PROJECT GOALS

PROJECT GOALS

San Juan Island Family Resource Center

The overall goal of the SJI Family Resource Center “People to People” Program is to

promote student-community partnerships that will assist students in seeing the relationship between school learning and the outside “real” world while preserving and promoting the island culture of people helping people.  Students will benefit from their active leadership and participatory roles in the process of creating positive and needed change in our community.  Students will play a valuable and productive role in promoting cross-community collaboration.  They will become sensitive to the needs of the community as a whole and the needs of individuals specifically.  This will broaden their perspective of the meaning of “community”.  Skills to be developed include but are not limited to: creation, implementation, evaluation/analysis of surveys and data; techniques of asset mapping; provision of technological assistance; and career development.  Specific objectives are documented in the original SJI Family Resource Center proposal.  The overall goal of the project will meet specific community needs assessed at the August 2002 forum in Friday Harbor.  Please see the outline of these connections in the original proposal.

Another goal of the program is to lead the way for other social service organizations to integrate youth into leadership roles and promote service learning in projects supported by funds distributed through the SJIFRC.  All social services projects, including the “People to People” Program, will be screened, designed, conducted and evaluated by students working in conjunction with the Community Council.  Students will be leaders on the Community Council and will participate in a wide array of projects selected for implementation.

HOW WILL SUCCESS BE MEASURED

San Juan Island Family Resource Center

Staff of the SJI Family Resource Center, members of the Readiness To Learn Consortium, and volunteers will work with the FHHS Center for Student Action to assemble student teams to work on the “People to People” Program and other social services projects.  The progress of all projects will be measured, using specially designed measurement instruments/tools for each project, on a regular basis.  An annual review will be conducted to ensure that community needs are being addressed and educational goals are in line with community needs.  The project goals, student objectives and student service learning opportunities will be adapted and revised as community needs change.  The Community Council will provide focus and direction for students to ensure a continual match between community and project action.

To measure progress of the development and implementation of the “People to People” Program, 12 objectives were developed.  These objectives include learning in the area of social services and activism, service learning, community mobilization around key concerns, economic development, education, and technology.  Specific evaluation of the program will measure the eight (8) life skill areas used in assessing the success of 4-H education:  Decision Making (including future educational and career choices), Wise Use of Resources, Communication, Accepting Differences, Leadership, Useful/Marketable Skills, Healthy Lifestyle Choices, and Self-responsibility.

At the community level, the overall Connecting Schools and Communities Initiative Project’s success will be measured by the contributions made to government agencies, non-profit organizations, private business, and schools who:  requested assistance, and were funded, implemented and evaluated projects.  An evaluation component will be built into each local request for implementation at the time of the proposal.  Results of such evaluations will be submitted to the Community Council, analyzed, and a report made.  A simple survey might also be provided to all organizations in the community in order to evaluate the actual benefits received.

A detailed timeline for the completion of the “People to People” Program can be found with our budget attachment to this document.  To summarize the schedule and benchmarks, a brief description is provided here.  

Year One will focus on: 

·       A project coordinator will be hired to implement the social services component;

·       Students will be recruited for leadership roles in both the FHHS Center for Student Action (the Center) and the Community Council (CC); 

·       Policies and procedures for both the Center and the CC will be developed;

·       Trainings for youth, school staff, and community members will be held on the following:  service learning, conducting needs assessments, and asset mapping surveys; and design of evaluation tools through which measurable results will be obtained;

·       Data-base development and distribution;

·       Remodel of SJI Family Resource Center buildings;

·       Senior Culminating Projects review and acceptance.

Year Two will focus on: 

·       Project selection and implementation through the CC process established in Year 1;

·       Increasing partnerships, and seeking funding;

·       Developing websites, linkages, and technology design for and with partners;

·       Continuation of trainings in new topics as needed and those conducted in Year 1;

·       Public outreach

·       Senior Culminating Projects review and acceptance.

Year Three will focus on:

·       Continuation of trainings as needed ;

·       Public outreach and seeking funding;

·       Senior Culminating Projects review and acceptance;

·       Evaluation of projects implemented and completed through the Connecting Schools and Communities Initiative process.

PROJECTS

San Juan Island Family Resource Center

With the SJIFRC “People to People” Program, a process of student reflection on the service learning experience will be integral to the program.  Students will keep journals, will hold team debriefings, will evaluate success with research and education personnel, and share findings at community meetings and through written reports to classmates and staff..  Website development will be evaluated and continually revised.  Through this process, students will be able to evaluate their personal goals and objectives, and move forward with their Senior Culminating Projects.  Progress toward positive change for the community as a whole and individuals specifically as well as student leadership will be evaluated and documented through the High Tech High technological component of this Connecting Schools and Communities Initiative.

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT

San Juan Island Family Resource Center

The “People to People” Program will include training and skill development, field experience, reflection, sharing and evaluation at all levels of each student’s academic and community experience.  Youth will be actively involved in the process and activities of the FHHS Center for Student Action and the Community Council.  Student empowerment will be achieved through power point presentations to the community, through Website development and maintenance, and the distribution of articles and digital photography to local media.  Continuation of the program will be ensured through public education.  Community members will be most inclined to support a project on which they are educated, to which they feel closely aligned, and which has meaning to their lives.

ASSET MAPPING

San Juan Island Family Resource Center

The SJI Family Resource Center relies on the asset mapping done in 1998 by the San Juan County Community Network (updating this will be a priority in the next biennium), as well as on the following:   the bi-annual countywide Community Needs Assessment conducted by the SJC Department of Health and Community Services, and the annual Needs Assessments completed by United Way of San Juan County, the San Juan Island Community Foundation, and SJC Juvenile Justice Office for data upon which to base the needs of children, youth and families on San Juan Island.  Washington Kids Count and the Washington Health Foundation also supply much needed data for foci on the “state of of our children” here on San Juan Island.  Through the training and implementation of an island-wide needs assessment and asset mapping (discussed at a meeting on June 4, 2002 as well as at the August 2002 forum), the “People to People” Program will provide a much-needed and broader foundation for the work of this Connecting Schools and Communities Initiative Project.  

The results of the Asset Mapping conducted by WSU Rural Sociology Department will also be used to assess the priority of proposals and to review annually the changing needs of our community upon which future projects will be based.  When the results are available, they will be incorporated into the August 2002 forum results.