Power Hour Program

Transcription

Power Hour Program

Power Hour Program
Participant’s Guide
Session
Version 2
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Youth Development – Power Hour
WELCOME
Session Overview
This session provides an overview of BGCA’s Power Hour
program. Power Hour is a homework help and tutoring program
for Club youth ages 6 to 18.
Statement of
Satisfactory
Completion
Participants in Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) learning
opportunities must be present and actively participate
throughout the entire learning experience. BGCA has
developed performance measures to monitor participant
achievement and to help ensure that the learning experience is
efficient and effective. Performance measures ensure
economical choice of instructional content, provide a basis for
participant accountability during and after instruction, and help
align participant achievement to strategic goals.
Boys & Girls Club
Leadership University
Boys & Girls Club Leadership University provides meaningful,
continuous learning opportunities designed to develop skilled
leaders with integrity and commitment to the Boys & Girls Club
Movement’s mission, values and culture.
Learning opportunities within Leadership University are
organized in five schools:
o School of Executive Leadership
o School of Management Professionals
o School of Youth Development Professionals
o School of Resource Development Professionals
o School of Board Leadership
Within each school, learning opportunities are organized around
four levels:
o Foundation Level
o Advanced Level
o Mastery Level
o Legacy Level
The Academy of Boys
& Girls Club
Professionals
Participant’s Guide: Page 2 of 38
Boys & Girls Clubs of America, in partnership with national and
local Boys & Girls Club Professional Associations, recognizes
individuals completing each of the four levels through The
Academy of Boys & Girls Club Professionals. The Academy is
designed to ensure professional recognition for Club staff who
demonstrate a strong commitment to fulfill strategic goals and
objectives that support the Boys & Girls Club Movement’s
mission.
© Boys & Girls Clubs of America
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The Professional Association serves as the voice of
professionals in our Movement. It is designed to highlight your
achievements as a Club professional, provide a network of likeminded individuals to help you when you need assistance and
to offer scholarships to attend skill-building workshops,
conferences and trainings.
Awarding Learning
Credits
Participants must satisfactorily complete the entire learning
experience before either a BGCA Verification of Learning Credit
(VLC) or Academy Learning Credit (ALC) is awarded.
Additionally, in order for participants to receive a VLC or ALC, a
participant must demonstrate learning outcome(s) was
(were) met. BGCA does not award partial credit for learning
experiences.
Youth Development
Professional
Competencies
This session contributes to the development of knowledge and
skills needed to demonstrate competency in the following areas:
YD6 Plan, Develop, Implement and evaluate Programs,
Services and Activities
• YD6.1 Effectively plan programs, services and activities
• YD6.2 Effectively develop programs, services and
activities
• YD6.3 Effectively implement and administer programs,
services and activities
• YD6.4 Effectively monitor and evaluate programs,
services and activities
Active Engagement
To gain the most from this learning experience, prepare to
engage actively by:
• Being open, honest and candid
• Being respectful
• Having only one conversation at a time
• Being on time
• Placing cell phones on vibrate
• Having fun
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SESSION INTRODUCTION
Importance: The
Need
The high-school dropout rate in our nation has reached epidemic
proportions. Each year, more than 1 million students enter the
ninth-grade but fail to graduate with their peers four years later.
Current national research places the public high-school
graduation rate at 69.2 percent, which means that approximately
one-third of all public high-school students in this country do not
graduate on time. In fact, about 7,000 students drop out of school
every day. Certain groups of youth are more likely than others to
drop out of high school.
•
Minority youth: The graduation rate for African-American youth
is 51.2 percent; Hispanic youth, 55 percent; and NativeAmerican youth, 50 percent.
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Male students: On average, females graduate at higher rates
than males (72.2 percent vs. 64.9 percent). Male students in
minority groups are especially at risk: only 45.2 percent of
Native-American males, 44 percent of African-American males
and 49.9 percent of Hispanic males graduate from high
school.
•
Poor students: About 40 percent of students living in poverty
graduate from high school. Poverty also is a key predictor of
high schools promoting less than half of their ninth-grade
class to twelfth-grade status.
•
Youth from single-parent homes: Studies show that youth who
grow up with only one biological parent are approximately
twice as likely to drop out of high school as those who grow up
with both parents. Single parenthood increases the risk of
dropping out of high school by 150 percent for the average
White youth, 100 percent for the average Hispanic youth and
80 percent for the average African-American youth.
Sources:
John M. Bridgeland, John J. DiIulio, Jr. and Karen Burke Morison, The Silent
Epidemic: Perspectives of High-School Dropouts (Washington, D.C.: Civic
Enterprises with Peter D. Hart Research Associates, 2006).
Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, “Graduation Profile for the
Class of 2006,” Diplomas Count 2009, Education Week,
www.edweek.org/go/dc09, accessed April 28, 2010.
Robert Balfanz and Nettie Legters, Locating the Dropout Crisis, Center for
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Social Organization of Schools, Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore: Center
for Social Organization of Schools, June 2004).
Smart Library on Urban Poverty, “Growing Up With a Single Parent: What Are
The Costs?” www.children.smartlibrary.org/, accessed 8 March 2008.
What the Experts Say After decades of attempted reforms in the public education arena
with no real improvement in our national graduation rate, it is very
clear that schools cannot educate our country’s children on their
own, nor can they overcome the dropout epidemic on their own.
Boys & Girls Clubs know this from their decades of experience in
developing youth, especially those from disadvantaged
circumstances. This is why supporting young people’s education
has long been a core part of Club programming.
Formal research affirms what Clubs have known for years.
According to the National Center for Family & Community
Connections with Schools, children do better in school and stay in
school longer when families, schools and other community
partners all work together to help them achieve academic
success.
Source
A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community
Connections on Student Achievement (Austin, Texas: National Center for
Family & Community Connections with Schools, Southwest Educational
Development Laboratory, 2002), www.sedl.org/connections/
How You Can Make A As a youth development professional working daily to provide the
Difference
best possible programming in the education and career
development core area, you are helping young people be more
successful in school and giving them the tools they need to
realize their aspirations and fulfill their full potential.
Formula for Impact For all of these reasons, the Movement’s Formula for Impact,
counts academic success among its three priority outcomes.
Power Hour is one of BGCA’s targeted programs aligned to
helping members achieve academic success. Targeted programs
are one of the four components of the Formula for Impact’s
Outcome-Driven Club Experience: The center of the formula.
Every Member, Every In keeping with this strategic plan, as well as in response to the
Year nation’s drop-out crisis, Boys & Girls Clubs of America also has
developed a new vision and programmatic model called Every
Member, Every Year. The aim of this model is to ensure that all
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Club members graduate from high school on time, ready for a
post-secondary education and a 21st-century career.
The Every Member, Every Year program model is designed so
that all Clubs, no matter their size or resources, can partner with
youth, parents, schools and other community stakeholders to
implement at least one of three approaches:
•
Academic Enrichment and School Engagement: All Clubs
can put dedicated staff in place to offer educational
programming and career experiences, such as Power Hour
homework help and tutoring, Goals for Graduation, Project
Learn high-yield learning activities and CareerLaunch®.
•
Targeted Dropout Prevention: Clubs match individual youth
who are at risk with adult mentors and provide other needed
supports (e.g., remedial reading or math tutoring) to get them
back on track for on-time grade progression. This is
especially critical for middle school students.
•
Intensive Intervention and Case Management: Clubs provide
high-risk youth with ongoing support and social service
referrals. This calls for dedicated Club staff who can perform
ongoing case management and develop an individualized
plan for each targeted young person and his or her family.
Session Goal
The goal of this session is to help Clubs increase their members’
academic success.
Session Overview
Some 89 percent of Clubs in the Movement report that they
implement Power Hour or a similar homework help and tutoring
program as part of their education and career development
programming. It is heartening to see this level of commitment
among Clubs to enrich the educational experience of Club youth.
In our implementation of Power Hour, are we doing all we can to
ensure that the program has the highest level of beneficial impact
on young people’s academic success?
Drawing from Club best practices and internal and external
research, we have identified key strategies and practices that
make Power Hour have a deeper impact on Club youth. With the
stakes so high for the youth we serve, it’s imperative for us to
assess our Power Hour programs and consider what we can do
to enhance their quality and effectiveness.
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Session Outcome
By the end of this session, you will be able to identify strategies
for improving the effectiveness of your Power Hour program.
Lesson Titles
This session includes the following lessons:
•
•
•
Creating a Climate of Academic Success
Program Structure Essentials
Power Hour Enhancement Planning
LESSON 1: CREATING A CLIMATE OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS
Introduction
Most Clubs already are implementing the first level of the Every
Member, Every Year model, which is about providing academic
enrichment for youth. For this to be truly effective, Clubs must
have a more holistic perspective on the overall Club experience.
If we are serious about helping young people achieve academic
success, we need to create a Club climate and culture that
reinforces and celebrates continual learning in every interaction,
activity and area of the Club. We need to make learning fun for
youth, recognizing their efforts and helping them see the
relevance of what they are learning to real life and their future.
