Tower of Babble

PREP is Important

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0600

PREP is important because it is the best place to hang out. Also, we have a lot of fun and get to take a break from school. And another good thing is we get to confess everything in our life. Also, we get to learn life skills. But the best part is we get to play new games that I never played before. Plus I get relaxed by doing yoga and stretching. And we get to learn how to cook delicious foods like crepes, pizza and other things. But the almost best thing is that we get to play Ad Attack and get a mentor. It is cool that we get to meet kids from different schools.

Guest Blogger:
James Masterson
Elementary PREP Student

You Make the Impact

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Mentors often mention feeling unsure about whether they are having an impact on their protégés. You cannot spend time with another individual without impacting each other in some way, to some degree. You can make a concerted effort to assist a child who is reading below grade level to become more proficient by reading together. This may observably improve his reading skills. A less measurable impact that may be far more life changing may occur in the area of improved self esteem, not just because of the improved reading ability but because of the message conveyed to the child during the process of reading that the child is worthwhile. The development of skills and a recognition of the worth of a child are two protective factors that help children avoid substance abuse issues. The bonding that occurs between a protégé and his mentor offers more protection against the lure of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Empowering children to make the choice to avoid abusing harmful substances is the mission of Discovering Options. The impact mentors can have far supersedes this goal.

Granted, mentors are just one element in the constellation of forces that impact children. Peers, family, school, neighborhood, and society all exert their forces on children as well. However we have all read about or heard interviews with people of noted achievement whose roots have been in poverty, neglect, devaluation, or disenfranchisement. Those successful individuals all point to one common denominator in their ability to flourish despite the odds. They can identify one person in their childhood or adolescence who enabled them to see themselves as competent and deserving. For some it was a teacher or coach, for others it was a neighbor or an older relative. That person demonstrated a belief in the child, recognized his abilities or skills, and had a caring relationship with him. Those people were mentors. And they did have an impact.

Miss Kelly Lachacjzyk, LCSW

Guest Blogger: Cierra Smith

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Dear to whom it may concern,
PREP is really fun it helps me become a better person. Other kids should take PREP because you will learn to do right like not to smoke. It also teaches you to be better than when you got to PREP. You will get a mentor. A mentor is really fun. A mentor helps you with your homework and takes you places that is fun and you can talk to mentors about anything. My mentor took me out to eat and to a museum.
I love PREP very much. I wish I could go to PREP every day. Thank you PREP for helping me be a better person.
Love,
Cierra Smith
6th Grade, Herzog Elementary

Guest Blogger: Caroline Crocker

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Becoming a mentor with Discovering Options has been a great experience. I feel blessed to be a part of my protege's life. He is an amazing boy with so much potential. His family has been extremely welcoming of me and are always appreciative of my time. It is so much fun to watch him try new things for the first time or to see the smile on his face and know he is having a great time.
--Caroline Crocker

The Pedestrian

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The light turned red, so I pulled up to the crosswalk and brought my car to a stop. A young man, maybe 16 or 17 was crossing the street. He walked without purpose and took a deep drag off what appeared to be a cigar and continued across. The young man seemed sad and heavy with some invisible burden. His head was hanging and his expression was that of resignation and hopelessness. Seeing him made me think about the children we serve and how without support and a caring adult presence and a chance to engage with others in a safe and structured environment, the very children we serve could be this young man.

Too many of the children we serve are expected to care for younger siblings while parents work one or maybe two jobs and those same children have access to too much information about adult worries and problems. Allowing children to share adult burdens is both heavy and expensive.

When you mentor or contribute to Discovering Options you are helping children reclaim their child hoods and develop the skills they need to navigate the waters of adolescence. Please consider mentoring, a child is waiting for you right now.

Charmaine Smith

The Best Things Are Free

Fri, 15 May 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Activities in which mentors and protégés can participate together are always floating around in my mind. Discovering Options provides a list of suggestions mentors can use as activities for their weekly meetings with their kids. We also provide a schedule of monthly group outings to which all mentors and protégés are invited. But at this time of year I can think of hundreds of activities all having to do with spring busting out all over. The vast majority of kids we serve have limited experience with nature and the out of doors. Our Family PREP kindergarten, first and second grade kids took a field trip to the Botanical Garden a week ago. None had ever been there before. They were mesmerized by the fountains, gazing pool, maze, flowers by nature and by Chihuly, and we didn’t even get to the fish under the Japanese garden bridge.

We were in Forest Park for a special outing with a group of kids and they explored it with unrestrained zest, after a bit of prompting. None had ever just run freely, rolled down grassy hills, stepped across rocks in the waterfall, or peeked into bird nests. Most of the kids do not roam their own neighborhoods looking for nature “treasures� or throwing rocks into pools of water because no one knows when or where the next gunshots will ring out. If the kids don’t live close to a park and don’t have transportation to get to one, the appreciation of those things all previous generations have enjoyed and grown up with doesn’t take hold. A huge part of childhood, in my opinion, is never lived. The peace and calm and sense of freedom green spaces offer up are not felt by kids who live indoors.

