African-American, Latino, and Hispanic Youth in Service Topic Bibliography

This monograph looks at the field of youth service broadly and provides examples of the range of programs available for urban youth. A review of statistics on urban youth involvement nationally notes that most young people are not involved in community service, African American students perform more community service annually than any other racial group, urban schools do not push community service, and many agencies look to community service to engage low-income urban youth in positive action. Special issues for urban programs are covered, including the value of community service for overcoming the alienation and hostility of many youth toward their community, the focus of youth corps for low-income youth in the form of increased academic achievement, competence, self-confidence, and self-esteem. Several programs are briefly profiled, including in-school programs, out-of-school programs, and the growth of urban youth corps. Also addressed are various federal legislative initiatives and their role in fostering these programs. (lncludes12 references.) AUTHOR: Oliver, Helen T. TITLE: Taking Action in Rural Mississippi: Uniting Academic Studies and Community Service through Project YEAR: 1997 AVAIL: ERIC NO# ED406905 ABSTRACT: This paper describes an innovative service learning program developed at Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi, an historically black college in a poor rural area. Project DREAMS (Developing Responsibility through Education, Affirmation, Mentoring, and Service) involves college student volunteers serving as tutors and mentors to elementary school students in two local school districts. In the inaugural year, the primary function of the program was to market and define service learning, to identify and provide technical assistance to faculty, and to assure academic integrity. The program then began to implement service learning across the curriculum and build service learning community partnerships. During the Spring 1997 semester 57 Rust College volunteers participated in service learning programs impacting upward of 500 K-4 students. Student volunteers are required to attend an initial orientation and training session, complete an application form, submit a letter of recommendation from a professor, sign a 20-hour service contract, keep a journal of service activities, complete assigned readings, write a reflective paper on the service experience, and make a classroom presentation on the experience. So far, 34 percent of the faculty have integrated a service learning component into their courses. National Service-Learning Clearinghouse African-American/Latino/Hispanic Youth in Service Topic Bibliography Page (> AUTHOR: Oliver, Helen T. TITLE: Voices, Places and Conversations about Service Learning: Making Connections YEAR: 1996 AVAIL: ERIC NO# ED402853 ABSTRACT: This paper defines service-learning by college students in the context of institutional purpose, mission, and curriculum while simultaneously defining community and echoing conversations about student service-learning experiences. These issues include: (1) voices–institutional purpose and mission and founding principles; (2) places–the student, the teacher, the classroom, and the community; and (3) conversations–highlights of reflective experiences, “telling the stories”. The paper describes the service learning program at Rust College (Mississippi), an historically black college which has a long tradition of community service. It reports that, in 1995, Rust College implemented a service learning program called Developing Responsibility through Education, Affirmation, Mentoring and Service (DREAMS). Thirty Rust students are presently involved in service-learning. Students are required to complete 20 hours of tutoring and mentoring services, keep a daily journal, write a reflective paper on the experience, and make a classroom presentation. AUTHOR: Tanksley, Mary Dennard TITLE: Improving the Attendance Rate for African American Male Students in an After School Reading Program through Parental Involvement, Positive Male Role Models, and Tutorial Instruction. YEAR: 1995 AVAIL: ERIC NO# ED394119 ABSTRACT: This practicum was designed to improve the attendance rate for African American male students in the After School Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) program. The attendance rate for male students was far below that of female students. The following strategies to increase male participation in the reading program were developed: local businesses and foundations were sought to fund the program; parent groups were organized to assist with book distributions, field trips, and assembly programs; and African American males were recruited to serve as tutors. Analysis of the data revealed that the attendance rate for African American male students improved. This improvement appears related to both the strong parental involvement in this program and the presence of male role models as tutors. Student interaction with adult males is discussed as a particularly important factor behind the success of this program. AUTHOR: Vaznaugh, Adriana TITLE: Dropout Intervention and Language Minority Youth. YEAR: 1995 AVAIL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics: ED3 79951 National Service-Learning Clearinghouse African-American!Latino!Hispanic Youth in Service Topic Bibliography Page 7 ABSTRACT: This digest describes three programs for middle and high school language minority students at risk of dropping out of school. Two of the programs are geared toward limited-English-proficient Hispanic youth, and the third, a vocational program, involves African-American students as well. This digest describes three programs for middle and high school language minority students at risk of dropping out of school. Two of the programs are geared toward limited-English-proficient Hispanic youth, and the third, a vocational program, involves African-American students as well. The first program described is the Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program, which aims to help Hispanic middle and high school students achieve academic success and improve their language skills. In this program, middle and high school students are paired with elementary school students identified as being at risk of dropping out of school. The program’s philosophy is that the tutors, by being placed in positions of responsibility, will improve their selfesteem and academic performance. The goals of the second program, Project Adelante, are to improve the high school graduation rate of Hispanic students, increase their opportunities for college admission, and increase the number who enter the teaching profession. The California Partnership Academies Program represents a three-way partnership among state, local school districts, and supporting businesses. Goals are to provide academic and vocational training to disadvantaged students and to decrease youth unemployment. AUTHOR: TITLE: YEAR: AVAIL: Walter, Kate Chance To Succeed: An After School Tutorial Program. 1991 ERIC NO# ED341740 ABSTRACT: This report describes an after-school tutorial program in which fifthand sixth-grade tutors at Public School 61, situated in the heart of the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, tutor third and fourth graders. The Chance To Succeed Program was developed by assistant principal I. Kushner. It begins in November and ends in June, and runs for one hour after school Monday through Thursday. The first half hour is spent on homework; the second half hour is spent in independent reading or working on personal computers at language arts games or compositions. Tutoring training for the older students precedes the November start. In its first year, the program included 25 third and fourth graders and 9 tutors; later, however, it became necessary to add tutors from a nearby high school because of the demand. These high school students then served as role models for the fifth and sixth graders. The diverse ethnic backgrounds of the high school students, who were Asian, Hispanic American, and Caucasian, helped both tutors and tutored students cross racial and ethnic barriers. Responses from parents, teachers, school administrators, and students have been positive; and the standardized test scores of fourth graders soared, with an overall gain of 68%. The Chance To Succeed Program has been recognized by the school system and is being implemented in other schools. National Service-Learning Clearinghouse African-American!Latino!Hispanic Youth in Service Topic Bibliography AUTHOR: TITLE: YEAR: AVAIL: Welker, Jennifer; Moscow, Karen Tutoring and Befriending 1989 ERIC NO# ED319868 Page 8 ABSTRACT: This guide is intended to assist colleges and universities to initiate This guide is intended to assist colleges and universities to initiate tutoring programs for immigrant and refugee student communities in their cities. Guidelines are presented for planning, executing, and maintaining a program to enable these students to learn English and survival skills, using college student volunteers. The following issues are discussed: (1) immigrants and refugees; (2) immigration law; (3) immigrant children in the U.S. public schools; (4) English as a Second Language (ESL) and bilingual education; (5) university students; and (6) the D.C. Schools Project at Georgetown University for acclimating immigrants to life in the District of Columbia. Suggestions are given for working with the school system, the university, and the community. Methods are suggested for recruiting volunteers and students and training volunteers in cultural sensitivity and ESL tutoring. The following programming topics are outlined: (1) attendance; (2) campuswide education; (3) evaluation; (4) extracurricular events; (5) insurance; (6) matching; (7) nontraditional volunteers; (8) the office; (9) program literature; (10) record keeping and documentation; (11) safety; (12) staffing; (13) summer operations; (14) transportation; (15) tutoring materials; and (16) volunt