A Solvable Problem

Written by: Danielle Guerin

Throughout my academic career, I was always told “you can’t learn it if you aren’t here”. I took that saying to heart, only slightly ignoring it when I wanted to be a little rebellious.  Yes, I’m admitting that I faked sick a couple times during my high school career, but never enough to affect my school work or to be noticed. According to a new study that was released on Wednesday by The Indiana Partnerships Center, at least 55,000 students in Indiana are “chronically absent”. The study defines chronic absence as missing 10% of the school year, whether excused or unexcused. In other words, it’s missing 18 days of school per year or 2 days of school per month.

2 days. It doesn’t seem like much, but it is. During those 2 days, a student can miss a pop quiz, the explanation of a new concept, or even a test. In school, every day matters. Missing school matters. According to the study, for ninth graders, missing school is a better predictor of dropping out than eighth grade test scores. 

Most of you reading this would agree with me that being present at school is the first step to academic success. So, why is it that we can’t get the students there? Are they disengaged or bored? Well, we should re-engage them and make them like school. Learning isn’t boring; it’s actually pretty fun to discover all these new things. Maybe the students don’t feel safe at school; again it’s our job to change that. Or they have any other number of barriers; if they do, we need to find out and do our best to break those barriers down. I’m not saying it will be easy. Chronic absenteeism isn’t a simple problem, but it is a solvable one. 

To learn more about this, go to www.MissingSchoolMattersIN.org

A Hoosier Education

I grew up in a community with one public high school. 

That’s not to say that decision making about education initiatives in rural areas come without their share of challenges and politics. If anything, I’ve learned that democratic processes in any community are incredibly complicated and intensely local. 

But something about my recent move to Indiana seems like a new animal. I drove 10 hours south, from rural Upper Michigan, to a state that is debating major legislative issues around education ranging from bully prevention, to policies on gang activities, to early childhood education. I moved to a city that holds 11 public school districts serving over 37,000 students, in addition to a number of private, charter, and alternative schools. I’ve moved to a city that is grappling with the implications  of a proposal  for a mayoral takeover of the public schools and a redesigned school system.

 

And I’ve jumped into a position with an organization that navigates through the thick of it all. With initiatives  in early intervention and prevention, drop-out prevention, summer learning, policy work and youth advocacy, and youth program quality—this has been a lot to take in.

The most encouraging thing about all of this is that I’m working for an organization that is really insistent on the importance and presence of youth voices in these matters. 

So as I enter into my VISTA year as one of two Student Success Initiative Coordinators for MCCOY, I am excited to continue to engage in this learning process alongside high school youth on the Youth Advocacy Council. Because, let’s face it, they know a lot more about what it means to be a Hoosier (what IS the origin of that word?) than I. And the perspectives I’ve heard from them so far have been invigorated and local and complicated and visionary.  

To learn more about how the YAC advocates for youth issues in central Indiana or to get involved, click here.

Summer Learning with 100 Black Men & St. Vincent Unity Development

As an employee of MCCOY, a social worker and most importantly, a parent, I know the importance of summer learning. Kids who don’t use their brains during the summer, lose most of what they’ve learned during the school year and fall behind their peers that do use their brains during the summer. As a parent who pays for a private school education, having my child “forget” what she learned is just unacceptable! For the second year Nya has attended summer camp hosted by 100 Black Men and St. Vincent’s Unity Development Corporation. She loves camp and wakes up every morning at 6:00am looking forward to another day. When I ask her about her day she talks about writing in her journal, reading books, math class with Project SEED, art class with Art With a Heart, and using the computer for the Ticket to Read program. She goes outside twice a day and enjoys the friendships she makes during camp. Classroom work is an important part of the camp, but so is enrichment via field trips. Nya has gone to the zoo, the Children’s Museum, the Universoul Circus, but also to the Ruth Lilly Health Center and the Survive Alive Firehouse where she learned all about fire safety and burn prevention. And would you believe that she has done all of this in seven weeks for $150!!

The motto for the camp is “Building a Better Me” and in all that they do there is the underlying presence of helping young people to be the best they can be through learning, exposure and being good people. The finale program featured songs and performances that focused on the Golden Rule, The ABC’s of Philanthropy, Give Your Treasure, I Have a Dream, and Man in the Mirror.

I am here to tell you that kids can enjoy their summer, make friends and have lots of fun while being in a safe, healthy environment that stimulates their minds and provides them with opportunities to grow and thrive. This is the second year that Nya has attended the 100 Black Men summer camp and I look forward to her being able to attend for the next seven years.

National Summer Learning Day follow-up

Written by: Monette Viduya

So it has been exactly one week since National Summer Learning Day, and I am glad to say that it was a success! Many children and adults wore the green Summer Youth Program Fund shirt that we distributed. Everyone had fun, and Devin from Camp Delafield did a great job throwing the ceremonial first pitch. Here are a few pictures highlighting the night. You can see more on MCCOY’s website. Personally, I had a great time spending the evening with MCCOY :) Thank you for everyone's help and for everyone who attended the celebration!