When Clubs do this, they help increase members’ school
engagement, which leads to improvement in academic
performance and attendance and a reduction in risky behaviors.
Lesson Objective
By completing this lesson you will be able to describe ways to
use the Five Key Elements for Positive Youth Development to
create a Club climate and culture that emphasizes and celebrates
academic success.
Five Key Elements
for Positive Youth
Development
The Five Key Elements for Positive Youth Development provide a
foundation to support a Club climate and culture that emphasizes
and celebrates academic success. Through extensive research,
BGCA has identified five key elements that allow Clubs to ensure
positive developmental experiences for Club youth.
Like targeted programs, the Five Key Elements for Positive Youth
Development are one of the four components of the Formula for
Impact’s Outcome-Driven Club Experience.
Safe and Positive Club staff, facilities, program offerings and age-appropriate
Environments settings create stability, consistency, and a sense of physical and
emotional safety for members. The Club provides structure and
clearly defines acceptable behaviors.
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Fun Clubs generate fun for members. Members develop a strong
sense of belonging through connections they establish with staff
and peers. Staff members make the Club feel like home, fostering
a family atmosphere and creating a sense of ownership for
members.
Supportive Club youth develop meaningful relationships with peers and
Relationships adults. Staff members actively cultivate such relationships to
ensure that every member feels connected to one or more adults
and peers. Staff members demonstrate warmth, caring,
appreciation, acceptance and proper guidance in their interactions
with members.
Opportunities and Club youth acquire physical, social, technological, artistic and life
Expectations skills. Clubs encourage members to develop moral character and
behave ethically. Staff members establish and reinforce high
expectations and help young people do well in school and pursue
a post-secondary education.
Recognition Clubs recognize and affirm young people’s self-worth and
accomplishments. Staff members encourage youth and provide
positive reinforcement as they make improvements and
experience successes. The Club showcases young people’s
achievements.
Exercise:
Using the Five Key
Elements for Positive
Youth Development to
Promote Academic
Success
Lesson Summary:
Creating a Climate of
Academic Success
This exercise provides an opportunity for you to identify ways in
which the Five Key Elements for Positive Youth Development
promote academic success.
If we are serious about helping young people increase their school
engagement and achieve academic success, we need to go
beyond Power Hour implementation and create a Club climate and
culture that reinforces and celebrates continual learning in every
interaction, activity and area of the Club.
LESSON 2: PROGRAM STRUCTURE ESSENTIAL
Introduction
The completion of homework is essential to your members’
academic success. As reported in Multiple Choices After School:
Findings from the Extended-Service Schools Initiative, published
in 2002 by Public/Private Ventures, a survey of participants of
after-school homework assistance programs and their parents
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from across the country revealed:
What the Experts Say
•
•
•
75% of children said they learned that hard work pays off,
85% of parents said that their children enjoyed school more
and improved their attendance, and
80 to 90% of the surveyed parents also believed their children
acquired new skills and became more confident learners
because of their participation in after-school homework
assistance programs.
We know that members who consistently do their homework are
better prepared for school. We know they are also prouder of their
hard work and accomplishments than those who don’t.
The skills and concepts members learn during the school day are
reinforced when they do homework after school. Likewise, when
members consistently complete their homework, they enter the
classroom confident and fully prepared to engage in the activities
at school. In turn they develop a deeper understanding of their
schoolwork and are ready to embrace more challenging concepts.
Now that we have a rationale for why Clubs should have
homework help and tutoring programs, let’s review what the
Power Hour program is.
Source: J. B. Goodwin et al. Multiple Choices After School: Findings from the
Extended-Service Schools Initiative (Philadelphia, Pa.: Public/Private Ventures
and MDRC, June 2002), http://www.mdrc.org/publications/48/abstract.html,
accessed April 29, 2010.
Lesson Objective
By completing this lesson you will be able to identify essential
aspects of Power Hour‘s structure that contributes to the
program’s effectiveness.
Power Hour 101: A
Review
Power Hour is a homework help and tutoring program for Club
youth ages 6 to 18.
By encouraging members to develop the daily habit of completing
homework in a quiet, dedicated space with adult support, Power
Hour helps members improve their organizational and time
management skills, develop personal responsibility, and make a
commitment to school and learning. Thus, the overarching goal of
Power Hour is to boost members’ enthusiasm for learning and
strengthen their engagement in school.
In addition to homework help, Power Hour features three other
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components:
•
•
•
high-yield learning activities,
tutoring, and
incentives and recognition.
Some Clubs offer participants extra enrichment activities, or highyield learning activities, to inject some fun and spontaneity into
the Power Hour routine. This concept comes from the research of
Dr. Reginald Clark and is a key element of BGCA’s Project Learn
educational enhancement approach as well as of Power Hour.
High-yield learning activities are fun, engaging, hands-on activities
that reinforce the skills, knowledge and behaviors youth are
learning in school.
Some Clubs provide one-on-one or small-group tutoring for youth
who need extra help with certain subjects or skills, such as math
or reading.
Many Clubs try to motivate young people to participate more in
Power Hour by offering prizes as incentives. Participants typically
earn points for participating that they can then redeem for rewards
or special privileges. Clubs also try to motivate participants by
informally and formally recognizing their progress and
achievements.
(Please note that although incentives and recognition are very
important features of Power Hour, because of time constraints, in
this session we will focus on the other three components.)
Multiple Pathways to
Learning
As your own experience tells you, youth who participate in Power
Hour have very diverse learning needs and wants. Some
members successfully complete homework with minimum
assistance, while others need formal, targeted, more intensive
tutoring. Some members have daily homework assignments,
while others only have occasional assignments. Some members
complete their homework quickly, while others need extra time.
Some members cheerfully do their homework without much
encouragement, while others are reluctant and need a
motivational nudge in the form of those special incentives and
rewards. Some members might perceive learning and going to
school as burdensome chores rather than as enjoyable, lifelong
pursuits.
Thus, a high-quality, high-impact Power Hour program should
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provide multiple pathways to learning for Club youth. A onesize-fits-all approach to implementing the program will produce
limited results because it cannot meet the diverse learning needs
of all of your Club youth.
To meet young people’s varied learning needs, a high-impact
Power Hour program should provide:
• homework help for academic support;
• high-yield learning activities for academic enrichment; and
• tutoring for academic remediation.
An article by Jane Quinn of Children’s Aid Society provides useful
definitions of these three terms.
•
•
•
Academic support “is designed to support students’ school
success through such efforts as homework assistance and
‘test sophistication’ training sessions. All children can benefit
from such assistance.”
Academic enrichment “provides young people with an
opportunity to practice their academic skills – such as
reading, writing, speaking, mathematical calculation and
scientific inquiry.” These are fun, hands-on activities for all
youth that allow them to try new things – or practice old
things, but in new ways.
Academic remediation “is used when students encounter
difficulty mastering academic content and skills during their
regular school day,” and “approaches include one-on-one
and small group tutoring.”
Source: Jane Quinn. “Multiple Needs, Multiple Strategies: How After-School
Programs Contribute to Academic Success,” The Children’s Aid Society,
November 2006, www.childrensaidsociety.org, accessed March 12, 2009.
The following section provides ways in which these three
components play out in a Club’s Power Hour program.
Academic Support The academic support component of Power Hour, of course, is
homework help. The homework help program relies on Club staff
and volunteers to supervise members’ homework completion and
keep track of their progress. Nearly every study of homework
intervention conducted in recent years has singled out the
presence of skilled, patient, dedicated adults as the most
important influence on a child’s academic performance.
Program staff and volunteers should move about the space,
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interact with participants, answer their questions and provide help
as requested, rather than sitting behind a desk. They should also
look over assignments when participants are done and ensure
that they are complete and correct.
The Power Hour Resource Guide recommends a one-to-eight
ratio. Afterschool homework help program research and our own
Club research and experience shows that when the ratio is higher
than one adult to 10 youth, it is very challenging to provide youth
with the individual attention they need. Clubs that truly want to
increase Power Hour’s impact need to increase their staffing for
the program or make a concerted effort to recruit and retain good
volunteers.
Volunteer
Interview
Resource
In the Power Hour section of www.bgca.net, under Program
Tools, you can access suggested Volunteer Interview Questions
to help you with selecting good volunteers for Power Hour.
www.bgca.net/programs/eduCareer/PH_program.aspx
Exercise:
Academic Support
This exercise provides an opportunity for you to think about and
share the qualities of good Power Hour workers, be they staff or
volunteers.
Academic Enrichment Power Hour provides academic enrichment through frequent,
intentional use of high-yield learning activities. As you know,
there are times during Power Hour when members finish their
homework early or do not have any and need something else to
do. There are also times when you need to “spice up” your Power
Hour routine with fun activities in which everyone can participate,
just to add variety and spontaneity, or because you need a brief
“time filler” as members wait to move to another activity or
program in your Club’s rotation. For these situations, you need to
have your own bank of ready-made experiential activities to keep
members engaged in active learning.
