Now that school is back in session, we are back to afternoons of children pouring through our doors. They all receive a healthy snack, and the first thing they want to do is have some free time to play. That’s how we start our day at ICAN – with an hour or so of free play, free choices where youth can do what they want. The power of play is a critical component of childhood development. Play creates opportunities for children to explore, connect, learn and grow. It’s difficult to find a clear-cut definition of play – but the growing consensus is that play is any activity that entails active engagement, resulting in joyful discovery. Free play and exploration provide a means to allow children to learn to solve their own problems, control their own lives, figure out what interests them and how to pursue those interests. It helps them develop their own “sense of self” – promoting the social-emotional, cognitive, language, and self-regulation skills that build executive function (the process of learning, rather than the content) and a prosocial brain. Play can also be integrated into structured group activities and a learning environment. Play supports the formation of the safe, stable, and nurturing relationships youth develop with caregivers. This is incredibly important here at ICAN. Many of our youth come from unstable home environments and it is critical that our staff connect with youth and make sure that they are seen as trusted, supportive roles in that child’s life. Play is a great way to make those connections. All of our staff have been trained by Playworks, a partner organization that focuses solely on the power of play. Their games and activities are inclusive, simple and fun. Our staff facilitate games with the youth that incorporate respect and inclusion, fostering a healthy community through play. Staff even use the “play” tools in getting the kids attention and transitioning from one activity to another. These tools can easily be used in the home. Simple, structured, fun instructions get youths’ attention and keep them focused. An example would be “when I say ‘yellow’ you are going to stand up, touch your toes, turn in a circle, touch something yellow and then line up at the door.” The staff member would then have the whole group repeat the “game” or “instructions” out loud. Youth become engaged in the activity, pay attention and get moving to the next activity in a fun way. The games our staff have learned from Playworks are also a great tool out on the playground as a way to include all youth, especially the ones that are having trouble fitting in, creating an inclusive environment. ICAN kids come from many different schools, so it’s an excellent way for them to get to know each other. Youth are also taught how to solve their own disputes – “rock, paper, scissors” is an easy way for youth to solve an issue quickly and on their own. It is a tool […]
Summer is quickly approaching, and youth are winding down their school year over the next few weeks. Here at ICAN, we are excited to welcome our youth to the center for full-day sessions, giving us more time to spend with them and offer a variety of learning and recreational options. Summer Learning Loss is a common phrase heard this time of year. Studies have shown that students can loose up to a quarter of their school-year learning over the summer. This gap is even greater for youth living in poverty. These youth have less resources to attend summer camps and less encouragement at home to continue reading and learning. A 2007 study claimed that summer learning loss could account for up to two-thirds of the “achievement gap” between rich and poor children by the age of 14. By the end of fifth grade, low income students are typically more than two years behind their middle-class peers. The youth who attend ICAN are very fortunate. We partner each year with the Valley of the Sun United Way on their Summer Learning Collaborative. We have a literacy coach from VSUW come to ICAN and work directly with youth on reading and literacy skills throughout the summer intersession. ICAN is also blessed with a group of volunteers who are retired teachers with a wealth of knowledge. These dedicated volunteers work with our youth throughout the year, including the summer, to develop their literacy skills. ICAN youth will also enjoy weekly STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) activities throughout the summer, which will keep them engaged and exploring. ICAN also has some incredible partners for field trips over the summer, including the DPR School of Construction, Chandler Schools Pizza Camp and (need one more here). Summer Learning Loss can be an issue for all youth, regardless of economic background. Keeping youth engaged and learning throughout the summer can give them a big advantage going into the next school year. Here are some tips and ideas to prevent Summer Learning Loss in your home: • Encourage your child to read 20 minutes a day during the summer months – let them read something of their choice that they will really enjoy, even magazines and comic books can be a great option. • Puzzles, board games, and card games are great ways to boost problem solving skills. Plan a weekly family game night to keep it consistent. • Build arts and crafts together with your child • Technology! Though it drives many parents crazy, technology can be a great tool to keep kids engaged over the summer. Apps like Math Champ, Opposite Ocean and Brain Quest can allow kids to be on their devices but continue to learn while they are there. If you are looking for even more great ideas on ways to prevent summer learning loss, click here and here. Shelby Pedersen CEO – ICAN: Positive Programs for Youth
