Blog 26: Senior Project Reflection

Positive Statement:
I am most proud of the friendships I've made throughout my project. This is because the kids at the center can come to me for their problems which is incredible. These are friendships that will last that I wouldn't have without my project.

Assessment of my 2 Hour: P

Assessment of my overall senior project: P

What Worked:
During my project, my mentorship worked. I looked forward to going and for the most part, every day was a great experience. I really did learn a lot about my community and the youth in it. I made many friendships with staff and kids and really enjoyed myself throughout.

What didn't work:
Well if I could go back, I'd do more in the initial research checks. I really didn't learn much in the first few, so I could have used those research checks for better articles so I could learn that much more.

Finding Value:
Well, I believe my senior project will help me in future endeavors by giving me a career choice that I probably wouldn't have considered. I know how the center works and I know whats important in helping kids get the most. Even if I don't go into this career, I have a better understanding of customer service. I also learned the importance of taking care of myself physically and things like that. I also believe I'm a more helpful individual. I try more to help others than I ever have. At the center if a kid needed help with homework or getting a ball down I was there. Even now on my street when I see a kid playing basketball with a flat ball I go and pump it for them. This is something I definitely would have never done.

As my project comes to an end.

I'm actually pretty bummed thinking that my project is coming to an end. This means I won't be going back to the center very often. Even some of the kids I became friends with at the center are sad. As the school year started coming to an end they'd ask if I'd keep coming back. I had to say no, but I also said I will come visit whenever possible. A lot of the kids at the center became close friends.

Staff building relationships with kids.

It's ideal for the staff to become close friends with the kids. This is because if staff befriend the kids, then they can be a mentor and a positive influence on kids. So the staff can be there for the kids and get them to join programs they normally wouldn't and even engage with others they normally wouldn't. This is really incredible and something I see everyday at my mentorship.

Staff keep kids coming back

Staff are just as important as the programs themselves. If the staff provide poor service, then kids won't come back. if kids don't come back, then it's impossible to support them and all is lost. Staff are what keep kids coming back.

Benefits of health programs

Through health programs kids can develop healthy habits to carry with them for the rest of their life. If kids don't learn healthy habits at school or at home its up to after school programs to teach them. This in turn can lead to healthier generations in the future. These programs impact a lot!

kids getting older

A common goal among programs is to target kids of all ages with all kinds of wants and needs. There should be a program for everyone that can truly benefit the participant. Variety plays an important role in successful centers.

Plans to start my own program

I plan on starting a summer program at the center for p90x. This will give kids the chance to experience this expensive work out program and be more healthy over the summer for free.

Carnival Today

Today there was a carnival at De Anza Park it was pretty cool. There were lots of festivities and performances.

Blog 25: Mentorship

L:

Hours
Mentor: Jerrica Bonilla (909)969-1852

I:

What I've gained from my senior project experience is friendships within my community. Not only with staff of the De Anza Teen Center, but with the youth of Ontario. I've met and helped some really cool kids. I got a particular kid to be competitive with others about his grades which is really cool. I'm sure these friendships will last too because even though my project is finished I'll still go back to the center.

A:

My mentorship has significantly helped me solve my essential question. This is because I was able to see all my answers first hand. I got to see that having a big variety of programs can keep coming back to get support. I saw that encouraging healthy eating and living supported kids greatly when I saw all the smiles on their faces when they started seeing results. I also saw why my best answer of providing staff willing to build relationships with kids inaction. It was amazing to see all the regulars that were so engaging with staff and the new kids that soon became the same way.

Pretty cool stuff

Research that I came across a long time ago by Afterschool Alliance still amazes me. Kids in afterschool programs can influence the work force. If parents at work know their kids are safe in an afterschool program then thry'll be more productive while working because they have nothing to worry about.

Blog 24: Exit Interview Questions

(1) What is your essential question?  What is the best answer to your question and why?

My Essential question is How can a parks and rec afterschool program best support community adolescence? My best answer is by providing staff willing to build relationships with the kids in programs. This is my best answer because if the staff don't do a good job and make the kids not want to come back, then my other answers which are providing a variety of quality extracurricular programs, and encouraging healthy eating and living, wouldn't matter because the kids would never come back.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

First, I had to generate my essential question. Starting in my topic of parks and recreation, I wanted to specifically be working with adolescence. I then started thinking what makes the kids come back and why it matters. Then I arrived at my essential question, how can a parks and rec afterschool program best support community adolescence? Then I started looking at what program's I saw kids coming back for which was the programs, to get healthy for summer, and to interact with the staff. So my answers were very easy to generate. By providing a variety of extracurricular programs, by encouraging healthy eating and living, and by providing staff willing to build relationships with kids. Then i started thinking which is more important. I saw that the kids that hung out with staff came back the most. I saw that staff could become a mentor to the kids and a great influence on them so I came to my best answer. By providing staff willing to build relationships with kids, parks and rec afterschool program best support community adolescence.

