Community Partner Project Proposals

Check out this list of interesting and dynamic ideas for your service-learning courses!

Posted: August 17, 2006

Teresa Ashby, Director of County and Community Probation School would love to see one or more of the items on this list implemented by students in service-learning courses. These needs could be addressed by a variety of disciplines and curriculums:

1. I would love to have someone partner with me to facilitate the Leadership group here at County School. It is different every year and is only working because I'm here. I need help facilitating. It would provide support so if I can't make a meeting or if a youth or project needs following up on, that someone can back me up. It would be empowering youth to take leadership on campus. This means identifying and providing the needs youth see as missing. The goal is to change the norms and expectations on campus while building community and tolerance.
2.  Have someone seek out Community Service sites and help to facilitate and bring them to fruition. This involves working with outside agencies and non-profits, working with me to plan, schedule and staff. Recording and documenting youth achievements and working with staff to record actual hours. We want 1-2 sites most weeks or one event per month if possible. Person would hopefully volunteer to participate to and get a full feel of the program they help to create.
3.  For those who are creative or have hobbies or some skills already, I am always looking for people to run a section in our program that works with the youth directly teaching, sharing or showing them something new - this could be jewelry and beading, crafts that I help to determine with their input but that they facilitate, being a sci-fi buff who leads them through videos and comics, Body care - facials and nails, woodworking basics, tutoring small groups, gardening in pots, herbal lore etc. This links them directly to working with our youth.
4.  Sports and working out at the YMCA. I would love to have someone who showed some strength in this area to help p my staff work with the young men off-site engage in these areas. This is tues, - thurs. only. Also looking for people to help supervise/oversee our new wrestling and boxing programs. Both need extra staff to give the providers the support they need. A Soccer type coach person would rock my world!! This person would work with the youth on team and personal development etc. It is an exciting area because the youth get very comfortable and share more then they realize.
5.  We have a Conflict Mediation program that would LOVE to have some skilled interns to support it and learn our process. We as a staff often can't get to the issues as readily as we'd like in this effort. Mediation has made some huge impacts for our youth in the past.
6. Helping support the programs from an administrative perspective and work with me on grants, talking to organizations about different programs they can provide or help us with. I am especially looking at some artists through the Arts Council and trying to find funds for a gardening project, using staff and/or a model from the East Bay.
7.  Sat. School is a disciplinary measure that requires youth to come to our campus and participate in campus clean-up and other activities. Having someone help with this and develop the Community Service component as mentioned above. 9 - 1pm.
8.  For interns wanting 1-1 time they could become mentors to our youth and get trained through our YMCA Mentorship Program. These interns get matched 1-1 with a youth, or a few, and meet with them once a week during the After school Program. If paperwork is completed by youth's parents and intern off-campus time can be arranged. These relationships help to understand teens, the legal system, and living in Marin from a disenfranchised position.
9.  I personally, am looking to find someone who can help me develop a program for pregnant or/and parenting teens. We have many of them at our school and in the county and it is an area I have been seeking support for, but finding nothing that meets the needs of this population. The goal would be to run a weekly group that would serve this population. It would be starting from scratch.
10.  Literacy Project: Seeking someone to help with school vocabulary development in Spanish and English. Identify and posting common words, nouns etc. I can go on but this would be great for someone interested in bi-lingual ed. or lifting up, developing creative ways to include low level mono-lingual youth into the general school community. I have ideas but am very open to someone with more info taking a lead etc.
11.  Along with that idea is some cultural curriculum development. We are trying to have a relevant assembly each month and I'd love for someone to seek lessons, activities, topics etc and help me host the assemblies etc. This is an exciting internship and some of he work could be done in the comfort of their home, while some would be engaging the youth