KING COUNTY, WA - Today, the Community Pathways Model to Support Youth (Pathways) announced receipt of grant awards to continue their successful outreach to at-risk middle school youth.
Teaming volunteer mentors from Foster High School with at-risk students from Showalter Middle School, the Pathways program works to engage students in a series of recreational, educational, and vocational activities and workshops. The objective of the program is to empower at-risk children to make healthy behavior choices.
Pathways represents a collaboration with the King County Health Action Plan, the Washington Health Foundation, Public Health - Seattle & King County and the Tukwila School District. "Pathways is an excellent example of a program that promotes positive relationships and socially appropriate behavior in a warm and nurturing environment," said Sue Lerner, Director of Educational Support and Human Services for the Tukwila School District. "Most importantly, the kids love it!"
The results of the Pathways program have been promising: evaluations from the 1999-2000 program year show that the average GPA among participants increased by .5, over half of participants received health care referrals, and reports of improper behavior decreased by 42%.
Pathways has benefited students like Huong Vuong, who in her three years with the program has increased her GPA by two points and has moved from English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction into mainstream classes. Beginning the program as an 8th grade student, Huong is now a high school peer mentor in Pathways.
"It's partly that Pathways gave me the help I needed with homework. And it helped that I got to practice English all the time, talking it a lot with a little group that felt safe like a family," noted Huong. "But mostly it's that I started seeing myself the way the staff in our program see me, and I feel like somebody who can be a success and make my plans happen in my life."
Through the King County Health Action Plan and the Washington Health Foundation, Pathways received the combined $7,500 grant awards from the Fred Meyer Foundation and the United Way of King County South Community Council Venture Funds. Additionally, a challenge grant from Boeing was also awarded to Pathways for the 2001-2002 academic year, providing the program with $7,500 if it succeeds in raising $15,000 from local funding sources.
The King County Health Action Plan is a voluntary partnership of over 30 public and private organizations, collaborating to implement innovative health policies and pilot projects that focus on system change and improve worsening health trends affecting vulnerable populations within King County. The Washington Health Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access, improving health care quality, and building healthier communities for the people of Washington State.
Providing effective and innovative health and disease prevention services for over 1.8 million residents and visitors of King County, Public Health - Seattle & King County works for safer and healthier communities for everyone, every day. |