National Summer Learning Day-Indy Style

Written by: Monette Viduya
I am so excited to go to a free Indianapolis Indians game tonight! FREE?! Can you get excited?! Yes!  Today is *drumroll please* National Summer Learning Day! And one of the awesome things that MCCOY does is sponsoring this wonderful day at Victory Field with the help of the Summer Youth Program Fund.

Though it has been the ninth annual celebration nationally, this is Indianapolis’ second time it has held National Summer Learning Day.  Many different public agencies, non-profit organizations, schools, faith-based organizations, and camps around Indianapolis will be coming together tonight (with free tickets and t-shirts provided) to combat the harmful effects of learning loss. As we are all at Victory Field watching the Indians, we will be recognizing and celebrating the great work that summer programs do in both preventing summer learning loss and promoting learning gains during the months when school is not in session.

From working on this event, I have learned that there is countless research that shows that children form lower income families can lose up to 3 months of academic progress in math and reading skills in the summer time if they are not active in positive and stimulating summer programs. Because of this, I want to encourage every child to take the initiative to engage in summer learning activities and programs. For a quick look at what Indianapolis has to offer, click here to look at MCCOY's Youth Activity Directory, which is a comprehensive list of youth programs.

In Indianapolis, there are over 175 programs funded by the Summer Youth Program Fund (SYPF), which is a partnership of 10 public and private funders. Through the fund, $2.3 million in grants have funded these summer programs that serve over 40,000 youth. While the SYPF encourages and financially supports high quality programs, I am absolutely amazed about the opportunities summer programs create for children as well as the safe environments they are able to provide.  

Over the past week, I’ve been sorting shirts and tickets to all of the organizations participating in this event. While it was a pretty tedious job, I am very excited to see everyone on the Victory Field lawn with a super summery, bright green shirt. Can you just imagine how awesome that sight will be? There is a certain joy that is found in people coming together as a community and that is mostly why I am excited for tonight and having the opportunity to be involved in such a great occasion.

After tonight, I’ll be sure to write again and let everyone know about National Summer Learning Day’s success! :)

 

Goodbye and Hello!

Hey Friends of MCCOY!

This is Anne West and Danielle Guerin, the new Americorps VISTA members at MCCOY. Danielle is a 2012 graduate of Bradley University where she majored in Entrepreneurship. She was born and raised in Indianapolis and is excited to be back in Indy. In her free time she likes to read, take long walks on the Monon Trail, and engage in retail therapy. 

Anne is a 2011 graduate of the University of Michigan where she majored in Environmental Science. She was born in Indianapolis and moved to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where she grew up on the shores of Lake Superior. She spent the last year working with college aged students in Thailand. In her free time she likes to read and bake pies. Yum. 

Together they are so excited to begin working for MCCOY and the Student Success Initiative. And they’re very thankful for the work of past VISTAs, Shahana and Kashif!

This is Shahana Ansari and Kashif Ahmed, the 2011-2012 Americorps VISTAs. As our AmeriCorps VISTA term with MCCOY concludes, it’s amazing to reflect on how much we’ve learned in one short year! Coming into last summer, we would’ve never thought that we’d be able to participate in a White House conference call, work with radio DJs to urge students to excel in school, facilitate workshop sessions at national and statewide conferences, collaborate with city councilors and the deputy mayor, organize a county-wide student art contest, and so much more! We know that we have accomplished a lot this year, but we also know that the support we received from all the MCCOY staff was an essential piece to our success. Not only did our coworkers’ support teach us the importance and benefit of collaboration, but also they showed us the power of compassion. MCCOY staff members have a true passion to make large scale differences for the benefit of youth and they accomplish this goal by appealing to the common compassion we all have for youth.

While sad to leave MCCOY, Shahana is excited to travel to India next year to work with a youth serving non-profit. Kashif will be getting married, traveling to Spain, and beginning medical school in the fall :)

 

JAI HO!

Celebrate Title IX, See History - Saturday, June 23!

Written by: Kathryn Krtnick

As a former college student-athlete and coach, I have experienced firsthand how sport changes lives. I have witnessed educational and athletic opportunities transform the confidence, strength and perspective of young women. Sport not only prepares young women for the academic rigors of higher education through the development of time management and discipline, but even more, primes young women for prestigious leadership positions and a variety of careers.

Simply, sport has opened many doors for women, a door that was only open for men not so long ago. This week we celebrate the incredible pioneers and icons who made gender equity a reality through the documentary “Sporting Chance,” airing on ESPN2 on Saturday, June 23 at noon EST. 

Their struggle ultimately afforded me a chance to compete at a national level, to be part of a comprehensive learning experience that was second to none and now, to work in a field I love – intercollegiate athletics. Words cannot describe how thankful I am for these experiences.

In fact, June 23 marks the 40-year celebration of the passing of the landmark Title IX legislation. I encourage you to make some popcorn and sit down with your daughter, granddaughter, niece, or friend to share this moment in history.

The significance of the passing of Title IX may not be top of mind for today’s youth or may not be given the appropriate level of attention in history class, but instead, these young women will live it.

The hope is that all of the blood, sweat and tears endured to make Title IX a reality will not be overlooked or forgotten and that today’s generation will continue to appreciate and fight for their gift of opportunity. 

Click here to read more about the documentary.

 

View the Trailer for Sporting Chance: The Lasting Legacy of Title IX here.