United Way Working for the Middle

ASHEVILLE

As a result of a listening project conducted by the Listening to Our Teens Network (LTOTN), Asheville City Schools Foundation created In Real Life (IRL), a network of afterschool programs that serves students at Asheville Middle School. United Way’s Middle School Success (MSS) initiative supported IRL in its first year and continues to do so in its second.

• MSS worked with IRL, Asheville City Schools and the NC Department of Public Instruction to enroll IRL in the National School Lunch Program, which allows them to provide free snacks to all students attending the program.
• MSS purchased the site license for IRL’s youthservices.net database, which allows them to track all student data and assisted with training and ongoing support for the database.
• MSS provides technical assistance in working to develop a strategy for a quality rating and improvement system.

BUNCOMBE

At the request of Buncombe County Schools Administration, MSS worked with the YMCA to expand their 21st Century afterschool programming to Owen Middle School (OMS), and to ensure that it is reflective of the needs and desires of the OMS community.

• MSS continues to build and strengthen relationships with OMS administration, staff and PTO.
• MSS surveyed 385 OMS students and 37 faculty and staff about the format of the afterschool program.
• MSS worked with Montreat College’s service learning and athletic departments to create a partnership where Montreat student-athletes would work with OMS students on wellness and tutoring.
• MSS represented on YMCA 21st Century Advisory Board.
• The OMS program was implemented in October 2011 and currently serves over 50 students, who are supervised by four staff members and multiple teachers and volunteers.

COMMUNITY

MSS received a training and technical assistance grant from the Ready by 21 Partnership to measure the quality and assets of nine partner pilot sites and hosted several training and informational events. Participating programs developed and implemented improvement plans. We are continuing this work in year two by assisting programs with quality measurement and Developmental Assets Profile administration.

We have begun a professional development series that provides free or low-cost trainings to youth development professionals in Buncombe County. To date we have held five trainings attended by 79 individuals from 31 organizations. Topics included: Positive youth development, conflict management, gender and brain based strategies for working with adolescents, utilizing media to connect with youth culture, and engaging parents and families.

Additionally, we launched an 8 week multi-media campaign designed to get people talking about Middle School Success. The concept: “You Need the Middle” featured images missing a key “middle section”. No one wants to take a roller coaster ride when the middle section of the track is gone! The images got people talking and the e-card links helped people easily share the information with others.

The work of MSS has been presented at these events:

• NC Center for Afterschool Programs Regional Summit (Asheville)
• Ready by 21 Convening (Atlanta, GA)
• United Way Southern Institute (Asheville)
• North Carolina Afterschool Coalition Conference (Greensboro)
• United Way Worldwide OST Meeting (Alexandria, VA)

State

To ensure that Buncombe County has a voice on the state level, MSS is represented on the professional development workgroup of the North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs and the board of the North Carolina Afterschool Coalition.

as of January 2012