In fall of 2009, New Solutions funded several projects and over the next few months the final reports will be coming in. The Brothers and Sisters Project combined the resources of Child Care Resources, American Red Cross and the Community Schools Collaborative to address the high number of youth that aren’t able to participate in after school activities because they are needed at home to care for younger brothers and sisters. The project was implemented in three different schools in South King County: Evergreen Campus (White Center), Foster High School (Tukwila) and Tyee Education Complex (SeaTac). Thirty-six youth participated, representing 12 different cultural communities (Somali, African/American, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Chin/Burmese, Ethiopian, Hispanic, Mexican, Nepali, Haitian, Pacific Islander and Ghanaian). All 36 students received CPR and First Aid Training and received a Childcare Development Certificate from CCR. They also all left the program with updated resumes that highlight their new skills, mock interview experience and volunteer/job opportunities.
There were also some surprising unintentional results for students who participated in the BSP Project. One unintentional result, shared with us by the facilitators, was that for some students, especially immigrant and ELL students, the BSP gave them a cultural learning experience about childcare best practices in the U.S., as well as an opportunity to learn new vocabulary. Facilitators also noted some very shy, isolated participants who met new friends, became more open to voicing their opinions, and sharing their personal experiences as the project continued. The biggest challenge and also the reason that this program was so unique, was the makeup of the participants. Most of the participants were ELL (English Language Learners) students, so traditional methods of teaching, such as lecturing and handouts, were not helpful to most participants. The facilitators had to focus on making sure that the ideas and concepts were mostly given out through visual aids and hands-on experiences. A lot of the readings were followed with activities, such as the “baby relay”, where participants competed with each other on the correct way to care for an infant. In some groups, students not only learned about healthy nutrition, they also learned to make healthy snacks for young children. The King County Library System made sure that their training on pre-literacy was also hands-on and even brought the KCLS bus for youth to sign up for library cards and check out books.