Youth Program Development
Organization:
Kwong Kow Chinese School, Inc. VISTA Name:
Katrina Kennett
Program Start:
7/2008
Program End:
8/2009
Project Description:
The Coalition for Asian Pacific American Youth is a project of the Asian American Studies Program at University of Massachusetts Boston. It builds the leadership of Asian American high school students in the greater Boston area through the development and implementation of youth-led projects. We believe that youth united by a common cause can make a difference.
The following are the types of activities that the AmeriCorps VISTA member will accomplish:
1. Program and Curriculum Planning and Implementation– The No. One priority of the school in the coming year is to upgrade and update the school’s curriculum. Under the leadership and guidance of the Programs & Curriculum Committee (PCC) members, the VISTA volunteer will be an active participant in the planning process and will help implement recommendations made by the PCC through out the year.
2. Systematize School Operations and Procedures– A critical task is to create a reference source for the school’s operations and procedures. The VISTA volunteer will lead the development and production of a set of school handbooks. There will be a general school handbook, a handbook customized for the needs of the teachers and one customized for the students. The development and production of the bi-lingual English/Chinese handbooks will be a collaborative effort with the participation of the school Board and staff.
3. Create/Update Bi-lingual Schools Forms and Pamphlets– Working with the staff and the Programs & Curriculum Committee, the VISTA volunteer will be the project leader in updating or creating program description pamphlets; tuition and tuition assistance, and enrollment forms. The staff will assisted in getting all communications materials translated into Chinese. As part of the need to systematize the school operations, the VISTA volunteer will assist in the creation of a student database to capture student profile, track attendance, tuition payment history, et al.
4. Update and Upgrade the School’s Bilingual Website– In collaboration with the website volunteer and using information gathered under Items 2 and 3, the VISTA volunteer will lead in the upgrading, updating, and monitoring of the school website.
5. Create a Template to Start a Parent Teacher Association– In collaboration with the Board and staff and using standard PTA guidelines, the VISTA volunteer will develop the mission/vision and sustainable, start-up goals and programs for a PTA. Once the PTA handbook is approved by the Board, the VISTA volunteer will assist in the start-up phase of the PTA.
Project Outcome:
n the beginning, Katrina centered on constructing infrastructure in KKCS’s practices and procedures. She has worked with the Head of School to develop institutional policies and procedures, and worked diligently to implement effective and efficient practices in the After School Program. Through recruiting and training volunteers, she has expanded the number of people working with students, thus lessening the student to teacher radio. She has worked to build an efficient Healthy Snack Program which provides the After School students with nutritious and balanced snacks every day. Katrina also has her sights set on the long term impacts that technology can make on KKCS and has been a part of the planning process for our student and school database. Through these and many more tasks, her comprehensive understanding of both the day to day operation as well as the long term goals have helped to bring KKCS to a higher level.
For the first time, Math/English is offered in the After-School program. Katrina designed the curriculum which follows the Boston Public School standards, recruited student teachers from colleges and Boston Latin School to teach these subjects two days a week for two hours each day. Katrina has also provided additional resources such as lesson planning templates, sample lesson plans and best practices. The Math/English program continues to be offered in the After-School program.
Though Katrina drafted several of the school handbooks, none were adopted. In an effort to gain input and feedback, it was hoped that separate constituient committees conisisting of teachers, parents and students would be formed. This was not done. Time and resources were the challenge. KKCS’s website updating was not addressed by the school administration. The Parent Teacher Association had several starts, but did not get organized. This is a brand new concept to KKCS; the appropriate leadership needs to be identified.
Impact Quote:
“Katrina won the hearts of the teaching assistants and students. When she finished her time here, she was feted by many segments of the population, as a group, as smaller groups and individuals. Some members of the community continue to have contact with her.”
- Helen Chin Schlichte, supervisor