January 31, 2019 Vaping has been a hot topic for parents and educators for some time now. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration recently declared e-cigarette use by young people a national epidemic. ICAN has become involved with this topic through the Chandler Coalition on Youth Substance Abuse (CCYSA), which is one of our programs. We have an incredible task force through CCYSA that is comprised of representatives from public safety, healthcare, education, city government, and many more. This group recently got together to produce an informative video about vaping. You can view the video here, but I thought it would be beneficial to share some of the highlights, along with some interesting statistics about vaping. Many teens don’t realize that vaping devices contain nicotine. Most of them do, along with other dangerous chemicals. The Arizona Youth Survey is an anonymous survey given to a sample of middle school and high school every-other-year (48,000 students from 245 schools statewide). The data collected from AYS is critical information for organizations like CCYSA who are battling youth substance abuse. The 2018 AYS showed that 8thgrade use of e-cigarettes almost doubled from 2016 to 2018 – going from 8% use to 14% use. It also shows that 20% of all youth surveyed used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days. Commander Edward Upshaw of the Chandler Police Department shared that e-cigarettes and vaping products are illegal for someone to possess who is under the age of 18 and can result in a misdemeanor or petty offense and most certainly results in suspension from school. Dr. James Bogash shared that vaping releases heavy metals like lead and arsenic. Since vaping is relatively new, there is not a lot of data on the long-term health effects, but vaping has been shown to expose users to volatile compounds which cause cancer. Dr. Sandy Indermuhle, an ER Physician with Dignity Health, shares in the video that vaping compounds are very irritating for asthmatics and increases the rate of infection through the cells surrounding the lungs. Recent studies are showing that vaping actually leads to cigarette use in consumers, not the opposite, which is so widely publicized. Vaping often leads to use of wax pens, which are a similar instrument but hold liquid marijuana. The amount of THC in wax pens can be as high as 80%, which qualifies it as a controlled narcotic substance – classifying it as a felony offense. Many youth don’t realize the severity of a felony offense on one’s record – which can affect one’s credit, the ability to get a job and one’s permanent record. I highly encourage you to watch the video that CCYSA put together. There’s also a link to a test about vaping, along with the answer sheet. These can be valuable tools for parents who may be dealing with a teen who has started vaping. Many of our public schools are offering parent educational sessions about vaping as well. In a recent article on azcentral.com about the 2018 Arizona Youth Survey, Yavapai […]
November 19, 2018 Over the past couple of years ICAN has greatly expanded our life skills training into the schools. We reach 200 youth each day here at the ICAN building afterschool, but realized that we could reach so many more youth if we take some of our curriculum into the schools. One of those programs is our resiliency training. Resiliency skills are a critical component of our life skills training that we focus on at ICAN. The youth that attend ICAN predominately live in poverty and require strong resiliency skills to avoid the risky behaviors that are so prevalent in the community they live – behaviors like gang violence, juvenile delinquency and drug/alcohol abuse. As you can imagine, these skills are critical for any youth growing up in today’s society. Our Community Programs team presented to over 7,500 high school students last year with these skills, and even though that was a great thing, they realized that they really needed to be teaching these skills to the junior high youth. Unfortunately, in so many circumstances, it was just too late for the high school students – the risky behavior had already begun. With that in mind, our Community Programs team set out this year with a goal to reach as many junior high students as they could. I recently sat in on one of these resiliency trainings, and, as a parent, I learned a lot of great techniques that I know will some day become valuable to my family. Ted Huntington, our Community Programs Manager, has a great way with the kids. He’s very interactive and involved everyone in the room. I was amazed to watch him command a room of 50 pre-teens and not only keep their attention, but so effortlessly receive their participation. They talked about resiliency skills and what that means – developing these skills now, long before they are needed (hopefully). It’s so easy for a 13-year-old to say that they’ll never vape or do drugs – not so much in a year or two. Instilling these ideas and skills now will prepare these youth when the real temptations come. Ted talked through five techniques of resiliency: 1. Say It – say no, refuse to participate, and say it with confidence 2. Show It – don’t just say it, show it with body language and reinforce that confidence 3. Change It – give a valid reason why you can’t participate in order to quickly get out of the situation – “my mom expects me home for dinner”, “I’m meeting another friend”, white lies are fine to get out of a dangerous situation. 4. Build It – this is about the relationship of the friendship. Don’t put that person down or say they are terrible for their behavior. Be respectful, voice your opinion – not only about why you don’t want to participate, but give them reasons why it’s a bad idea for them to participate. If this technique doesn’t work – it might be time […]