We feasted on a picnic of pb and j sandwiches and fruit sitting next to the waterfall and pond. It was a visual, audio, tactile, and spiritual treat for the kids as well as the adults.

I hope everyone makes time to take their protégé to lots of outside venues where they can just explore whatever is there to discover at their own pace. You validate the belief some of the best things in life truly are free.

It Really Does Take A Village

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0500

We are so much more than an organization that delivers after school programming. I really feel like we have become a part of the community we serve. In addition to expanding, renewing and enhancing the Mark Twain Commumnity garden, we get over 20 impoverished children sponsored for summer camp every year. My team provides school-based individual, therapeutic support to those children currently enrolled in one of the PREP programs with significant behavioral or mental health challenges. Discovering Options matches social workers with those families that need temporary financial support like a bill paid or a bus pass to provide budgeting assistance or referrals and encouragement. Discovering Options focuses on the strengths of the people we serve and build upon those. We are so very proud to be a part of the community. Thank you for believing in us and the work we do.

Dollars Making a Difference

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Discovering Options is a finalist in the Dollars Making a Difference contest presented by National City Bank, 97.1 FM Talk, and K-HITS 96. I submitted a proposal that involves resurrecting the Mark Twain Community Garden -- Mark Twain is the neighborhood where we have delivered Family PREP for the past three years. Our proposal was chosen out of 200 and is one of three finalists. As a finalist, we have received $2,250 to improve the garden, a marketing campaign on 97.1 FM Talk and K-Hits 96 and over 15 National City and Emmis Communication employee volunteers!
The Dollars Making a Difference team records the progress of each of the finalists as they implement their unique community changing plans. Beginning April 6, 2009 and ending on April 17, 2009 video recaps from each of the three finalists will be posted on www.dollarsmakingadifference.com where the community (that is where you come in) will watch the clips and vote for the finalist they believe deserves the grand prize. The top vote-receiving finalist will receive a $20,000 cash donation courtesy of National City.
The BIG garden renovation took place last Saturday, March 14th 2009. We constructed a fence, planted trees and flowers, installed a sign, built flower beds, laid mulch and had fun in the sun! A BIG thank you to all of the volunteers who were so eager to lend a hand-- we could not have done it without you! -- Jackie Willard

Third Time is Truly a Charm!

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Last week it was official. I became a mentor again for the third time. Even though I sometimes pinch hit for Miss Kelly and facilitate mentor trainings, teaching other new mentors about managing their expectations, I was nervous about meeting my new protege and was concerned about whether she would like me. It is really a very cool thing to have a child, someone who wants to be inspired, guided and encouraged that I can teach new things to. I have enough life experiences that I can show her some ways to be a better friend, neighbor, co-worker and citizen. It is thrilling that I will have a little companion with whom I can eat black cherry ice cream, watch endless Disney movies, beat at UNO :) and be pen pals with. Mentoring doesn't take much. It does require your committment, your willingness to be vulnerable and occassionally disappointed, but above all it is your willingness to show someone relatively new to the world the great view from where you sit.

Charmaine Smith

Practicum Students

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0600

Each semester at Discovering Options, we welcome several new social work students to our team. Both undergraduate and graduate students from Washington University, St. Louis University, and UMSL become an integral part of our programs throughout the year. Social work students are required to complete practicum hours at an agency for their degree, and we are delighted when they choose Discovering Options to support them through this learning process. Students gain experience in program development, working with the kids in the afterschool programs, family engagement, home visits, fundraising, individual therapeutic support with students, and mentor recruitment and support, just to name a few. They commit to projects that not only further their learning and personal growth, but create new opportunities for the kids and families we serve. Students are developing parenting groups, increasing family involvement in programs, advocating for legislation to support afterschool programming, and writing grants for books for the kids. They help staff our afterschool programs so we may provide the individualized support and guidance that each child needs. As a supervisor for many students in the last few years, I have been privileged to work with them as they develop their skills, learn from their challenges, build their confidence, and grow personally through their experience. Thank you to all current and former Discovering Options practicum students – we couldn’t do it without you!

Amy Bahn

Family PREP

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0600

Discovering Options is not a "hover-craft" of an operation. We are absolutely a "we're-all-in-this- together- life-boat". Everyday our programs are on the ground floor of working with kids and their parents to provide opportunities and resources to meet real needs. This week, I and two other Family PREP classroom facilitators picked up a sofa bed that was being donated by a friend of one of our board members and delivered it to the home of one of our PREP kids. This student and her little sister had been sharing a sofa (that did not have a pull out bed) for their nightly rest. The magnitude of this gift is life-enhancing, timely and overwhlemingly appreciated. Their grandmother has been steadfast in their care and provides for them within her means, and faces many challenges because of the unpredictablity of the biological parents. PREP and Grandma have been constants for both girls for over two years, the oldest in particular,is thriving in school, participates in chess club, has perfect school attendance and is recognized daily for her continued cooperative behavior, positive attitude and stellar academic performance. Despite what must seem like overwhelming risks and hardships sometimes, we admire this family's strength and wealth of love, and commit to continuing to provide support for them.