Characteristics of When youth take part in a high-yield learning activity, they
High-Yield Learning reinforce the skills, knowledge, behaviors and values needed for
Activities academic success. They apply what they learn in the classroom
in fun, engaging, hands-on ways.
These activities extend learning throughout all areas of the Club,
thus making the entire Club a learning center. Ideally, all staff
should conduct them in all Club areas in a planned, intentional
way.
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These activities appeal to members’ interests, their desire to play
and even have some friendly competition. They can be done with
individuals, small groups and large groups. When done well, they
remove the division between learning and playing.
High-yield learning activities give youth practice with:
• reading,
• writing,
• math and science,
• helping others,
• games using cognitive skills (e.g., checkers, chess, Connect
4, Scrabble), and
• discussions with knowledgeable adults.
Most importantly, high-yield learning activities should be fun.
They should motivate members to explore, develop, create and
learn. High-yield learning activities are most fun when they are
varied and have an element of surprise.
Tips for Creating High- Because of the nature of Club programming, you can see that
Yield Learning members have many naturally occurring opportunities to
Activities participate in high-yield learning activities. The trick is to become
more intentional and engage all staff in planning and conducting
high-yield learning activities more frequently throughout the Club.
Resourceful, creative program staff and volunteers can easily
create their own high-yield learning activities. In fact, they
probably already instinctively do so even if they have never heard
of the high-yield learning concept. Here are some quick tips for
creating high-yield learning activities:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Keep it fun – if it’s not fun, it may be learning, but it is not
high-yield learning.
Use a theme.
Use a variety of materials.
Make it appropriate for your age group(s).
When giving activity instructions, be sure to give examples.
Vary activities.
Use technology.
Keep your learning goals in mind.
Involve peer leaders.
Conduct field trips – this Club staple can be one big highyield learning activity from start to finish.
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Sources of High-Yield The Power Hour microsite on www.bgca.net has a section
Learning Activities called “High-Yield Learning” featuring Back Pocket Program Hints
for the Learning Center, a compilation of hundreds of readymade, easy-to-use activities, a list of fun but educational Web
Sites for Youth, and a guide called Smarter Fun in the Summer
for making your summer program a high-yield learning
experience. www.bgca.net/programs/eduCareer/PH_highyeild.aspx
ActivityExchange located in the Online Communities of
www.bgca.net is a quick, searchable database that helps staff
find new, exciting activities for their Club. The activities cover
every Core Program Area and are aligned with BGCA’s three
impact areas: Academic Success, Good Character and
Citizenship, and Healthy Lifestyles. Busy Club staff members can
easily find the right activity to enhance their programs and create
fun for their members, as well as post activities that they have
created to share with other Clubs.
http://groups2.bgca.net/sites/PYDS/ActivityExchange/default.aspx
Exercise:
Academic
Enrichment
This exercise provides an opportunity for you to share your most
successful high-yield learning activities.
Academic Remediation Tutors work with members to address the specific academic
areas in which members need to improve. It is common for some
Club members to need tutoring help with reading and/or
mathematics. Clubs can identify members who need tutoring
through the program staff’s own observations and/or by
communicating with parents and teachers.
In some Clubs, tutors work one-on-one with youth (the ideal),
while in other Clubs, tutors work with small groups in which all
members are in the same grade or have similar academic
challenges. Because tutors work closely with specific members, a
good match between tutor and member is critical. Tutors must be
good listeners and communicators and have lots of patience.
Resources for Appendix A “Tips for Power Hour Program Enhancement,”
Implementing Tutoring provides more useful suggestions for implementing a tutoring
component, as well as many other tips.
Also, in the Power Hour section on www.bgca.net, under
Program Tools, you can access “Member/Tutor Getting to Know
You Questions” and a “Tutoring Contract” template.
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www.bgca.net/programs/eduCareer/PH_program.aspx
Rather than taking on tutoring themselves, many Clubs that are
school-based or enjoy good partnerships with their local schools
or other organizations refer Club members to tutoring programs
available in their communities. This can work especially well in
school-based Clubs, because the Club’s programming and the
needed tutoring services all take place in the same site.
The Power Hour resource guide recommends a ratio of one adult
for every two to four participants for small-group tutoring. Clubs
that truly want to offer high-quality tutoring need to increase their
staffing or make a concerted effort to recruit and retain good
volunteers.
This exercise provides an opportunity for you to share your most
Exercise:
Academic Remediation successful practices for identifying youth who need tutoring and
meeting their needs.
Age and
Developmental
Appropriateness
As with any Club program, the activities and the content of Power
Hour need to be age-appropriate and developmentally
appropriate for the age groups being served. But as mentioned
earlier, youth who participate in Power Hour have very diverse
learning needs and wants, so this is another particularly important
element for effective Power Hour programs.
There are many strategies for ensuring your Power Hour program
is appropriate for your members, but there are three areas we
want to focus on in this session:
•
•
•
grouping of youth,
scheduling considerations, and
choice of activities, equipment and materials.
Grouping of Youth Our Boys & Girls Club youth development approach recognizes
that children and adolescents are developmentally very different
at different ages in terms of their physical, emotional, social and
cognitive characteristics, and this must be taken into
consideration when creating programs and activities for them.
Note that Appendix B “Child and Adolescent Development
Milestones,” describes developmental characteristics for four age
groups (6-9, 10-12, 13-15 and 16-18) and four categories
(physical, cognitive, emotional and social).
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BGCA has an attractive poster version of this that can be ordered
through SupplyWorks. It displays child developmental milestones
on one side and adolescent milestones on the other. Item P-300,
$5.20 for a pack of two posters.
www.bgca.net/Departments/SupplyServices/Default.aspx
In addition to dealing with Power Hour participants’
developmental differences, there are also vast differences in the
academic knowledge and skills of children and youth in the
Kindergarten through 12th grade range. Thus, it is best to
separate members into appropriate grade groupings by
designating specific times or different places for younger and
older members. Dividing homework assistance by grade
groupings has been found to be most effective and easier for
both the homework helpers and participants. Some Clubs
organize participants into single-grade groups; others combine
multiple grades in one group, e.g., K-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-12.
The Power Hour Resource Guide (pp. 32-34 and 39-42) provides
excellent information on the academic and developmental needs
of elementary, middle and high school youth and tips for how to
tailor your Power Hour activities to meet their needs.
Exercise:
Age and
Developmental
Appropriateness –
From – To: Grouping
of Youth
This exercise provides an opportunity for you to identify how you
could improve how you are currently grouping youth.
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IMPROVING POWER HOUR PROGRAM STRUCTURE
Use this worksheet to 1) assess and describe where your Club is with each essential aspect of your
Power Hour program structure (“from”), and 2) list strategies you can use to improve each aspect (“to”).
From (Current State)
To (Desired State)
Grouping of Youth
Do we accommodate
developmental differences
in the way we group
participants? In the
activities we do with
different groups?
Do we accommodate levels
of academic skill and
knowledge in the way we
group participants? In the
activities we do with
different groups?
Scheduling Considerations
Do we offer Power Hour at
least four days per week?
Do we vary the length of
each session depending on
grade level?
Do teens have their own
Power Hour time, separate
from younger children?
If we offer tutoring, do we
do so twice per week for
30-60 minutes per session?
Do we provide healthy
snacks and unstructured
free time prior to Power
Hour?
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From (Current State)
To (Desired State)
Choosing Activities,
Equipment and Materials
Do we have an
adequate amount of
basic school supplies?
Do we have a good
selection of gradeappropriate reference
materials?
Do we have appropriate
materials on hand for
doing high-yield
learning activities?
Do we have a variety of
high-interest, ageappropriate reading
materials available?
Do participants have
access to computers,
the Internet and printers
as needed?
Dedicated Space
Do we have a space
dedicated to Power
Hour?
Does the space have a
fun, exciting name?
Is the space well-lit,
comfortable? Does it
have a range of
furnishings?
Is it visually appealing
to participants without
being overly
stimulating?
Do we showcase
samples of members’
work on the
walls/bulletin boards?
If we use shared space,
do we have temporary
ways of giving it a Club
“feel” and making it
conducive to learning?
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Scheduling The manner in which a Club schedules Power Hour can “make
Considerations or break” the program for participants, so the schedule should
be carefully planned to best meet the needs of members with
the resources available for the program.
Clubs should offer members access to homework help at least
four days per week. Many Clubs implement Power Hour
Monday through Thursday, and reserve the Friday of each
week for high-yield learning activities, allowing participants to
redeem their Power Points for incentive prizes, or special
celebrations or events.
Children of different ages and in different grades in school need
different amounts of homework time. Use these recommended
time frames in setting up your Power Hour schedule to serve
different groups:
•
•
•
•
Grades K-3: 30 minutes
Grades 4-5: 60 minutes
Grades 6-8: 60+ minutes
Grades 9-12: 60+ minutes
Clubs with learning centers often build daily schedules in which
groups cycle into Power Hour at different times in the overall
Club program rotation. Other Clubs conduct Power Hour at the
same time for all groups but have the groups meet in different
areas of the Club.