August 29, 2018 Over the summer at ICAN, we spent a lot of time analyzing the program curriculum we are offering our youth members. We have to keep a careful balance in what we offer – having enticing activities that will attract youth to attend ICAN (and keep them coming once they do), and our evidence-based prevention programs that will teach youth life skills to break the culture of poverty that so many of them are living in. It can be very challenging to address such a wide variety of needs, without trying to be too many things to too many people – we must address their academic needs, we need to stay current with STEAM activities and we want to offer exciting recreational activities too. Recently, we took the extra step to define our youth activities into 5 program categories, helping to provide further clarity around what we offer and how that fits into our mission to provide free, comprehensive programs that empower youth to be productive, self-confident and responsible members of the community. Our 5 categories closely follow the “5 C’s of Positive Youth Development Model,” which is a nationally-recognized youth engagement model that focuses not on “fixing” behavior problems, but building and nurturing all a child’s beliefs, behaviors, knowledge, attributes and skills. The result should be a healthy and successful childhood – leading to a healthy and successful adulthood. These categories are not only critical to organizations like ICAN, who are working with at-risk youth, but are a benefit to all parents who are trying hard to raise emotionally balanced and well-rounded kids. The 5 C’s of Positive Youth Development (according to the NE Department of Health & Human Services) include: Connection: A feeling of safety, structure, and belonging; positive bonds with people and social institutions. Confidence: A sense of self-worth and mastery; having a belief in one’s capacity to succeed. Character: Taking responsibility; a sense of independence and individuality; connection to principles and values. Competence: The ability to act effectively at school, in social situations, and at work. Contribution: Active participation and leadership in a variety of settings; making a difference. Positive Youth Development (PYD) is the entire system of support (school, home, community) that builds upon the strengths of youth and recognizes the risky behavior they may exhibit. PYD involves youth as active agents – adults and youth work in partnership. Civic involvement is a big component of PYD and works best when every element of the community in involved (school, home, community). ICAN has incorporated the 5 C’s of Youth Development and PYD in a number of ways. We have adopted a behavior management system designed to focus on the positive attributes in youth’s behavior. We offer a structured play model that encourages youth to practice real life skills through play. We offer hands-on learning that provides unique experiences and reinforces skill building. We emphasize staff and volunteers being strong role models for youth. Youth participate in community service projects – they not only participate […]
From San Tan Sun News June 16, 2018 By Wayne Schutsky Opiate addiction is a nationwide epidemic that claimed over 40,000 lives in 2016, and Gilbert father Randy Melle knows first-hand that the casualties of those overdoses are not the only victims. Each death leaves behind family members and friends who must figure out how to heal and move on following these tragic events. Melle is one those surviving victims. He lost his son Adam to a heroin overdose in 2016 – a mere 18 hours after Adam had arrived home from a month-long treatment program. As a board member of the Chandler I AM Project, Melle is using his personal experiences to help other families avoid the same fate. “Any dad, any parent that goes through what we went through, my heart goes out to them,” he said. “There’s nothing worse than getting your son out of 32 days of treatment, getting home and 18 hours later two Sheriff Department (officers) show up at your house.” The project is exceptionally personal for Melle, because it is also literally a way to keep his son’s memory alive. Shortly after joining the group, he found out that it was in search of a new name, so he suggested I AM – representing his son’s initials. The name has a duel meaning as “I AM” is also a reference to the idea that while addiction can afflict anyone, it is only one aspect of their identity. For example, someone could say “I am salesman and I am also an addict…It incorporates everyone into that circle,” Melle said. The rest of the group loved the idea it embodied and adopted the moniker moving forward. The concept the name represents is an important one for Melle as he works to dispel the myths and misinformation that surround addiction. “Addiction is not specific to any gender or any ethnicity. It is not specific to wealthy people or people who don’t have money,” he said. “It hits every one of our families.” He know that lesson all too well. After Adam’s death, the newspaper The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead – the Melle’s moved to Arizona from Fargo, ND – ran an article stating that Adam Melle was one of five former Fargo South High School students who died of drug overdoes within a couple of months. Through his work with the Chandler I AM Project, Melle hopes he can inspire families to seek help on behalf of their loved ones who are struggling with drug addiction, because too many families are afraid to address the problems head on due to the negative social implications that addiction carries. “I’m one parent and to all the parents and family members who are afraid to admit that they have a loved one with an opiate problem, people need to know that there is help and there is hope for those people,” he said. He added, “Don’t be afraid to discuss any drug problem that you have with your family. […]
