school year. (76 students attending Grace Jordan, Jefferson and Garfield). Grades improved for 64% of the students. The number of students with GPA's less than 2.5 dropped to zero. The number of participants involved in behavioral issues dropped from 20 to 13.
- 2017/18 school year. (108 students attending Grace Jordan, Jefferson, Garfield, and Taft). Observations to date are encouraging but all monitoring results will not be available until the end of the school year.
Program Costs
Annual costs are $6,940 per school, plus each school contributes $1,300.
What We Are Hearing
“All those who joined Everyday Leadership have grown, and the benefit of this program cannot be overstated”. Joan Bigelow, Principal, Jefferson Elementary School
“The Everyday Leader program has been phenomenal. It offers our students the opportunity to experience leadership in various ways. Through guest speakers, volunteerism, and classroom learning experiences, this program allows our students to not only be leaders at school but leaders in life as well”. Jason Hutchison, Principal, Grace Jordan Elementary School
“The purpose of this letter is to express my belief in the Everyday Leadership program and its effectiveness on, specifically but not limited to, our at-risk youth. In my experience, which is shared by many of my colleagues, the Everyday Leadership is a vital part in empowering marginalized children”. Joshua D. Brandt, Case Manager, Brighter Future Health, Inc.