Children and teens should be scheduled at different times
during the day. Teens may need extended evening hours or
weekend hours for activities such as researching papers,
working on group projects or in study groups and ACT/SAT
preparation.
Minimally, tutoring should be offered for 30 to 60 minutes per
session, twice a week.
You also need to examine how your Club manages the critical
transition time when children leave school and arrive at the
Club. Members’ physical and mental needs at that time of day
cannot be ignored if you want them to get anything productive
and beneficial out of their Power Hour time. At that time,
children and adolescents can be hungry, tired and/or fidgety.
Clubs are strongly encouraged to provide members with some
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unstructured free time and a healthy snack and beverage
before having Power Hour sessions. If Power Hour is offered to
members as they arrive at the Club, directly from school with no
chance to relax, exercise, or eat a snack, they are not going to
be able to concentrate on their homework or enjoy Power Hour
no matter what you do. Many Clubs secure donations from local
food banks, grocery stores or restaurants or enroll in federal
programs in order to provide members with an after-school
snack. Some Clubs even serve full-blown meals.
Exercise:
Age and Developmental
Appropriateness – From
– To: Scheduling
Considerations
This exercise provides an opportunity for you to identify how
you could improve how you are currently scheduling members’
Power Hour involvement.
Choosing Activities, Stocking your learning center with the right supplies to conduct
Equipment and Materials your homework help, tutoring, and high-yield learning activities
is also critical to Power Hour’s success
•
School supplies: One of the goals for homework help is for
members to be responsible for their own homework
supplies; however, members sometimes arrive without the
materials they need to complete their homework
assignments. Many times, children from severely
disadvantaged circumstances may not even have basic
school supplies. Thus, the Club should stock basic school
supplies for Power Hour, such as pencils, erasers, crayons,
markers, notebook paper, construction paper, index cards
in different sizes and colors, scissors, glue, rulers, etc.
•
Reference materials: Along with basic school supplies, the
Power Hour space should be equipped with up-to-date
reference materials, such as grade-appropriate dictionaries,
atlases, globes, maps and encyclopedias, and/or Internet
access or computer software.
•
Ideally, a Power Hour program should have a full set of
textbooks used by local schools covering every subject (or
at least the core subjects – reading/Language Arts/English,
mathematics, science, social studies/history) in all the grade
levels served, along with the teacher editions, which you’ll
need to keep out of members’ reach. Many Clubs have had
success with obtaining textbooks from their school districts,
libraries and national textbook publishers. Some schools can
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loan out textbooks on CD-ROM or have them available
online.
•
Materials for high yield learning activities: For Power Hour’s
high-yield learning activities, you will need educational board
and computer games, grade-appropriate books, comic
books and magazines. It’s also a good idea to have an
assortment of arts and crafts supplies on hand. Many Club
staff obtain copies of learning activity idea books from
parent-teacher school supply stores or publishers to
augment their bank of high-yield learning activities.
However, too many Clubs rely too much on easy-toreproduce worksheets or so-called “Power Pages,” which for
many youth are at best boring and at worst make them feel
as if they are being punished for getting their homework
done early.
•
Technology: In our nation’s 21st century educational
environment, providing Power Hour participants with access
to computers and the Internet is also a must. Many
members may not have access to computers or Internet
access at home, yet many of them receive homework
assignments that require Web research or preparation of
reports or PowerPoint presentations. Also, there is a vast
array of free academic and homework help resources and
fun, high-yield educational games on the Web that you can
and should incorporate into your Power Hour activities.
Tutors may request specific materials. For the most part,
however, they should be able to use the supplies you have
gathered for homework help and high-yield learning activities.
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Exercise:
Age and Developmental
Appropriateness – From
– To: Choice of Activities,
Equipment and Materials
This exercise provides an opportunity for you to identify how you
could improve how you currently choose your Power Hour
activities, equipment and materials
Dedicated Space
For a Power Hour program to operate optimally and have the
most beneficial impact on participants, having a dedicated space
that is conducive to learning is essential. If the physical
environment in which Power Hour is conducted is not quiet
enough to allow for homework and study, or conversely is not
stimulating enough to help members maintain their energy and
focus, this will affect the success of your program.
Before focusing on enhancing the physical aspects of your
space, pay attention to your internal marketing of the space. You
may be very proud of your learning center, but the cardinal rule
is: don’t call it that to youth! Give it a fun, exciting name, like
“Discovery Zone,” or better yet, run a contest to have your
members name the space, then decorate it to go along with the
winning name or theme.
Minimally, members need a well-lit, comfortable room furnished
with tables and chairs, equipped with computers and the
materials and supplies mentioned earlier. Walls should be
decorated with colorful bulletin boards, samples of members’
work, and inspirational posters emphasizing academic success.
For teens, it is ideal for them to have their own Power Hour
space – separate from the learning center used by the younger
children – that is equipped and decorated in a manner
appropriate for them.
There are three areas to consider when designing, renovating
and updating a learning space, called the Three Ds.
•
Design – Colors, Size, Shape, Displays on Walls
The space is interesting but not overly stimulating;
furnishings are an appropriate size for children; height of
book and supply shelves are at children’s reach; traffic paths
and tables are set up in interesting, nonlinear ways; posters
and bulletin boards are at kids’ eye level.
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•
Distraction – Temperature, Lighting, Noise, Color
Not too hot, not too cold; different levels of lighting in
different spots; avoid busy patterns; paint colors should be
appealing to kids and soothing. Wall color is the cheapest,
most dramatic change you can make for the most impact.
•
Diversification – Range of Furniture, Different Learning
Stations
Furnishings and spaces accommodate young people with
different learning styles; include hard edges (like tables and
chairs) and soft materials (like big cushions or bean bag
chairs); provide places where participants can work alone or
together; take books out of shelves and make displays with
them, e.g., books about plants with some live plants, books
about animals with some live animals.
If your Club is on a shoestring budget, enhancing your Power
Hour space does not have to be overly complicated or
prohibitively expensive. Look for quick, easy, cheap changes
you can make – paint, floor rugs, wall decorations, etc. Ask
local Club supporters for donations, such as used sofas, carpet
remnants, etc.
(For more information, check out the Club Safety and Design
section of www.bgca.net:
http://www.bgca.net/departments/safetyandclubdesign/final/de
sign_new.aspx. Look at photos of Club learning centers on
BGCA’s KIDBUILDING site,
http://www.kidbuilding.org/flash.html.)
Using non-learning center spaces in Clubs: As mentioned
earlier, some Clubs conduct homework help at the same time
for all age/grade groups but have the groups meet in different
areas of the Club. Though not as ideal as basing the program in
a learning center, this can work as long as all the locations used
are quiet, comfortable and provide participants with what they
need to do homework and study.
Good locations might be the Club’s library, multipurpose room,
tech lab, teen room or arts and crafts room. Some Clubs split up
their Power Hour supplies and store portions of them in
inexpensive cabinets or portable carts in different Club spaces.
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Avoid conducting Power Hour in the Club gym or gamesroom,
however, as these spaces tend to be noisy and are not
furnished or equipped to facilitate homework completion and
studying.
Tutoring space: If your Club offers tutoring, it also requires
dedicated space. The space might be a quiet corner of the
learning center or a spot under a tree near the Club’s
playground or sports field. Because tutors and members spend
a lot of time talking aloud, the potential to disturb other
members is great. To avoid this, locate tutoring sessions in an
area that is separate from, but still visible to, other Club
activities.
Borrowed space: Clubs based in schools (or other
nontraditional facilities), because they operate in a borrowed
space, face unique challenges in creating spaces that are both
conducive to learning and have a Boys & Girls Club “feel.” In
some schools, Clubs operate only in certain designated spaces,
such as the cafeteria or gym. Club staff should first focus on
building their relationships with school administrators to try to
secure access to other spaces, such as the library or tech lab,
and gain permission to stake out some wall space on which to
post Club display materials. At some schools, for example,
Clubs have been successful in reserving bulletin boards in hightraffic hallways on which they can post their Club schedule,
activity calendar, photos of Club happenings and recognize
members. In shared, multipurpose spaces such as cafeterias,
Clubs need to come up with temporary solutions, such as using
portable displays, partitions and rolling carts, to quickly and
easily bring in materials and set up and take down each day for
their program.
Exercise:
Dedicated Space –
From – To
This exercise provides an opportunity for you to identify how
you could improve the use of your Power Hour physical space.
Lesson Summary
The program structure essentials to increase the quality and
impact of your Power Hour Program, include:
• Providing multiple pathways for youth with different
learning needs;
• Ensuring the age and developmental appropriateness
of the program’s activities; and,
• Dedicating space that is conducive to learning for the
program.