May 8, 2018 Shelby Pedersen, CEO, ICAN: Positive Programs for Youth Many parents know that middle school can be a nerve-wracking few years. So much growth and change occur with youth as they transition to high school – they transform into young adults right before your eyes. At ICAN, we see this transition among youth in our afterschool program all the time. We also see the struggles that their parents face with this transition. Our program team works with our parents in a variety of ways each month – focusing on positive parenting skills and communication with youth. They decided to tackle this transition to high school with youth and parents through the “Bridges” program. This curriculum was introduced to ICAN through Arizona State University and the work of Dr. Nancy Gonzales and Dr. Larry Dumka. Bridges is a program for middle school youth and their parents to attend together. It is designed to increase school engagement and achievement, strengthen family-school linkages, and prevent adolescents’ social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. The skills presented through the Bridges program are important for any parent facing the middle school years. ICAN is the first to offer the Bridges program through a nonprofit agency. Students work together to explore their aspirations and the role of education in reaching them. They learn strategies to achieve long term personal goals and practice life skills to manage problems and challenges. Parents work together to increase awareness and understanding of adolescents’ changing emotional and educational needs. They learn skills to strengthen communication and positive bonds with their students, structure and monitor their students’ activities and opportunities, and manage adolescents’ emotional problems and risky behavior. One of our families that participated last year at Willis Jr. High recently reached out to ICAN to share a follow up on their family plan. The mom shared that her son was having some challenges deciding what high school he wants to attend next year. She shared that her son had been practicing some of the coping skills learned in the program and that she had been able to listen more carefully to her son’s reasons (see CONNECT skills below) instead of reacting. Mom shared that, thanks to Bridges, they were able to make an action plan, and have been visiting the different schools to learn together about their options. Without Bridges, she said, “My husband and I would have ‘forced’ our son to attend the school of our choice, but thanks to what we learned in the program, we have been able to support our son better and make a decision together.” What skills can you utilize on your own from the Bridges program? Here are some of the skills that parents who attended the Bridges program report using the most: Do a “check up” on some of these skills – most parents use these skills already, but middle school is a new challenging stage for the teens: CONNECT skills, to help you keep a strong and positive relationship with your teen […]
February 22, 2018 Shelby Pedersen CEO, ICAN: Positive Programs for Youth Ever wonder why a toddler throwing a temper-tantrum simply cannot snap out of it? It’s called an amygdala highjack – one part of the brain has highjacked the other and taken over. As a parent of a toddler I know, first-hand, how frustrating these situations can be. Parents often experience a disconnect between our long-term goals for our kids (finding fulfillment, experience loving relationships, finding success) and surviving in the day-to-day chaos of raising children. We go into “survival” mode – just getting through each day and leaving those happy and fulfilled objectives to be developed in some other moment that never comes. I recently read the book The Whole Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind and found many connections to the techniques we use at ICAN and those I find myself utilizing at home with my toddler. At ICAN we work with 200 youth every day who come from backgrounds of disadvantage. These kids deal with poverty, crime, family loss and so many situations that most of us will never face. It is critical for our staff to understand how the brain works when dealing with these youth. We need tools and techniques to keep these youth in a positive, caring environment when they are spending time at ICAN. The book teaches us about the “upstairs brain” (the thinking brain – for thinking, planning and imagining), which doesn’t become fully developed until we are in our mid-20’s! The “downstairs” brain is the feeling brain – the primitive part of the brain that runs our fight or flight reactions that have helped us survive over time. The amygdala in the downstairs brain is responsible for those famous tantrums – because the reasoning part of the brain is highjacked in those situations, reasoning will not work well. Here are some tips from the book that can help every parent: Connect and Redirect: When kids get frustrated, remember to first show empathy and understanding, then connect to their logical side with reasoning once the child has calmed down. Name It to Tame It: Try not to hide the truth to protect kids, like blaming someone else for something that happened. It is helpful to kids to re-tell an event where something bad may have happened. This puts logic into the event and helps them identify their emotions (name it) and how to deal with them (tame it). Engage Not Rage: Don’t expect kids to always make the best decisions, remember, their upstairs brain is not fully developed. When kids get upset and wind up in a tantrum, rather than enraging the downstairs brain by imposing solutions, try to engage the upstairs brain and let your child help find the solution. Use It or Loose It: Help kids develop their upstairs brain. Encourage them to practice simple decision making (do you want to play a board game, or ride your bike?). Also, help explain emotions to them […]
