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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEnvelopes of Safety Report - School Year 2017-2018The Motivational WEEdge Envelopes of Safety Report — 04.18.2018 Overview: Our Organization, The Motivational Edge was able to successfully provide services for youth at seven Miami -Dade County Public Schools. During the launch of the Envelopes of Safety initiative, our organization experienced major push back from various Elementary Schools who were unaware they were recipients of the program. Most Elementary Schools viewed the no -cost, after school program as direct competition with their paid after school options. In Allapattah alone, we were unable to launch in several Elementary Schools due to extended day concerns, scheduling and administrative concerns. Therefore, to compensate, we extended programming in each school from the agreed upon 9 weeks to a minimum of 16 weeks. As a result, our Teaching Artists were able to work with youth longer, engage them with various projects and provide a safe outlet after-school for no -cost to their families. Through a pre- assessment, we determined the needs of each student, which in turn allowed our Teaching Artists to focus on the best approach for each child, promoting growth and success. Envelopes of Safety: Life Skills - Area of Focus ■Social Relationships Communications ■ Academic and Arts ■ Self Care and Daily Living Activities Envelopes of Safety: Programming Provided ■ Urban Arts Expression ■ The Art of Creative Writing and Lyrical Expression Sports and Wellness To date, our organization has served over 150 youth for the 2017-2018 School Year. For Media, please refer to links provided in email. It's important to note that not all schools granted media release waivers for youth. Therefore, not all media is sharable. Our organization provided the Art of Creative Writing and Lyrical Expression, Urban Arts Expression, the Sports & Wellness Initiative, along with mentoring and life skill development to these students. Our Organization utilizes a 1:8 teacher -student ratio. The number can fluctuate with support staff. Our 1:8 ratio ensures youth are provided more individual attention, Envelopes of Safety - Number of Youth Served Paul L. Dunbar K-8 Center Citrus Grove Elementary School Frances Tucker Elementary School Eneida M. Hartner Elementary School Henry Flagler Elementary School Silverbluff Elementary School Southside Elementary School 10 15 20 25 30 eSports and Wellness O Lyrical Expression/Urban Arts Southside Elementary School Type of Programming: Urban Arts Expression Synopsis: Beginning Post -Hurricane Irma, Southside Elementary was our first EOS launch. Students engaged in Urban Arts Expression, culminating in a final activity where youth practiced drawing their favorite cartoon/anime/movie characters and put them on a canvas. Youth were given a platform to explain their characters, explain different personality traits of the character and how they could relate. Silverbluff Elementary School Type of Programming: The Art of Creative Writing and Lyrical Expression Synopsis: Youth at Silverbluff Elementary School engaged in our Art of Creative Writing and Lyrical Expression program. Through the course of 16 weeks, youth were introduced to various creative platforms of expression through writing and musical components. Youth engaged in podcast activities, filmed a music video for an original song they wrote/recorded and performed at the Winter Concert Showcase. Henry Flagler Elementary School Type of Programming: The Art of Creative Writing and Lyrical Expression Synopsis: Our most west location in the City of Miami, youth here engaged in our Art of Creative Writing and Lyrical Expression program. Youth here were identified as lacking self-confidence and communication skills. Our Teaching Artists have worked extensively to improve self-confidence and communication skills through a variety of small activities and presentation challenges. Eneida M. Hartner Elementary School Type of Programming: Urban Arts Expression, Sports and Wellness Synopsis: At Eneida Hartner Elementary, youth have engaged in our Urban Arts program using relevant media to teach life skills. Over 20% of this school's youth are homeless and rely on an afterschool program to keep them safe and engaged after hours. Over the course of 16 weeks, youth learned how to express various emotions and personality types through various art projects and techniques. At the conclusion of 16 weeks, we worked with Eneida Hartner administration to successfully launch our Sports & Wellness Initiative. Headed by two coaches, one a former University of Miami Power Forward and current FRC Case Manager, and the other an Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran, we have been able to provide youth with fun, engaging sports/wellness activities. Several Former and Current Football Players (Larry Johnson, Bryant McKinnie and Jordan Lucas) also acted as guest coaches, dishing out some of the practices that made themselves legends! "The Motivational Edge has provided consistent, transformational After -School Programming since Early December. The Motivational Edge brought both an Urban Arts program and the Sports & Wellness Initiative to a large group of kids. With Urban Arts, our kids found ways to express themselves when words couldn't. This helped reduce conflict amongst peers and gave the kids pieces of work they could proudly display to others. The Sports & Wellness Initiative gives our kids consistent physical activity along with wellness education so the kids learn how to sustain healthier lifestyles beyond school walls. They also hosted former and current NFL players during this year through the initiative which inspired kids to become more involved, faithful to wellness practices. " Emily Gamboa, After-school Program Manager Frances Tucker Elementary School Type of Programming: The Art of Creative Writing and Lyrical Expression Synopsis: This program runs as a part of a Saturday initiative that focused on giving youth additional academic support in preparation of upcoming FSA testing. Our Teaching Artists utilized various lyrical activities to improve writing/grammar while instilling confidence by providing youth with opportunities to record pieces they wrote. Citrus Grove Elementary School Type of Programming: Urban Arts Expression Synopsis: Located right by Marlins Park, Citrus Grove sought different after-school programming to engage youth and motivate them. We began providing Urban Arts Expression at this school and focused on the youth's social relationships with each other. Urban Art Activities were designed to incorporate all skill levels and give youth opportunities to present their pieces of work. Paul Dunbar K-8 Center Type of Programming: The Art of Creative Writing and Lyrical Expression Synopsis: This site features a unique duo of our in-house Clinical Therapist/Spoken Word Artist and one of our percussion based Teaching Artists. After assessing a need in Communication, our team began incorporating activities focusing on sentence structure, expanding vocabulary while also incorporating the fundamentals of audio recording. What does the future hold? Our organization is actively exploring ways to continue engaging the youth at these Elementary Schools. The growth and success stories of the youth we have impacted at these schools has not only shown the value in the programming, but also the need for these quality services to those residents throughout Miami - Dade. Site administrators at each school have stated this, and are seeking to expand services to even more youth at their sites. This upcoming summer, we will be launching a nearly 20,000 sq. ft. state of the art facility in Allapattah to support the community. We hope to potentially engage youth and families not only at the EOS schools, but also at our campus.