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LESSON 3: Power Hour Enhancement Planning
Introduction
It is time to take what you have learned in this session and
use it to assess how your Club’s Power Hour program is
working now and identify specific strategies for improving its
quality. When you leave here, you will have a concrete plan
that you can take back to your supervisor.
Lesson Objective
By completing this lesson you will be able to create a
preliminary plan identifying specific steps and strategies for
enhancing the quality of your Club’s Power Hour program that
you can share with your supervisor.
Putting It All Together
In this session, you identified ways to use the Five Key
Elements for Positive Youth Development to create a Club
climate in which every interaction, activity and area of the
Club reinforces and celebrates continual learning.
You also examined specific program structure essentials that
help increase the impact of Power Hour through:
•
•
•
providing multiple pathways for youth with different
learning needs,
ensuring the age and developmental appropriateness of
the program’s activities, and
dedicating space for the program.
Now you have the opportunity to put all this together and draft
a unique plan for enhancing your Club’s Power Hour program.
When you return to the Club, share your plan with your
supervisor.
Exercise:
Program Enhancement
Action Plan
This exercise provides an opportunity for you to draft a threeto twelve month preliminary plan based on the strategies you
have learned in this session to enhance your Club’s Power
Hour program.
Lesson Summary
You now have a plan to enhance your Club’s Power Hour
program. However, unless plans are turned to action they are
useless.
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POWER HOUR ENHANCEMENT ACTION PLAN
Use this worksheet to develop a preliminary plan for increasing the impact of your Power Hour program
that you can take back and share with your supervisor. Identify what you can accomplish in the next
three months, six months and 12 months.
Use Key Elements of Youth Development to Create a Climate of Academic Success
IN 3 MONTHS…
IN 6 MONTHS…
IN 12 MONTHS…
Safe, positive
environment
Fun
Supportive
relationships
Opportunities
and expectations
Recognition
Enhance Program Structure
IN 3 MONTHS…
IN 6 MONTHS…
IN 12 MONTHS…
Provide multiple
pathways to
learning:
academic
support
academic
enrichment
academic
remediation
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Enhance Program Structure
IN 3 MONTHS…
IN 6 MONTHS…
IN 12 MONTHS…
Ensure program
and activities are
appropriate for
participants’ ages
and
developmental
stages:
grouping of
youth
scheduling
considerations
choice of
activities,
equipment and
materials
Secure and equip
dedicated space
that is conducive
to learning:
Three Ds –
design,
distraction,
diversification
space for
tutoring
operating in
non-learning
center space or
in borrowed
space
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SESSION CONCLUSION
Revisit Goals and
Outcome
The goal of this session was to help Clubs increase their
members’ academic success.
We said that by the end of this session, you would be able to
identify strategies for improving the effectiveness of your
Power Hour program.
Session Summary
In this session, we revisited the need for Power Hour
programs in Clubs and placed Power Hour in the context of
our Movement’s current strategic plan and its emphasis on
academic success for our Club youth. We introduced the
Every Member, Every Year approach and showed you how
Power Hour fits within that approach.
We discussed how helping young people increase their school
engagement and achieve academic success entails going
beyond Power Hour implementation and creating a Club
climate and culture that reinforces and celebrates continual
learning in every interaction, activity and area of the Club. We
identified ways to use the Five Key Elements for Positive
Youth Development for this purpose.
We reviewed the goals and basic components of Power Hour:
•
•
•
•
homework help,
high-yield learning activities,
tutoring, and
incentives and recognition.
We then identified specific program structure essentials that
help increase the quality and impact of Power Hour programs:
•
•
•
providing multiple pathways for youth with different
learning needs,
ensuring the age and developmental appropriateness of
the program’s activities, and
dedicating space for the program.
We also gave you some time and a tool with which to do
some preliminary planning for enhancing your own program
over the next three, six and twelve months.
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It is our hope that you can use what you have learned to
assess the quality of your Club’s existing Power Hour program
and identify strategies that you can put in place to increase its
impact on your Club members’ academic success.
Evaluation and Credits
As a result of completing this session, you have earned 0.2
Academy Learning Credit (ALC), which will be added to your
Boys & Girls Club Leadership University transcript. Please
keep the paper copy of the ALC in your personal professional
development file.
Contact Information
Erica Stevens
Senior Director of Education:
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
1275 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30309
Office: 404 487 5986
Email: estevens@bgca.org
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APPENDIX A
Tips for Power Hour Program Enhancement
With the current economic climate, Boys & Girls Clubs are facing many of the same challenges as they
look for cost efficient and effective ways to enhance the quality of their Power Hour program and
expand it to serve as many Club youth as possible. Clubs are becoming more resourceful and creative
in how they are meeting these challenges. Here is a list of the most common Power Hour program
enhancement challenges among Clubs and some useful, practical best practices, tips and strategies for
addressing them.
Low Power Hour Enrollment
• Within the Club, promote Power Hour to youth who are not active in the program. Look for ways to
show them what they are missing by not participating, e.g., some Clubs recognize regular Power
Hour participants during Club assembly time, giving them incentive prizes in front of their peers or
pulling them out to have a pizza party. Other Clubs put their Power Hour “stores” on prominent
display so members can see the prizes they can earn by accumulating Power Hour participation
points. Other Clubs use prominently placed bulletin boards to showcase the accomplishments and
works of Power Hour participants.
• At regular staff meetings, ask your Club colleagues in other areas to help promote Power Hour to
youth and refer youth to you who need homework help or tutoring services.
• Recruit new participants by promoting your Power Hour program at different community venues and
in different ways, e.g., put up fliers at schools, the public library, grocery stores, etc.; get on the
agenda of parent-teacher meetings at the schools; visit teachers and principals at the schools.
• Capitalize on word of mouth – run a “bring a friend” campaign and give existing members prizes or
incentives for bringing other youth into the Club and Power Hour.
• Hold fun special events to recruit new members to the Club and Power Hour. One Club combined
an all-you-can-eat pancake contest for local youth with a Club open house and membership sign-up
effort.
Low Average Daily Attendance in Power Hour
An indicator of a good Power Hour program is that 30 percent or more of program enrollees attend
daily; an ADA of 50 percent or higher is an indicator of a robust, dynamic program.
•
•
•
•
Use themes in your program to get kids interested and keep them working toward goals. Ask youth
to suggest theme ideas, then incorporate themes in bulletin boards, room decorations and activities.
Themes can be seasonal or related to members’ interests.
Infuse fun and spontaneity in your program – balance the structure and consistency of homework
time with varied, interactive individual and large group activities.
Have an adequate number of staff and volunteers provide individual attention to members as
needed; the Power Hour Resource Guide recommends a ratio of eight members to one program
supervisor. A great source of volunteers is older Club members; many Clubs use Torch Club or
Keystone Club members as homework helpers for younger children. But don’t stop there: tap all
available community resources for good volunteers, such as high school and college students,
retirees, service club and professional association members, school teachers, parents, etc.
Enhance your learning spaces/furnishings so they are more appealing and comfortable for
members and cater to different learning styles. A little fresh paint and elbow grease, a few rugs,
beanbag chairs and bookshelves will go a long way in attracting members.
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•
•
Reward members for their participation with prizes and incentives they really want; promote
availability of those prizes and incentives to Club members not involved in Power Hour.
Recognize members for their participation and achievements in ongoing, personal ways as well as
public ones, e.g., posting names of members who make A/B Honor Roll at school on a Club bulletin
board or naming Students of the Week/Month. Invite families and school staff to end-of-semester or
end-of-school-year recognition ceremonies, receptions or dinners. Also recognize students who
show improvement, but may not have made the Honor Roll; for instance, you can nominate a Most
Improved Student of the Month.
Lack of Engaging, Varied After-Homework Activities
When participants finish homework early or do not have any on a particular day, they should be able to
take part in individual and group activities that go beyond completing worksheets/Power Pages or solo
reading and are interesting, interactive and fun. Club staff should regularly plan and conduct activities
and games that reinforce learning but appeal to Club members’ interests, their desire to play and even
have some friendly competition. Staff should balance the familiar routine and structure of Power Hour
with frequent, intentional infusions of spontaneous fun.
•
•
•
•
•
Put great resources like board games, puzzles and computer-based games at members’ fingertips,
then let them pick what they want to do when homework is done. At one Club, staff members have
stocked a portable, multi-bin cart with fun board games, puzzles and high-interest reading
materials. Each day, it is wheeled out into the Power Hour area, and youth choose items to use on
their own or with others.
Give Power Hour activities fun-sounding names to attract members. One Club turned an ordinary
spelling bee into a “Spellabration” and invited members to compete against youth from their
particular unit and then other units within the organization.
Create and conduct high-yield learning activities for all areas of your Club. Have members practice
math facts while they play basketball in the gym or employ logic and strategy in a checkers or chess
tourney in the gamesroom.
When members need to memorize facts, spelling words or other information for school, make a
cooperative learning game out of the task by forming teams, using a kitchen timer or stopwatch and
keeping score.
