Project 1: Community Partnership- YWCA
OVERVIEW & RATIONALE
As a secondary school teacher and leader attempting to build a positive environment for students both in and outside of the classroom, I choose to seek community-based support when needed. At the beginning of the school year, it became apparent through numerous conflicts between young girls on campus and repeated stories of neglect, abuse, and sadness, that my young girls needed professional support if they were to become healthy young adults. Being thirteen and fourteen years old are difficult for any child, but the onset of violence, depression, and abuse can cause a child’s life to feel overwhelming. This can lead to the issues present on my campus- arguments, fights, decreases in academic performance, and even dropping out. To help aid particularly with the aspect of abuse recovery, I sought the aid of a key resource in my students’ community of South Los Angeles- the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). The YWCA is a social justice organization with the motto, “Eliminating Racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, and dignity for all”. I immediately contacted the local YWCA site and sought to establish counseling for the 8th grade girls on my campus.
TASKS
- Conduct an introductory meeting with the Director of the YWCA of Greater Los Angeles. This introductory meeting was a one on one meeting discussing the climate of relations between young ladies on campus and the presence of violence and abuse in the community. The Director
provided details on the programs by age level, established one on one counseling dates for two students, and information on future programs. - Obtain permission from the Principal and students’ parents allowing them to attend counseling and to be driven down the street to the site.
- Complete a 6 week cycle of fall counseling one to two times per week.
REFLECTION
In speaking with the women at the YWCA during my numerous visits, I became even more concerned about the girls participating in counseling and the rest of the young ladies on my campus. The YWCA truly serves as a “last hope” for many women in the community and I was hoping my ultimate goal for this project- school wide preventative counseling, could take place as a proactive measure for the young ladies on my site. Due to the age group of the students, many of them being younger than fourteen, the YWCA collaboration was limited to one on one counseling with students from the school. I noticed a change in the one student who was able to continuously attend. She began to look forward to her counseling days and even wrote about her experiences during a reflective assignment in leadership class. Ideally the extend of the relationship between the school and the YWCA will grow as more students are able to attend and the families of students become more familiar with the resources of their neighborhood center.
CPSEL Connection
CPSEL Standard 4
Collaborating with families and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources.
- 4.1 Collaborate to incorporate the perspective of families and community members
- 4.2 Establish and manage linkage between the site and the larger community context
- 4.3 Engage and coordinate support from agencies outside the school
CPSEL Standard 6
Understanding, responding to, and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context.
- 6.1 Engage with the policy environment to support school success
- 6.2 Interact with stakeholders
- 6.3 Incorporate input from the public
