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Role Model Program Requirements
Summer 2001 Application Deadline April 6, 2001
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AFTERSCHOOL SPORTS ACADEMY
An Afterschool Sports Program for young Black males designed to prevent juvenile delinquency and academic failure. Additional goals of the Academy include exposing young Black males to the college atmosphere, providing role models and other positive individuals to emulate, facilitating positive interactions between Black males, and providing Black males with a positive program in which they can participate. The FSU Afterschool Sports Academy is held at the Belle Vue Middle School in Tallahassee, Florida and began in February 1999. The Academy meets four days per week Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 2:15pm-5:15pm. The Belle Vue Middle School operates on a year-round school calendar, which allows the Academy to provide afterschool activities throughout the year. The Sports Academy provides afterschool activities to students enrolled at Belle Vue Middle School. The Tallahassee Police Department and the Leon County Juvenile Justice Council has targeted Belle Vue Middle School as a school with a great need due to its residence within a high crime and low socioeconomic neighborhood (Leon County Juvenile Justice Report, 1999). Belle Vue Middle School has consistently reported the highest number of crime and violence incidents, and the retention rate was the second highest retention percentage of all the middle schools in the Leon County School District. Many youth today reside within a family structure in which their parents work full-time, resulting in little or no adult supervision in which to monitor the youth once the school day concludes. Inevitably, many youth utilize this free time to become engaged in drug and alcohol abuse, gang activity, unsafe teenage sex, and juvenile delinquency (Carnegie Corporation of New York, 1992). According to the 1999 Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) National Report (OJJDP, 1999), it was discovered that the greatest number of violent crimes committed by juveniles ages ten to seventeen were committed at 3:00p.m., the end of the school day. Juveniles ages 10-17 are also the most at-risk of becoming a victim of violent crime at 3:00p.m. (OJJDP, 1999). Additionally, the Belle Vue Middle School afterschool activities conclude at 3:45pm, which is still within the prime time frame in which the most crimes are committed by juveniles (OJJDP), 1999). The participants in the Academy are 30, sixth and seventh grade Black males who have been identified as at-risk by the school district. Young Black males are the sole participants due to the tremendous social hardships that are causing their status in society to deteriorate. When compared to White males, young Black males have a much higher rate of delinquency as illustrated in the chart below. The overrepresentation of Black males in the juvenile justice system has consistently plagued Leon County and the rest of the nation. A major contributing factor in Leon County is the lack of afterschool opportunities for middle school youth to participate. Research indicates that at-risk Black males are often not permitted to participate in afterschool activities due to academic deficiencies and disruptive behavior (O'Brien & Rollefson, 1995). As a response to these distressing circumstances, it is the focus of the Academy to provide 30 young Black males with a positive environment in which they can learn skills that will assist in their future development and success. Why Black Males? Click here to learn more. There are three major components that make up the Academy: Sport Activities, Study Hall, and Social Issue Discussions. These three components are the main activities in which participants engage in following the end of the school day. The primary purpose of these activities is providing intervention strategies that will assist the youth in overcoming challenges and issues they encounter. The unique facet of the Academy is that it incorporates sports with other significant activities necessary for the success of juveniles. Sports Activities Sports activities are taught on a daily basis for 1-½ hours per day providing the participants with fun and enjoyable leisure activities to participate. The main sports that will be taught at the Academy will be baseball, basketball, football, soccer, tennis, track and field, and volleyball, in addition to personal fitness concepts. FSU trained graduate students teach these sports in four-week lesson blocks that incorporates instruction of sport strategies, rules, and fundamentals. Each sport also has a competitive league and tournament which provides the participants with an opportunity to compete against one another. Study Hall At the Academy, the participants study and complete their academic work in a study hall for 1-1/2 hour each day. The main purpose of the study hall component is to impress upon the participants the importance of academic achievement and daily academic preparation. During study hall, participants are provided with homework and make-up work to complete for their classes. An additional objective for requiring a study hall component is to help encourage and facilitate academic achievement and assist in reducing retention rates. Study hall is held in several classrooms at Belle Vue, and the FSU Role Model Program students and staff provide the Academy participants with tutoring and academic assistance with their homework. This interaction facilitates positive, long-lasting relationships between at-risk Black males and FSU college students. Social Issue Discussions Social issue discussions are one-hour group meetings, occurring once a week in which various social topics such as gangs, drugs, and peer pressure will be discussed with the participants. The discussions are intended to examine the dilemmas that young Black males frequently encounter and are discussed in an interactive setting. The primary goal of social issue discussions is to equip the participants with the knowledge they need to overcome societal obstacles. Periodically, the social issue discussions will feature guest speakers from the Tallahassee community and state of Florida.
An integral part of the FSU Afterschool Sports Academy are Fun Day events that the Role Model Program sponsors. The events are intended to be a fun activity that facilitates additional opportunities for the Academy participants to participate in various recreational and cultural events within the Tallahassee community. The Role Model Program has sponsored Fun Day Events to FSU Football games, Odyssey Science Center, and occasional picnics and barbecues. All costs for these events including transportation, food, and admission to various events have been funded by the Role Model Program. The events are intended to expose young Black males to various events on the FSU campus and throughout the Tallahassee community to broaden the horizons of the participants in the Academy. Who Supports the FSU Afterschool Sports Academy? The FSU Afterschool Sports Academy is fully funded by the Role Model Program and the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. It is a goal of the Program to positively impact youth that are experiencing academic, behavioral, and socioeconomic difficulties and reside in the Tallahassee community and attend Belle Vue Middle School. The FSU Role Model Development Program provides financial support for the staff, transportation, uniforms, and other tangible necessities of the Academy. In addition to the Role Model Program, the Academy receives support from other agencies. Belle Vue Middle School provides the facility, equipment, and support staff for the Academy.
The Florida
State University Athletics Department Promotions Office has
been a strong supporter of the Afterschool Sports Academy, providing
complimentary tickets to FSU football and basketball games. The tickets
provided by the Promotions Office allows the Academy participants to attend
FSU athletic events and witness the college atmosphere in an interactive and
fun setting. The Academy staff consists of Ray Collum, the Role Model Program Special Project Coordinator and Joni Hill, who is the Sports Academy Academic Advisor. The role of the Academy staff are teaching sports skills during sport activities, tutoring Academy participants during study hall, and facilitating participation during social issue discussions. All staff possess the ability and desire the serve as positive role models for the participants.
In addition to the full time staff at the Academy, students that are enrolled in the Juvenile Justice Role Model Development Program (JJRMDP) serve as community service volunteers to the Academy participants. The role of the volunteers are to provide academic assistance and social support to the participants through mentoring, developing a friendly relationship, and being a role model in which the participants can emulate. The various activities volunteers participate in include one-on-one tutoring, participating in social issue discussions, playing and teaching sports, and interacting with participants. To become a volunteer at the Afterschool Sports Academy, please email or call Ray Collum at 644-7113. |
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FSU