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

During my research I faced the problem of research. In the initial research checks I'd have information that was useless. This went on for a while until i saw some posts from Afterschool Alliance. I wanted to see what it was about so I looked at their site and their information. I was happy to find that they had all the information I had been searching for. I was then able to use keywords from their site to find more helpful research in other sites. Another big problem I faced was while I was leaving my mentorship I saw a woman screaming profanities at kids accross the street from the center. I then decided to step in to tell her that she can't do that. Her and her husband then decided to yell profanities at me asking who i thought I was. So after I told her that if she had problems with the kids to go in the center and talk to the staff otherwise she could get in a lot of trouble. So I saw her walk in the center and thought everything was fine. The next day I was disappointed to find that she went in and told the staff that I was rude and cursed at her. For a while I had to be going in the office to say what happened and find the kids that she was yelling at as witnesses until I was able to really get back into my mentorship. After that was solved everything went smooth. 

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

The most significant sources I used to answer my essential were the site Afterschool Alliance, and my mentor, Jerrica Bonilla. The site Afterschool Alliance was very significant because all of my helpful research came from this site or this site was used to form key words to find other helpful sites. My mentor, Jerrica Bonilla was also very helpful because of her prior work history. She has worked for a church youth program, a popular afterschool program called Think Together, and at the city of Ontario at the De Anza Teen Center. So with all her work history she was able to answer any questions I had or give helpful information to assist me on my way.

(5) What is your product and why?

My product from my senior project would have to be that now I am able to look at things and figure out where I fit in to help. At the center when a kid needed homework help I'd do all I could to help them with whatever they needed. If a kid needed to use the computer lab but didn't have their library card (needed to access the internet) I'd let them borrow mine. If a kid needed to get a ball off the roof I'd go help. After a while I'd apply this elsewhere. When I saw the neighborhood kids playing basketball with a flat ball I'd go find my pump and pump the ball for them. 

Cinco De Mayo

The park was packed and there were all kinds of festivities going on.

Blog 23: 2014 Interview

1.  Who did you interview and what house are they in?

Gabriel Mendoza, West

2.  What ideas do you have for your senior project and why?

I want to do my senior project on basketball statistics because it has always been an interest of mine.

3.  What do you plan to do for your summer 10 hour mentorship experience?

I am not sure yet, possibly gather stats at a basketball camp.

4.  What do you hope to see or expect to see in watching the 2013 2-hour presentations?

I hope to see seniors that i know and topics that interest me.

5.  What questions do you have that I can answer about senior year or senior project (or what additional information did you tell them about senior year or senior project)?

I would like to know deadlines.

Tasty treats

These kids just cane in from playing basketball or dodge ball to eat a healthy snack. Todays snack was granola bars, an apple and orange juice.

Blog 22: 3 Column Chart Final

My 3 column chart

Blog 21: Independent Component 2

Literal

(a) I, Isaiah Chavez, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
(b) I referred to several Afterschool Alliance articles like Afterschool: A High School Dropout Prevention Tool, Recruiting and Retaining Older Youth in Afterschool, and Afterschool: Providing Multiple Benefits to Middle School Students.
(c) On my mentorship log
(d) Over my 30 hours of my second independent component, I helped out with several programs and events. I got more involved in the Teen Action Committee (even got a shirt from it), I helped kids with what a staff member would (homework, setting up games, ect.), I helped make a few fliers for upcoming events, and I made friends with several kids and staff members (part of my third answer).

Interpretive

In my 30 hours I saw first hand how a parks and rec afterschool program best supports community adolescence. I saw all my answers in action. I saw new programs getting made and what thought process was brought up in creating them. I helped make a few fliers for the talent show and march madness (a tournament for the local basketball teams). I even got to pitch a few ideas for programs coming this summer (there's going be a p90x program because of me :D) and I helped a staff member, Guadalupe Saldivar, figure what could be discussed in a youth club she is planning on making. 
My Independent Component 2 Pictures

Applied

My second independent component was great at supporting each of my answers. I saw how different the community kids that aren't involved at the De Anza Center are versus the ones that are. When I went to the park outside the center to play basketball with my dad I noticed that these kids all looked unfamiliar. All of them were using profanities and discussing drug use and other bad things. It shocked me to think that these kids are from the same area and age as the well behaved friendly kids I worked with almost every day. This proved my first answer that parks and rec afterschool programs can support community adolescence by providing a variety of extracurricular programs. These programs can keep the kids away from ones like those at the park.
 I also saw kids getting more and more involved in the health programs headed by staff member and my friend, Richard Romero, he got all the kids excited about health. Kids were looking forward to "summer bodies" and getting so excited from seeing the smallest of results. It was so funny when a small boy Chris came running to me flexing his arm to show his tiny muscle and saying "hey look at this Isaiah!" I was happy to see so many kids with a new interest in health because all the programs offered at the center encourage it.
I even saw how big of a difference the staff building relationships with the kids could be. I noticed that the kids that are friends with the staff came more often. Even with myself, I looked forward to going to the center to hang out with my mentor and other staff. One of the specific examples of this was when I saw a girl (can't recall her name) who always seemed so shy get befriended by my mentor, Jerrica Bonilla. Later on Jerrica convinced her to join the talent show. I was shocked. I was even more shocked when she sang Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men and had an incredible voice. She started off as too shy to talk to anyone to being one of the best performances in the talent show because Jerrica got er out of her comfort zone by befriending her. This shows that parks and rec afterschool programs can support community adolescence by providing staff willing to build relationships with them. 

