 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
 |
 |
|
|||||||||
|
ACF Home | ACF Services | Working with ACF | ACF Policy/Planning | About ACF | ACF News | ACF Search | |||||||||
 |
|
|
|||||||||
Tribal Child Care Technical Assistance Center (TriTAC)
Effective Program Strategies
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
ACF Home | ACF Services | Working with ACF | ACF Policy/Planning | About ACF | ACF News | ACF Search | |||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| School-Age Care: Hoops and Homework White Earth Indian Reservation |
 |
Type of Program:
Hoops
and Homework is a school-age child care program administered through the school.
The White Earth Reservation also provides licensing support services for a
child care center, in-home care and relative care subsidy programs and other
services through the Child Care Assistance Program serving approximately 200
children per month.
Effective Program Strategy:
Hoops
and Homework is a culturally specific, academically enriching, after school,
child care program. Hoops and Homework provides homework supervision and tutoring,
along with a variety of activities including: social, health and life skills,
sports, Ojibwa language, traditional arts, dance, music and storytelling.
All direct services staff are White Earth tribal members and provide personal outreach to engage children and families in the program. Due to the large number of special needs students, the staff/child ratio is 1 to every 6-8 children. The afternoon session begins with sign-in and circle time, which includes social and friendship skills training, discussion of healthy practices, current events, behavior expectations, and plans and suggestions. Groups are divided by age and grade level. Children then receive assistance with homework.
After homework is completed and turned in, the children make and eat a nutritious snack. Following snack, youth participate in a variety of developmentally appropriate activities including Ojibwa language instruction, as well as arts, recreation and sports activities. Quiet time, in the Media Center, provides opportunities for reading, listening to stories and using computers. The program provides transportation home for those who need it.
With a wide-based partnership of community organizations, businesses, faith-based organizations, health providers and municipal agencies, Hoops and Homework provides a safe learning environment from 3:00-6:00 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. There is an eight-week summer program in collaboration with White Earth Head Start, Pine Point Summer School, White Earth Land Recovery and the summer food program. The partners in the Hoops and Homework program share a vision of integrated education, employment, health, safety, child care, prevention, life skills, culture and community strengthening activities and services.
Resources:
The program is funded through Becker County Children's Initiative, University
of Minnesota Extension, Becker County, USDA Food Program, Becker County Human
Services, Tribal Human Services, Land Recovery, Tribal Youth Service, Tribal
Police Department, Tribal Mental Health Department, White Earth Child Care
Program, Pine Point School District, Green Thumb (Elders) Program, Rural Minnesota
Community Employment Program, White Earth Archives Department.
Results:
After five months of operation, Hoops and Homework was serving 30 children
daily and served 65 unduplicated children. Currently, the program serves 40
to 50 children daily. The program has been tremendously successful due to
strong leadership, community commitment, and creative programming.
Lessons Learned:
In
developing a new program model, it is essential to have the appropriate mix
of creativity and structure to ensure new ideas are implemented, evaluated
and documented, for the use of others.
In a large collaborative
setting, small workgroups, focused on specific issues and tasks can prove
more effective than large group meetings. Workgroup meetings occur once or
twice per month, while large collaborative partner meetings, occur quarterly.
The large meetings assist in getting the word out about current progress,
needs and changes and help maintain partner buy-in.
In determining staff/child ratio, again, smaller is better. Staff ratios of
1 to 6-8 children provide the most positive experience for both staff and
student, alike.
In high poverty communities, it is not possible to charge for child care, without eliminating access to the program for the children who need it most. In order to offer a free program there must be a core team or committee committed to locating and applying for the financial resources to keep the program going. This is an ongoing, labor-intensive responsibility.
Contact Information:Address:
Hoops and Homework Community Learning Center
Pine Point School
P.O. Box 8
Ponsford, MN 56575
Phone:
218/573-3550
Fax: 218/573-3718
Email: bgurno@pinepoint.k12.mn.us
| NOTE: If you have information about an Effective Program Strategy in your Tribal community that you would like to share, please contact the Tribal Child Care Technical Assistance Center (TriTAC) at TriTAC2@aol.com |
Return to Effective Program Strategies
