Santa Maria Community Services
617 Steiner Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45204
Dater4Kids
Program grant support will be used for enhancing academic and life success of youth in Lower Price Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati. The Youth Development Program at Joe Williams Center won Cincy Magazine's Nonprofit of the Year Award for afterschool programs in 2022.
Program Goals:
1. Elementary aged students at Oyler school continue moving toward educational equity (promoting equity refers to providing specific resources & support to disadvantaged students to bring them up to the same opportunity level as their peers (www.learningcirclesoftware.com/resources/equity-in-education/) & raise their academic levels by the end of 2022-2023 school year.
2. LPH youth develop social & emotional competencies that are predictive of academic and non-academic success through a combination of structured group facilitation and consistent family advocacy.
The following are our expected outcomes for the program:
Short term (1-4 months):
- 50% of 30 – 36 referred students are connected to tutors/university students and are meeting regularly by end of first quarter.
- 100% (of 30-36) youth in structured social/emotional skills groups are pre-tested to determine baseline S/E skill level via Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) after 4 group sessions.
- 60% of parents (of 30-36) students are introduced to their students’ teachers by end of first quarter and develop a learning plan for students.
Intermediate (5-7 months):
- 50% (of 30-36 families’) parents/caregivers of the program’s 6th-8th grade participants meet with teachers quarterly during school year and demonstrate knowledge of students’ academic challenges and strengths and enhance their ability to provide support to students.
- 50% (of 30-36 students) increase academic skills and show at least minimal improvement in formal grades after 6 months of participation in programming.
- 80% (of 30-36) youth participants that remain in the program for at least 7 months will improve their t-score on the DESSA, verifying an increased level of Social/Emotional skill attainment.
Long-term (9 months):
- 60% (of 30-36) students demonstrate academic progress after 9 months of participation in program.
- 100% (of 30- 36 students) advance on to the next grade.
- 90% (of 30-36) students who stayed in the program for at least 9 months score greater than 6 on both the “Positive Life Choices” and “Life Skills” subscales of the Colorado Trust Inventory for Evaluating Positive Youth Development.
- 36 of 36 (100%) of the students in structured groups will be able to identify steps to conflict resolution peacefully and resist negative peer pressure after 10 sessions or 9 months.
-85% (of 30-36) families who remain in the program for at least 9 months will utilize support services to make the family more stable.
Program Results:
1. Elementary aged students at Oyler School enrolled in the social emotional skills building group all passed to the next grade level. They received both group level and individual support that helped them to manage their behavior and feelings in appropriate ways which in turn leads to better academic success. Santa Maria(SM) staff also connected with their parents/families throughout the school year and linked them to needed resources to ensure household stabilization which also leads to academic success.
2. In addition to structured groups, the SM Youth Development Program has after school programming that includes a variety of components that engage school age youth in activities while simultaneously working on social emotional skills that lead to academic success. This past year (2022-2023), over 300 youth participated in these activities.Actual Results for Outcomes: see explanation for parent and specific academic results in #3Short Term:1. 100% of youth in structured social emotional skills groups were pretested to determine baseline social-emotional skill level via the Devereaux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) after 4 group sessionsIntermediate:1. (85%) of youth demonstrated improved T-Scores on the DESSA after 7 months. 11 students increased by 10 points, 2 moved into the strength category, 6 moved from the need category into the typical categoryLong Term:1. 100% of youth advanced to the next grade level2. 89% of youth scored greater than 6 on both the Positive Life Choices and Life Skills subscales of the Colorado Trust Inventory for Positive Youth Development3. 95% of the youth in structured groups were able to identify steps to conflict resolution peacefully and resist negative peer pressure after 10 sessions or 9 months4. (100%) families utilized support services after 9 months including things like rental assistance, benefit applications, notary services, court advocacy, furniture, food/toiletries
:
http://www.santamaria-cincy.org Amount: $75,000
Date: October 2022