Blog 20: 3 Column Chart

3 Column Chart First Draft

Blog 19: Senior Project and ESLR's

1) effective learner and communicator.
2) effective learner: at the park I've learned how to work effectively with kids which requires a lot of patience.
Effective communicator: I've learned how to communicate with kids when I helped set up activities and programs.
3) setting up a ping pong tournament

Blog 18: 2 hour meeting answer 3

1: How can a parks and rec afterschool program best support community adolescence?
2: A parks and rec afterschool program can best support community adolescence by having staff willing to build relationships with kids.
3: Well afterschool aliance states that staff building relationships with kids increase the likelyhood of kids coming back.
Most kids at the center that are regulars are friends with the staff?
When I was small and going to the center I always wanted to go to hang out with Bryce, a staff member that was always in the basketball gym.
4:After School Aliance's article helped me justify this.
5: I plan to study this by asking kids if that affects their attendence.

Blog 17: Interview 4

1. How can a parks and recs afterschool program best support community adolescence?
2. What is there to be gained from extracurricular programs?
3. What factors create a good extracurricular program?
3. What is the goal of an extracurricular program?
4. What is there to be gained from health programs like bootcamp?
5. What factors go into a good health program?
6. What is the goal of a health program?
7.  What makes a program successful?
8. What effects can a cooking or food related program have on kids?
9. What effects can a dance program have on kids?
10. Is getting kids out of their comfort zone a common goal among programs?
11. What programs do you think support kids the most?
12. What programs make kids want to keep coming back?
13. How important is it to build relationships with the kids?
14. What kinds of programs do kids go for the most?
15. What is hardest when coming up with new programs?
16. What would you describe as a quality program?
17. How big of a role do the staff play in an effective program?
18. What else is offered here that has good long term effects on kids?
19. What are the conditions of an ideal program?
20. What can staff do to help the kids benefit from being here?

Blog 16: 2-Hour Meeting Answer #2

My EQ: How can a parks and rec after school program best support community adolescence?

My second answer is that parks and rec afterschool programs can best support community adolescence by encouraging healthy and active habits.

Details:
My mentor says health programs are more requested than any other.
It's well known that child obesity is on the rise, so why not provide healthy alternatives?
Afterschool Alliance states that health programs are more demanded than other enrichment afterschool programs.

I plan to continue my study of answer two by following the results of kids involved in the boot camp program at my center.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

(1) For this component I plan on continuing to work with kids at the center I'm at and actually asking and recording what positive things they take away from the programs.
(2) I can easily meet the 30 hour requirement because there are always multiple programs going on at the center.
(3) this correlates with my EQ because my EQ is centered around how these programs can support the kids.

Blog 14: Independant Component 1

Literal

(a) I, Isaiah Chavez, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
(b) My mentor is Jerica Bonilla, 909-243-2076
(c)  Hours
(d) For my component, I spent 32 hours at the De Anza Teen Center working with kids and helping with their programs in order to help answer my EQ. Specifically I refereed different games, helped create posters/ fliers, helped distribute food for their movie nights, and generally monitored different activities.

Interpretive
Shoot Around

Tournament

Practice

Arts and Crafts

Ping Pong Tournament

Kids Just Hanging Out


Applied
Well my component helped a lot. It game me a good answer to my EQ which I was able to present on. For instance, it was from there that I understood that afterschool programs benefit them kids by making them want to be more healthy. All the foods cooked in the kitchen are healthy, and theres always a game going on which makes the less healthy kids want to get up and go play with their friends. It was also through my independant component that i learned factors of creating a quality program. I learned that a big factor was the person running the program, the friendlier staff had more kids wanting to play with them than others. All this I learned from being out in the field, and not through my research.

Blog 13: Rough Draft for 30 Minute Presentation

My Presentation

Blog 12:Third Interview Questions

1: What programs offered here do you think benefit kids the most?
2: When you create a program at this center whats your main goal?
3: What do you think is offered here that's better than other programs?
4: What factors should a successful program include?
5: What struggles do you sometimes face with programs here?
6: When there are problem kids in the programs, what is the best thing to do about it?
7: What kinds of kids do you target when you create a program?
8: In what ways does an effective program benefit the kids?
9: How many kids come in and out of this facility?
10: What different backgrounds do these kids mostly come from?

Blog 11: Mentorship 10 Hours Check

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?
For my mentorship I help and get involved with programs at the De Anza Teen Center.

2.   Who is your contact?
My contact is my mentor Jerrica Bonilla, an employee at the teen center.

3.   How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)?
I have 27 total hours completed. 

4.   Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.
For my 10 hours of mentorship I have helped out in the teen action committee (volunteer program for teens), helped kids with their homework at the center, helped prepare several events and other after school activities at the center.