Take learning on the road with high-yield field trips to museums, zoos, theatrical productions, state
parks, etc.
Vague or Unclear Program Goals, Desired Outcomes and Measurement Strategies
A good Power Hour program has clearly defined, specific, measureable goals and desired outcomes for
youth that are based on their strengths and needs and can be achieved with the Club’s available
resources. Your outcome measurement strategies and activities should be developed during your
program planning and implemented throughout the life of your program.
• Think carefully about how your Club wants youth to benefit from Power Hour participation. Start by
reviewing the Power Hour logic model (page 3 in the Power Hour Resource Guide).
• Once you have identified your program’s objectives and desired outcomes, develop tools and
methods to measure the extent to which those goals and outcomes are achieved in the program.
Many Clubs use more than one strategy so that they have multiple sources of data with which to
gauge program effects. For example, many Clubs combine tracking of Power Hour attendance,
rates of completion of homework and extra high-yield learning activities, observed changes in
behavior and attitude with tracking of grade improvements in school.
• Perform your outcome measurement activities when needed during the program, so that data from
different points in time can be compared to see if the desired change, improvement or increase has
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•
occurred. Some Clubs, for example, have developed simple Power Hour pre- and post-test surveys
asking youth about their homework habits, attitude toward school, etc. Youth complete a survey
prior to participating in the program, then again once the program ends. Club staff compare and
analyze the pre-test and post-test responses to see if changes/improvements have occurred. One
Club adapted the educational commitment section of the youth surveys from BGCA’s online Youth
Development Outcome Measurement Tool Kit for this purpose (on www.bgca.net main menu, hover
on “Interactive Services” and select “Outcome Measurement Toolkit” from the drop-down menu).
After the program ends, Club staff should analyze their outcome measurement findings to
determine how to improve the program and maximize its positive impact. Positive findings can also
be used in grant proposals and Club promotional collateral to demonstrate the value of the program
to stakeholders and potential donors.
Lack of Parent/Family Involvement
Club staff should make every effort possible to encourage parents to 1) support their children’s
academic success and 2) get involved in Club life. Whatever challenges or circumstances parents may
be facing, Club staff need to see them as their youth’s first teachers and as integral youth development
partners. Clubs should use their resourcefulness and ingenuity to reach out to, empower and support
parents and other family members just as they do for children, because by strengthening families, they
help to bring about the healthy development and well-being of youth.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Reach out to parents and interact on a one-on-one, personal level to build trust over time.
Encourage parents to encourage their children. They can instill the value of homework even if they
don’t know the subject matter or don’t have much time. They can set high expectations with their
children about the importance of education, even if they don’t have high levels of educational
attainment. They can celebrate their children’s academic achievements.
Set clear expectations with parents about what you can do in your program and what you would like
them to do; hold annual or biannual parent orientation meetings and consider having them sign a
homework help contract.
Offer fun activities and special events at the Club for the whole family to enjoy, such as family
movie nights, family dinners, Club carnival day, etc.
Serve as a link between the school and parents. Many parents may be intimidated by the school
system or face language barriers. Some Club professionals offer to accompany parents to parentteacher conferences, for example. Other Clubs facilitate regular phone or written communication
among parents, teachers and Club staff to better serve individual youth.
Help parents improve their own educations through computer, GED or ESL classes at the Club.
Weak School Relationships
If Club educational enhancement efforts are to succeed, close collaboration with schools is as
important as involving parents. Club and school professionals can be invaluable resources for each
other in helping youth achieve academic success. Club staff should work on building good
communication and cooperative relationships with teachers and school administrators. By exchanging
information and sharing materials and resources, teachers and Club youth development professionals
can better meet the needs of the youth with whom they work.
•
•
Begin by building good communication and relationships with teachers and other school staff who
are approachable and interested in Clubs.
Have Club members nominate Teachers of the Month and invite these teachers to come to Club to
be recognized – start small, one teacher at a time.
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•
•
•
Be present and visible at local schools and school events, such as curriculum night, parent-teacher
association meetings, etc.
See if your feeder schools can provide textbooks and copies of homework materials for your Club
so you can verify what homework has been assigned to your Club members and can better
reinforce what youth are learning in school in your Power Hour activities.
Look for ways to be a valuable resource for school staff, for example, helping teachers meet the
learning needs of specific children through tutoring or extra subject matter help at the Club; having
Club sports, fitness and recreation staff assist school staff with coaching/training for youth in school
sports programs; offering the Club as a venue for school events; etc.
Need to Implement a Tutoring Component
Members often need tutoring one-on-one or in small groups for difficulties in reading and/or
mathematics. If members are having difficulty with other subjects such as history, geography or
science, the problems are likely to involve reading. In mathematics, the problems tend to be centered in
thinking about how to make meaning.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Encourage tutors to model strategies they have used for moving through difficulties in learning. For
example, the tutors would select short passages from the members’ assignments or other material
and talk through them, “thinking aloud” about how they make connections, visualize the setting,
guess meanings when they are not directly stated, etc. They encourage members to try the
process, making guesses, using clues, saying where they get stumped. The pattern is “I do-we doyou do.” These dialogues can be demonstrated by older members or adults. Let members see that
learning is active and dynamic. This type of metacognitive practice, “thinking about thinking,” is
considered a powerful tool for building confidence and independence.
Ensure that the atmosphere for the tutoring program, as in the whole Club, is grounded in
supportive relationships throughout the Club. All members and tutors understand that respectful
behavior and words are expected.
Consider that while tutoring is ideal when it is conducted one-on-one with a member, it can also be
effective with small groups of members as long as all members in the group are in the same grade
or have similar academic needs.
Schedule tutoring sessions for a minimum of 30 to 60 minutes per session, twice a week.
Locate tutoring sessions in an area that is separate from, but still visible to, other Club activities.
Because tutors and members spend a lot of time talking aloud, the potential to disturb other
members is great. The space might be a quiet corner of the learning center or a space under a tree
near the Club’s playground or sports field.
Be good matchmakers in setting up tutors and members. In addition to personality matches,
determine which tutors are likely to be consistent and persistent in winning over reluctant members.
For the best results, a tutor should be available twice a week for the same member or group of
members for at least one grading period (six to nine weeks).
Be clear in the orientation of tutors about the importance of their dependability and willingness to
support members in rebuilding their confidence for academic success.
Conduct regular activities and celebrations to recognize tutors.
Build a pool of willing, available volunteer tutors from sources such as:
Keystone Club members
Club alumni and volunteers
Members’ parents and grandparents
High schools
University students majoring in education, sororities and fraternities
Retired Teachers Association
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Nonprofit organizations
Civic groups
Corporations
Additional Resources
BGCA has many resources available to assist you in expanding and enhancing your Power Hour and
other educational programming.
•
•
www.bgca.net: Download free tools, forms and resources from the Power Hour section,
http://www.bgca.net/Programs/EduCareer/phhome.aspx.
National Supply Service/SupplyWorks: The Power Hour Resource Guide (Item P-070, $15 each)
is the must-have resource for all Club educational program staff. The Power Points tracking poster
(Item P-071, $8 for a pack of five posters) is a great tool for keeping public track of members’ Power
Hour points so they can earn rewards and incentives. Contact National Supply Service by phone at
(404) 487-5701, fax at (404) 487-5794 or order online through SupplyWorks,
http://www.bgca.net/Departments/SupplyServices/Default.aspx.
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Appendix B: Child and Adolescent Development Milestones
The developmental characteristics outlined here offer Club staff, volunteers and parents a general idea
about what to expect from youth of different ages. However, young people develop at different rates
and in different ways. Consider these guidelines only as a general rule of thumb; use this information to
implement age-appropriate programs and services that best meet the needs of the youth in your Boys
& Girls Club. You can order this in a poster format through Supply services.
Ages 6 to 9
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
• Boys and girls experience steady growth
in size, strength and coordination.
• Large muscles are well-developed; smallmuscle growth has begun.
• Children enjoy testing muscle strength
with activities such as running and
throwing; fine motor skills are honed by
copying letters, shapes, numbers, etc.,
and using small tools such as scissors.
• Generally, gender differences are not yet
noticeable; however, some girls may
begin puberty as young as 5 years old.
• First experiences with competitive team
sports are appropriate. However, rules
and directions must be simple.
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• Children demonstrate a desire to do more
by and for themselves, based on a
growing independence, particularly from
parents.
• Youth continue to need love, attention
and approval from adults, but are less
willing to ask for it.
• Boys and girls are very susceptible to hurt
feelings as their peers’ opinions become
more important.
• Children may fear failure (e.g., in school)
and may need help expressing emotions
when upset or worried.
• Children have a strong sense of self and
know right from wrong.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
• Children are learning rapidly, with advances in
memory, attention span, logic and creative
thinking. Learning how to focus is critical for
mastering skills, but children still need help
solving problems.
• The ability to describe experiences, talk about
thoughts and feelings, and express ideas helps
children carry on conversations with adults and
peers.
