Summer Youth
2005
WIA Summer Youth Program
Eleven JOG students attended the 2005 WIA Summer Youth Program held at Turning Point Applied Learning Center. Ten students (91%) graduated, eight students (80%) received an attendance bonus with five students (50%) earning the maximum cash bonus for perfect attendance.
MANUFACTURING and RECYCLING:
The summer program consisted of three
two-week modules that provided a variety of work experiences for the
students. The first two weeks
were spent in a manufacturing environment where the students did
hand-assembly of parts for Weastec. The
students also did manufacturing work in the second and third modules for
Hobart, Cedarworks and Banta Publications.
In addition, the students processed nearly 30 tons of paper and
plastic for recycling through the Recycling Works Program.
The processing work consisted of sorting, consolidating and
preparing materials for baling. Adult
participants and summer youth program job coaches baled the prepared
materials.
TOURS:
During the manufacturing module, the students toured potential employment sites in the community. Tours were hosted by Highland Water and Sewer Department, Hobart, Weastec, Waddell, Highland County JFS and One-Stop, Community Action, the local Homeless Shelter, WIC and Highland County Health Department, SealTite and the United Producers, Inc. These tours provided the students with the opportunity to view work environments that may be of interest to them upon graduation.
WEB DESIGN MODULE:
The second two weeks the students
worked in teams under the direction of Scott Freshour, PhreshNet Ventures,
to learn Microsoft FrontPage, a web design program.
The culminating activity for this module was the creation of a
website for Hopewell JOG. Each
student had responsibility for authoring one page of the site.
The website can be found at http://jog.motiv8solutions.com.
PUBLIC WORKS:
The third module consisted of outdoor activities focused on “hands-on” work for the betterment of the community. The students formed three teams that worked to paint over 240 fire hydrants in the City of Hillsboro. The City of Hillsboro Fire Department and the City of Hillsboro Water and Sewer Department assisted the students in this component. On the last day of the third module, the students worked on a stream cleanup and park cleanup under the guidance of the Highland County Recycling and Litter Prevention Program.
LIFE SKILLS and ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT:
Each day of the program, the students received individual academic skills enhancement through individual tutoring and/or life skills and soft skills training through Southern State Community College’s Career Compass Program and a Turning Point Teacher. Six of ten students elected to receive individualized academic tutoring. Students also spent time online researching careers and secondary educational opportunities.
At the onset of the program, students were administered WebXam, an online employability test administered by The Ohio State University. Overall, students demonstrated a 19% increase in employability scores.
CONCLUSION
At the conclusion of the program students were asked to take a satisfaction survey related to their experience at Turning Point. Graduation was held on the last day of the program and a slide presentation of their experience was offered to the attendees. Students were recognized for their work and their attendance. Two students were named “Most Improved” and “Outstanding Summer Youth Program Participant”.
This program was unique in that it offered the students experiences in a variety of employment settings: office, manufacturing and public works outdoors. It was also unique in that it offered students the opportunity to set and achieve individual and team goals. We hope that the experience had a positive impact on the students. Turning Point Applied Learning Center was pleased to offer this program to the Highland County JOG students in 2005 and we look forward to the opportunity of working with students in future summer youth programs.