October is National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, a great opportunity to focus on equipping our youth and empowering them to navigate one of the greatest high-risk challenges they face. Education on the risks and dangers of drugs is an important part of the equation, however, for more of a wrap-around strategy we need to help encourage our youth to internalize positive core character values, learn and practice healthy coping skills, and develop a positive attitude & mindset for building resiliency to overcome their challenges and stay on course. ICAN has been giving youth the opportunity to internalize healthy/positive choices, coping skills and resiliency for quite some time, and, the outcomes are evidenced in the results provided by their youth surveys from “ICAN’s FY2017 Program Evaluation Report.” Here are a few of their comments: 90% of the youth reported they “Make better Decisions”, 92% say “no” to things they know are wrong 90% stay away from drugs and alcohol 88% do better in school 83% have control over things that happen to them 82% feel better at handling whatever comes my way 85% feel better about my future 80% spend more time looking for opportunities to help others in their community. The Chandler Coalition on Youth Substance Abuse (CCYSA) and the Chandler Gilbert Substance Use & Treatment Task Force taught these concepts in various elementary, Jr & Sr. High schools through presentations containing education on the risks and dangers of drugs & choices, coping and resiliency, reaching over 1,000 students in the 2016-17 school year. This 2017-18 school year we expect to be able to reach 4,000 – 5,000 students. We encourage families to be intentional with integrating these concepts into everyday home life. For more tips and resources , if you are interested in booking a presentation, or, want to attend or schedule a community presentation, you can do that through the www.ccysachandler.org or contact Ted Huntington at ted@icanaz.org. BE THE CHANGE! Ted Huntington Community Programs Manager, ICAN/CCYSA
September 1, 2017 Shelby Pedersen CEO, ICAN: Positive Programs for Youth Positivity can be a very powerful tool with youth. Positive reinforcements are a great way to instill encouraging, optimistic feelings. At ICAN, we work with youth who deal with many struggles in their daily lives. This can lead to sizeable behavioral issues and the natural tendency for most adults is to “penalize” children for poor behavior. This may show up as yelling, lecturing, or other negative reactions. We take a different approach with these youth – with all of our youth. Our staff uses purposeful, positive statements with youth every day that appreciate them for their unique skills and abilities and provide praise when they’ve followed directions, met a goal or been kind to one another. These tactics are something that every parent, teacher or youth care worker can utilize. All of our programming at ICAN is evidence-based, which means it’s based on scientific research and typically endorsed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. One of those curricula is called PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies). The PATHS program is grounded in the science of children’s brain development, which has determined that children experience and react to strong emotions before developing the cognitive abilities to verbalize them. One of the main education objectives of PATHS is to enhance children’s self-esteem, self-confidence, and ability to give and receive compliments. Research has shown that youth learn best and show higher motivation within the context of positive attachments. Much of this ties in with the Golden Rule, something that threads through most of the PATHS activities that we teach. For example, in one activity we break the kids into groups and give them a series of scenarios to discuss. These scenarios include: “You said something mean to your mom and hurt her feelings” and “You have to do your homework, but you don’t want to. Your parents remind you to do it now!” Youth discuss how they would feel in that situation, how does their parent feel, what they could do if they were the parent and what they could do themselves, using the Golden Rule. Our staff use many different types of positive reinforcements with our youth. If a staff member sees a group of youth misbehaving and not staying on task, they don’t scold that group, they find a group nearby who is working well and compliment them so that everyone can hear. If they see youth running down the hall instead of walking, they say “why don’t you come back and try that again” instead of yelling “Stop! You can’t be running.” It takes a great deal of effort and forethought – rephrasing what we are so quick to yell out. Our staff understand that character building takes time and commitment, it doesn’t happen overnight. So many of these tools are great for parenting in the home as well. I hope everyone will take a second to think through how much positivity they are sharing in the […]