• Children become better able to think about
others, understand cause and effect and
cooperate with adults and peers.
• Children develop a “sense of industry” and
have a great need to demonstrate – and
receive praise for – mastery of skills.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
• Children begin to develop independence from
parents and family as relationships with friends
become more important.
• Children increasingly want to be liked and
accepted by friends.
• Children want to play more with friends who are
similar to themselves (i.e., boys with boys, girls
with girls, etc.); however, they are willing to
care for and play with younger children.
• As children develop sympathy and empathy,
they are anxious to please and show
consideration of others.
• Small groups and organized play offer security;
doing something well can earn children social
status. Developing self-esteem is important.
PG
Ages 10 to 12
• There is wide variation in the onset of
puberty, creating early and late maturers.
Girls begin puberty, on average, two
years earlier than boys.
• The physical changes of puberty become
outwardly apparent, and children are
more aware of their changing bodies.
• Body image and eating problems
sometimes start at this age. Some
children become overly concerned with
weight and physical appearance and will
take steps to lose or gain weight.
• Rapid growth and physical changes
cause fidgeting, squirming and difficulty
being still. Children benefit from lots of
physical activity.
• Youth are more self-conscious and
worried about what others think of them.
However, because of the onset of
puberty, children are less able to
recognize the emotions of others.
• Children seek independence and test
adult authority, but retain a great need for
parental support and guidance. Adult
role models and heroes are important.
• Self-esteem issues may develop. Early
developing boys often have higher social
status/ self-esteem; early developing girls
may experience more attention from
boys, but are uncomfortable with the
attention.
• Some boys repress their emotions and,
instead, express themselves more
physically.
• Thinking matures as children’s attention,
memory and problem-solving abilities improve.
• Children develop greater abilities for logic and
reason; their thinking is predominantly concrete
rather than abstract.
• Children begin to question rules and beliefs
they previously accepted at face value; for
example, they begin to realize that fairness
cannot be measured or quantified.
• Special athletic, artistic, academic or musical
talents may emerge.
• Girls move ahead of boys in terms of cognitive
development.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
• It becomes more emotionally important for
children to have and keep friends, especially of
the same sex; although, some opposite-sex
interaction begins.
• Peers’ attention and approval is very important.
Young people feel peer pressure intensely and
may develop “best friend” relationships and
cliques.
• Children are beginning to learn social skills
(i.e., how to enter groups, how to read social
cues and how to deal positively with conflict)
and appreciate the social value of conversation.
• Youth may begin experimentation with sexual
behaviors and illicit substances.
PG
Ages 13 to 15
• Puberty continues. Both boys and girls
show outward, physical signs of
maturation. Boys’ voices deepen and
many girls are menstruating.
• By age 15, boys have begun their growth
spurt and are taller and more muscular
than girls. By age 14 or 15, most girls have
reached their final adult height.
• Rapid physical growth may cause
clumsiness and many youth worry that this
transitional awkwardness will last into
adulthood. Regular exercise and games
help develop coordination, reduce stress
and provide an outlet for excess energy.
• Acne and body odor, along with other
characteristics of their changing bodies,
are concerns for adolescents.
• Young teens’ need for sleep and physical
rest increases.
• Young teens often show less affection
toward parents, with occasional rudeness.
They seek independence but still need
structure and limits set by parents and
other adults.
• Although teens want some distance from
their parents, they often want close
relationships with other adults outside the
family.
• They may return to childish behaviors,
particularly when under stress.
• Youth are adept at masking their true
state of mind; they often give neutral
responses about whether they are happy
or sad.
• Young teens have intense desire for
privacy.
• Teens’ self-esteem may suffer as rapid
hormonal and body changes reduce their
confidence.
• Youth develop a greater ability for complex
thought (i.e., they can think abstractly, use
reasoning skills, show more intellectual
curiosity and can understand the hypothetical).
• Goal-setting, including for long-term goals,
becomes important.
• Youth need guidance to avoid risky behaviors
as they may not recognize the consequences
of their actions.
• Young teens often feel all-powerful, all-knowing
and invulnerable. There is a focus on the self,
alternating between high expectations and lack
of confidence.
• The distance between those who are
succeeding in school and those who are
struggling is magnified. Youth experience
anxiety from more challenging school work.
• Youth in this age group are the most likely
to drop out of school.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
• Friendship and romance are increasingly
important. Teens may feel confusion over
emerging sexuality and may worry about sexual
orientation.
• Peer pressure is at its peak; young teens
want to spend time with older teens. Teens are
trying to establish their own identities separate
from their families.
• Parental influence lessens, and increased
tension is an issue between teens and parents
regarding rules and relationships.
• Relationships deepen and become more
mutual and trusting as young teens learn to
step outside themselves and see others’ points
of view.
• Young teens may form opinions and beliefs
based on unreliable sources of information
(Internet and other forms of media) and are not
easily persuaded to seek the real truth.
• Teens experiment with sexual behaviors
and illicit substances.
PG
Ages 16 to 18
• Physical changes are leveling off. Most
• Most older teens can now think abstractly and
girls have completed puberty and achieved
hypothetically; can discern the underlying
their full height. Boys may still be maturing
principles of a situation and apply them to new
physically; in particular, boys’ muscles
situations; can think about the future; and can
continue to develop. Boys also develop
consider many possibilities and logical
greater heart and lung capacity.
outcomes of possible events.
• Boys are generally considerably taller
• A teen may not be fully able to connect
and heavier than girls at this stage.
knowledge and consequences with appropriate
actions because the brain continues to develop
• Appetite increases and eating disorders
until about age 24.
may become common, especially among
• Separation from caregivers toward
girls, as concerns about body image
independence, including choices about
remain intense.
vocation, post-secondary education and
• Most older teens experience strong sexual
parenting, is the central development task.
feelings.
• Older teens develop an increased capacity to
understand multiple perspectives, leading to
the ability for many to grasp bigger societal
issues and become interested in justice or
politics as they clarify their own values and
morals.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
• Youth continue to form their own identity
• Friendships with peers remain important, but
and may experiment with different styles,
older teens rely less on their peer group for
sexuality, friendships and occupations.
their sense of identity as they begin to define
Minority youth, in particular, may explore
themselves on their own.
several different patterns of identity
• One-to-one relationships are becoming
formation, possibly by identifying closely
increasingly important, as friendships are
with their own racial or ethnic group.
based more on real intimacy rather than
• As older teens develop a sense of
simply on common interests and activities.
personal identity, self-esteem continues
Cross-gender friendships become more
to develop.
common.
• Older teens continue to worry about their
• Peer pressure levels off and there is an
bodies and physical appearance.
increased ability to view parents as individuals
with their own perspectives.
• All experiences are intense and emotional.
•
Teens need a balance between time spent with
• Some will experience sadness,
peers and with parents or other adults.
hopelessness or depression, which can
lead to (or be caused by) poor school
• The senior year of high school is particularly
grades, further experimentation with sexual
stressful for teens and his/her relationships with
behaviors and illicit substances, thoughts
parents or other adults.
of suicide and other problems.
Acknowledgments: Boys & Girls Clubs of America gratefully acknowledges Michael Carerra, Director, Children's Aid Society, Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention
Program; Robert Diamond, Senior Social Work Supervisor, Children's Aid Society, Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program; and Cathy Motamed,
Implementation Manager, Children's Aid Society, Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program, for carefully reviewing the content of this publication. Their insight
proved invaluable for ensuring the quality of this resource.
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Session 2010
Copyright © 2007 Boys & Girls Clubs of America. All rights reserved
Welcome
Welcome
Active engagements
Be open, honest and candid
Be respectful
Have one conversation at a
time
Be on time
Place cell phones on vibrate
Have fun
1
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Introduction
The Need: Our Country’s Dropout Epidemic
Public high school graduation rate is 69%
51% for African-Americans, 55% for
Hispanics, 50% for Native Americans
65% for males vs. 72% for females
About 40% for poor students
Youth in single-parent homes are twice as
likely to drop out as those with two parents
Power Hour
Introduction
What the Experts Say
Schools cannot educate our children, or
overcome the dropout epidemic, on their
own.
Children do better in school and stay in
school longer when families, schools and
other partners, like Boys & Girls Clubs, work
together to help them achieve academic
success.
Power Hour
Introduction
2
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Introduction
Every Member, Every Year
All Club members graduate from high school on
time, ready for a post-secondary education and
a 21st century career.
Working with partners, all Clubs can implement
at least one of three approaches:
● Academic Enrichment and
School Engagement
● Targeted Dropout Prevention
● Intensive Intervention and
Case Management
Power Hour
Goal
The goal of this session is
to help Clubs increase
their members’ academic
success.
Power Hour
Outcomes
By the end of this session, you will be able to
identify strategies for improving the effectiveness
of your Power Hour program.
3
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Lesson Titles
This session includes the following lessons:
Power Hour
Lesson One
Power Hour
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be
able to describe ways to use the
Movement’s Five Key Elements for
Positive Youth Development to create a
Club climate and culture that emphasizes
and celebrates academic success.
