Superior Programming...
It is a specific objective of Teen Leadership Corps to target highly influential and overlooked student leaders in secondary schools to provide structured opportunities for community service. Once in the program, schools participate in a unique combination of services including:
1. Educational leadership training: (Teachers) Teen Leadership Corps will provide training for certified teachers to teach the service leadership course. Instructor attendance is mandatory for schools receiving benefits from Teen Leadership Corps.
2. Academic leadership training: (Students) The peer program trains students to serve as positive roles models and resources for other young people. Training includes: character education and mentoring skills, refusal and coping skills, interpersonal skills of attentive listening and facilitative responding, peer mediation, prevention education, and identification of school and community resources.
3. Collaboration services: Teen Leadership Corps works with the United Way in establishing collaborative efforts with existing community service organizations.
4. Instructional resources: All instructional materials necessary to teach, train, and facilitate the service leadership program are provided to the schools. These include student textbooks, journals and teacher references and supplemental materials.
5. Service projects: Teen Leadership Corps provides financial assistance for student community service projects. Project samples are included in an Instructor’s Manual.
Why Teen Leadership Corps?
Authenticity
Teen Leadership Corps is the only non-profit established to provide both educational training for teachers, as well as financial assistance to bring community service-learning programs into the academic curriculum of secondary schools. Our communities are in dire need of youth leaders, yet too often these bright, energetic people are never asked to serve. Teen Leadership Corps is committed in providing superior programming which empower our youth to make positive changes with their communities.
“Teenagers today are suffering from ever-decreasing levels of self-esteem. Why? American teenagers have more ‘material’ possessions than any generation before them and have more opportunities to excel in the classroom and sporting arena. So, what is lacking? We have trained our youth to focus on what they can get rather than what they are here to give. When teenagers focus on what they are here to give, they discover their mission in life while gaining an immense dose of self-esteem. We can best help our teenagers today by instilling in them an understanding of the importance of service in the equation of human happiness”. Mathew Kelly, author, activist, and educator
The following summary was obtained from The National Commission on Service-Learning, Learning In Deed, funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
Socially Relevant
Service learning has attracted growing support over the last decade, not only as an end in itself, but also as a powerful vehicle for addressing some of the burning issues of the day. When the concept of service learning was explained, an overwhelming 90 percent of respondents said that they would support such a program in their local schools, with parents of current students the most supportive.
Americans believe that the time is ripe for U.S. schools to embrace service learning as a means of overcoming widespread academic and civic disengagement among American students. Only then can we be assured of raising generations of American youth that are both world-class learners and world-class citizens.
Statistical Support of Service- Learning Programs
* 94% of poll respondents believe that a good education is much more that just learning to read, write, and do math.1
* 90% support including service learning in their local schools if service learning helps to create a partnership between schools and communities. 2
* 89% agree that service learning encourages active citizenship and community involvement.3
* 90% agree that service learning helps students build the skills they need to be successful in life. 4
* Youth who volunteer just one hour a week are 50% less likely to abuse drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, or engage in destructive behavior. 5
* Teens say the benefits received from volunteering are: learning to respect others, learning to be helpful and kind, learning to understand people who are different from them, developing leadership skills, becoming more patent, and acquiring a better understanding of good citizenship. 6
* Youth who volunteer are more likely to do well in school, graduate, vote, and be philanthropic. 7
“Studies demonstrate that if you engage in helping activities as a teen, you will still be reaping health benefits sixty to seventy years later." 8
“Research has shown that helping others is highly protective for adolescents, reducing risky behaviors while increasing well-being and self-esteem." 9
1,2,3,4: Roper Starch Worldwide, Inc., Public Attitudes Towards Education and Service Learning, November 2000 (www.learningindeed.com).
5: Search Institute, 2005.
6: Independent Sector/Gallup, 1996.
7: UCLA/Higher Education Research Institute, 2001.
8: Why Good Things Happen to Good People, Stephen Post, PhD, and Jill Neimark, 2007. (Pg 2)
9: Why Good Things Happen to Good People, Stephen Post, PhD, and Jill Neimark, 2007. (Pg. 24)
