Response to comments on draft

After reading the Professor Rhodes's comments on our draft, it is evident that we need to totally revamp our paper. Apparently we have been approaching the draft from the wrong angle this entire semester. Our focus has been predominately on the literature- the theories and the evolution of these theories. We started out our research on dividing up the different theories between the group- resiliency, communication, social capital, etc- and then each individual focused on their topic. In reality we missed researching community organizations- the theories and practice of such organization in PYD, and low income communities and how they are changing, especially in Austin. More public policy reading and less psychology. Also our draft needs to discuss more of ALA and the KIR project. Truthfully most of what I know about both ALA and KIR is from what I read from the comments sheet. ALA still seems like a foreign entity to me; we have only met with them twice. Is there a way I can read more about both, like specific programming information or curriculum of KIR (if there is one)?

Oh ladies we have so much work ahead of us... Stay positive!

Dobie Website

I continued my research on Dobie Middle School, and looked at the page on their website labeled AISD Middle School Education Plan- since it is AISD I am assuming that this plan pertains to all schools. It listed the strategies (similar to our PYD practices), beliefs (similar to our PYD principles), and objectives ( similar to our PYD outcomes). Schools' mission is positive youth development, so it should be little surprise that their plan is similar to that of a positive youth development program (exceptions: schools also have the role in providing academic knowledge and test-taking abilities for furthering education). I also looked at their strategy links on the bottom of the same website page, and found some info that may be useful for our furthering knowledge of school- community-youth relationships.
CIS: Communities in Schools: a nonprofit that links school based social services to community resources. We should check them out because according to their stats- Out of 5,000 youth participants, 86% improved academics, attendance, and/or behavior.
Big Brother/ Big Sister in partnership with CIS works at Dobie.

Character Education/ Service Learning curriculum:
Advancement Via Individual Determination (a college prep program created to increase the number of students who enroll in a four-year college)
-At Dobie for 10 years, serves over 160 6th, 7th, and 8th graders
- student-based leaderships programs: mentoring programs, adopt-a-school (Hart Elementary)
On the website they provided useful student suggestions to the program:
"The following is a student-generated list of advantages offered by the program: learn to be better organized, learn to take notes, request help in any subject during tutoring, get help applying for college, get help securing financial aid for college, go on monthly field trips, participate in service projects, become a campus leader/mentor/role model, listen to great guest speakers, have only two days of actual class each week! "
Some things to keep in mind when drafting a PYD program.