4
10/10/2012
Power Hour
To help youth increase
their engagement in
school and achieve
academic success,
Clubs need to
reinforce and
celebrate continual
learning in every
interaction, activity
and area of the Club.
Power Hour
Five Key Elements for Positive Youth Development
Safe, Positive Environment
Fun
Supportive Relationships with
Peers and Adults
Opportunities and Expectations
Recognition
Power Hour
Interactive Exercise
This exercise provides an opportunity for
you to identify ways in which the Five Key
Elements for Positive Youth Development
promotes academic success.
5
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Lesson Summary
To help young people increase their school
engagement and achieve academic
success, we need to go beyond Power
Hour and create a Club culture that
promotes learning.
Power Hour
Lesson Two
Power Hour
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able
to identify essential aspects of Power Hour’s
program structure that contributes to its
effectiveness.
6
10/10/2012
Power Hour
What the Experts Say about Homework
Young people who consistently complete
homework:
Are better prepared for school
Take pride in their hard work and
accomplishments
Reinforce the skills and concepts they learn
during the school day
Feel more confident in their ability to learn
Power Hour
Power Hour Review
For youth ages 6 to 18
Fosters the daily habit of completing
homework
Improves organizational and time
management skills
Encourages personal responsibility
Develops enthusiastic, engaged learners
Power Hour
Power Hour Review
Homework help
High-yield
learning activities
Tutoring
Incentives and
recognition
7
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Multiple Pathways to Learning
Power Hour participants have diverse learning
needs and interests
One size does NOT fit all
Power Hour should provide different activities
and services to meet the unique needs of
those you serve
Power Hour
Multiple Pathways to Learning
A high-quality, high-impact Power Hour program
provides:
Academic support (homework help)
Academic enrichment (high-yield learning
activities)
Academic remediation (tutoring)
8
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Academic Support
Power Hour staff and volunteers supervise
members’ homework completion and keep
track of their progress.
They answer questions, provide help when
requested and check assignments for
completion.
Power Hour
Volunteer
Interview
Resource
www.bgca.net/programs/eduCareer/PH_program.asp
9
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Academic Support
you to think about and share the qualities of
good Power Hour workers, be they Club
staff or volunteers.
Power Hour
Academic Enrichment
Power Hour staff and volunteers frequently
and intentionally use high-yield learning
activities.
These are fun, engaging, hands-on activities
that reinforce the skills, knowledge and
behaviors youth are learning in school.
Power Hour
Characteristics of High-Yield Learning Activities
High-yield learning activities extend learning
throughout the Club. All staff should conduct
them in all areas.
They remove the division between learning
and playing.
Youth practice with reading, writing, math and
science, helping others, using cognitive skills
and talking with knowledgeable adults.
10
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Creating High-Yield Learning Activities
Keep it fun
Use a theme
Use a variety of
materials
Make it ageappropriate
(continued)
Power Hour
Creating High-Yield Learning Activities
When giving instructions, provide examples
Vary activities
Use technology
Keep your learning goals in mind
Involve peer leaders
Conduct field trips
Power Hour
Sources of High-Yield Learning Activities
Power Hour microsite on www.bgca.net, “HighYield Learning” section
The ActivityExchange searchable database in
on www.bgca.net in Program & Youth
Development Services’ Online Communities
11
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Academic Enrichment
you to share your most successful highyield learning activities.
Power Hour
Academic Remediation
Tutors work with members to help them
improve in specific subjects or skills.
Identify youth who need tutoring through own
observations or by communicating with parents
or teachers.
One-on-one tutoring is optimal.
Small-group tutoring for youth in same grade
or with same challenges also works well.
continued
Power Hour
Good matches between tutors and youth are
critical.
Tutors must be good listeners and have lots of
patience.
Some Clubs opt to refer members to tutoring
services provided by other organizations in the
community.
12
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Resources for Implementing Tutoring
Appendix A for “Tips for Power Hour Program
Enhancement”
“Member/Tutor Getting to Know You
Questions” and a “Tutoring Contract”
template
www.bgca.net/programs/eduCareer/PH_prog
ram.aspx
Power Hour
you to share your most successful practices
for identifying youth who need tutoring and
meeting their needs.
Power Hour
Age and Developmental Appropriateness
The developmental characteristics of children
and adolescents vary at different ages.
As they grow, they experience physical,
emotional, social and cognitive changes.
There are also vast differences in the
academic knowledge and skills of young
people in Kindergarten through 12th grade.
13
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Appendix B contains “Child and Adolescent
Development Milestones”
A poster version can be ordered through
SupplyWorks. Item P-300, $5.20 for a pack of
two posters.
www.bgca.net/Departments/SupplyServices/D
efault.aspx
Power Hour
Our Power Hour structure should take these
differences into account in three areas:
Grouping of youth
Scheduling
considerations
Choice of activities,
equipment and
materials
Power Hour
Grouping of Youth:
Designate specific times or places for younger
and older members.
Some Clubs organize youth into single-grade
groups.
Some Clubs combine multiple grades in one
group, e.g., K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, etc.
14
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Grouping Youth “From – To”
you to identify how you could improve how
you are currently grouping youth.
Power Hour
Scheduling Considerations:
Offer homework help at least four days per
week.
Vary session length in accord with the
age/grade group.
●
●
●
●
K-3: 30 minutes
4-5: 60 minutes
6-8: 60+ minutes
9-12: 60+ minutes
Continued
Power Hour
Scheduling Considerations:
Schedule teens for a different time of day than
children.
Offer tutoring at least twice per week for 30 to
60 minute sessions.
Provide healthy snacks and unstructured free
time prior to Power Hour.
15
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Scheduling “From – To”
you are currently scheduling members’
Power Hour involvement.
Power Hour
Choosing Activities, Equipment and Materials:
Lots of age and developmentally appropriate
supplies are needed in a high-quality
Power Hour program.
● Basic school supplies
● Reference materials
● High-yield learning materials
● Computers and Web access
Power Hour
Choice of Activities, Equipment and
Materials “From – To”
you currently choose your Power Hour
activities, equipment and materials.
16
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Dedicated Space
For Power Hour to operate optimally and have
the most impact on participants, having a
dedicated space that is conducive to learning
is essential.
Power Hour
Dedicated Space
Give it an appealing name!
Should be well-lit, comfortable, have tables
and chairs (minimally)
Should have aforementioned supplies and
technology
Walls should be decorated with members’
work; appealing, inspiring posters, etc.
Have a separate space for teens equipped and
decorated more to their liking
continued
Power Hour
Dedicated Space
When designing, renovating or updating a space,
remember the Three Ds:
Design – colors, size, shape, displays on walls
Distraction – temperature, lighting, noise,
color
Diversification – different kinds of furniture,
different learning stations
17
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Enhancing your Power Hour space does not
have to be overly complicated or prohibitively
expensive.
For more information, check out the:
• Club Safety and Design section of www.bgca.net:
http://www.bgca.net/departments/safetyandclubdesign/fin
al/design_new.aspx.
• Photos of Club learning centers on BGCA’s
KIDBUILDING site, http://www.kidbuilding.org/flash.html.)
Power Hour
Dedicated Space – Club Examples
Power Hour
18
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Power Hour
Dedicated Space “From – To”
you to identify how you could improve the
use of your Power Hour space.
Power Hour
Lesson Summary
To increase the quality and impact of
Power Hour:
Provide multiple pathways;
Ensure age and developmental
appropriateness; and
Secure dedicated space
19
10/10/2012
Power Hour
Lesson Three
Power Hour
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able
to make a preliminary plan identifying steps
and strategies to enhance the quality of your
program that you can share with your
supervisor.
Power Hour
Key Elements for Positive Youth Development
Safe, Positive Environment
Fun
Supportive Relationships with Peers and
Adults
Opportunities and Expectations
Recognition
20
10/10/2012
Power Hour
These features help increase the impact of
Power Hour:
Providing multiple pathways for youth with
different learning needs
Ensuring the age and developmental
appropriateness of the program’s activities
Dedicating space that is conducive to
learning
Power Hour
Program Enhancement Action Plan
you to draft a three to twelve month
preliminary plan based on the strategies
you learned to enhance your Power Hour
program.
Lesson Summary
Program Enhancement Action Plan
You now have a plan to enhance your Club’s
Power Hour program.
However, unless plans are turned to action
they are useless.
21
10/10/2012
Session Conclusion
This session was designed to give you tools
and strategies with which to:
assess the quality of your Club’s existing
Power Hour program, and
identify strategies to increase its impact on
your Club members’ success.
Power Hour
Contact
Erica Stevens
Senior Director of Education:
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
1275 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30309
Office: 404 487 5986
Email: estevens@bgca.org
Congratulations, you have completed:
Power Hour
Session
Your Boys & Girls Club Leadership University
transcript will reflect .2 learning credits.
22

Power Hour Program

Transcription

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