"my words, strong words--vol. 2 at milton L. Olive middle School in wyandanch, new york





The program partners with Milton L. Olive Middle School in Wyandanch New York--responsible for selecting students and assisting in the development and monitoring of program effectiveness indicators. The program is geared toward seventh and eighth grade. It combines literacy with general mentoring and adult support for male students with the intention of following and serving as many members of the cohort as possible through high school and beyond.





My mom





is sometimes kinda nice

sometimes kinda annoying

She is all around strict

But she is still My mom

And i

LOVE

HER

She is very hard working

A single mom with

me and my brother always fighting



My decisions





are sometimes Good

and sometimes BAD that

could get me in

TROUBLE

I THINK about my decisions

much more than I use to

when I was YOUNGER

I choose more carefully

THINK

about stuff that

COULD

HAPPEN

Before making decisions



My life





Is weird in many ways

but also fun at the same time

I am 13

I like to play ball, go outside and sometimes play my game

I adore my friends

But only the real ones

There are many things that go on in my life

There are many things but I always

push my way through it

Failure, accomplishments, difficulties

But we only have one life

So make the best out of it



***The above are excerpts from the 2019 My Words, Strong Words Program.



The 2021– 2022 My Words, Strong Words Program, co-sponsored with Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.--Eta Theta Lambda Chapter, is designed to emphasize academic, leadership and personal development, as well as community service. The program consists of a series of Saturday morning meetings and web-based activities that include development seminars and group discussions, learning styles and preferences counseling, career exploration, homework and academic assistance through, one on one mentoring, community service, and incentive based recreation activities. The program is geared toward seventh and eighth grade male students with the intention of following and serving as many members of the cohort as possible through high school and beyond. The mission of the program is to introduce youth participants to the strength and power resident in their own written words. Inspired by Jason Reynolds' free verse novel Long Way Down, this project encourages participants to write a collection of free verse pieces describing their environment, feelings, and thoughts. The free verse format is chosen for its lack of rules of rhythm, rhyme, or syntax, allowing participants to emphasize their words. The project includes group reading and discussion of Long Way Down as an example of effective writing.


Program Description

The My Words, Strong Words Program culminates with the production of a soft cover book containing a collection of selected participant writings. The students serve as editors, designers, and promoters of the text. Time is set aside during each session to complete a specific task related to project completion. Once completed, the text will be professionally reproduced and presented to school peers, administrators, district officials, and community leaders during a celebratory public program. Time is set aside at each Mentoring and College/Success Readiness Program session to complete a specific task related to project completion. Completion tasks are correlated with the school English language arts and mathematics curricula. Students are therefore able to translate classroom learning into real world experiences that ultimately solve problems and provide service to others. Participants help develop a timetable for completion, participate in the drafting process, develop promotional material, complete inter-session assignments and essentially exhibit responsible collaborative and cooperative behaviors as collective project completion is achieved.



program services





homework helper and academic support



The Homework Helper and Academic Support portion of the program is designed to assist students with homework, study skills, test preparation, etc. This is accomplished through the use of web based conferencing technology, via the ETL Education Foundation Virtual University Initiative. Web-based strategies include access to online real time assistance (i.e. Monday Math Nights) and asynchronous learning modules. Also a portion of the regular in-house meeting is dedicated to some aspect of academic development. One on one mentors assist students individually with assignments and academic subject matters as feasible.



Personal development



The program also includes a series of age appropriate personal development workshops that include topics such as health and hygiene, human sexuality, police interaction, historical/social/cultural awareness, etc. Once again the use of resources available through the Virtual University Initiative (VUI) combined with “in-house” discussions best facilitate this aspect of the program.



One on one mentoring



Youth participants are assigned an adult mentor. The purpose of the mentoring relationship is to establish a more personal contact and nurturing relationship. Mentoring relationships are individual and develop at individual paces. The program provides mentors with appropriate support.



Community Service



Part of the personal and leadership development aspects of the program includes the facilitation of the importance of using one’s skills, talents, and advantages in community service. Regular discussions about how students may use their particular skills, talents, and expertise to help their peers, community, and school occur during “in-house” and web based activities. Further, the program provides significant opportunity to achieve an important community service goal as students present their work to the school library and serve as role models to peers.



recreation



The program also includes a series of recreational activities. However these activities are based upon the achievement of goals, group participation/attendance records, and other indicators. The program recognizes that recreational activities are important aspects of any youth program. However such activities should be linked to the accomplishment of goals and have a celebratory nature.



leadership development



The program also includes leadership training and development. Discussions about why leaders are necessary, defining leadership, enumerating leadership qualities and other aspects of leadership are incorporated into the program. Once again a combination of VUI strategies, one on one mentoring and group activities drive this aspect of the program.