We also got to "the heart of the matter" last week with our Valentine's themed Family Fun Day. We host these events every six weeks or so, and I think we look forward to them as much as the kids do. Parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles are invited to come to PREP and participate with the children doing all kinds of activities. Every twenty minutes we rotated the groups through creative, parent/kid friendly activities: musical chairs, sugar cookie decorating (thanks Miss Jackie to your mom and grandma for making and donating 150 cookies and icing!), Valentine's card-making and poetry writing and finally, tissue paper hearts and flower making. It was great to see the delight on one child's face when he witnessed his mom's professional-baker-quality-decorating-prowess, it was also sweet to see the lovely cards everyone made and the nice sentiments they wrote. Family Fun Day is a great way for all of us to spend time together, doing fun activities and enjoy each other's company and Valentine's Day was the perfect holiday for us to celebrate! A big "THANK YOU" to everyone who "shares the love" with Family PREP and Discovering Options-every contribution you make reaches a family in need.- Miss Kel @ Family PREP

Your Support Matters

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0600

Ponzi schemes, market down, unemployment up. These are challenging times. LIke many individuals right now, non-profits have seen a decrease in giving and for those non-profits large enough to have investments, significant financial drops in value. Discovering Options is always grateful for your contributions and is hopeful that you will continue to give if you can. Our after school programs serve impoverished children with very few opportunities to cook, do yoga, circus arts all in a structured and supportive setting. Our ability to serve over 240 at-risk children a year depends in part, on your generosity and continued investment in children. Our work has real outcomes that have been recently measured by the Missouri Institute of Mental Health. Your support has a big impact on the lives of the children who have the very least. Thank you.

PREP Chefs

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0600

Every Wednesday at Elementary PREP, you’ll see kids chopping, grating, stirring, and simmering, all to put together something yummy! Cooking is always a favorite activity at PREP, giving the kids the opportunity to try new foods from different cultures, such as African sweet potato cookies, Chinese dim sum, French crepes, or Indian samosas, along with a cultural lesson and craft project. The kids learn cooking techniques and kitchen safety; they practice reading and math skills by using recipes. But more than that, they are learning the invaluable lessons of teamwork, problem solving, patience, and responsibility. They gain self-confidence and a sense of accomplishment when their food is ready and they finally get to taste it. We practice table manners and have group conversations while eating, making each child an important part of the experience. Elementary PREP is lucky to have a group of wonderful volunteer chefs who make our cooking lessons possible each week. They provide not only their cooking skills, but also a genuine sense of caring and interest in our kids. Thank you to all of our volunteers who have spent time and shared their talents with our kids over the years! You don’t have to be a professional chef – if you like to cook and like kids, you can help!

When One Door Closes, Another Opens

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0600

The grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health, which has funded the Middle School PREP program, has come to an end. We have submitted a proposal to continue funding for Middle School PREP and await the next step of the process. As the Middle School PREP program closes its doors we remain excited and curious to the possibilities ahead.

Thank you to all of the organizations and people who have made Middle School PREP possible. Every step of the journey was an evolution. The experiences have been mutually beneficial and the knowledge gained will never be lost. Discovering Options remains committed to the empowerment of young people to make healthy life choices and will use the accumulated knowledge of Middle School PREP to advance future endeavors. This is not the end, it is a new beginning.

Seeds and Trees

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0600

New mentors often question if they are having an impact on their kids. Actually, not-so new-mentors ask the same thing. It would be great if an area on the kids’ foreheads would start to glow or flash so we could get a visual reading of the impact mentoring is having. We have to rely on more subtle signs. The youngster who comes to the relationship not knowing how to engage in a conversation with an adult might begin to ask questions or offer opinions. The boy who missed outings and failed to notify his mentor ahead of time begins to take responsibility for communicating better. A girl who has equated outings with gifts for herself and costly activities begins to accept and even value mentoring for being about friendship, not material things.

Sometimes the signs of impact are imperceptible. That’s where faith comes in. The seeds are planted and you know a certain percentage will germinate. One may even produce an oak tree that lives for 75 years. You just keep sowing seeds, hoping for the best.

One mentor who has been with her protégé for 3 years shared that her girl initiated a hug with her mentor for the first time recently. Another protégé remembered when he used to lie to his mentor but no longer feels the need to inflate his reality to impress her. Another protégé talks about exposure gained though outings, enabling the young man to envision living in more middle class, safer neighborhoods and feeling comfortable negotiating that world. Seeds and trees.

Kelly

New Year's Resolutions

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Happy New Year to you and your families! Here at Discovering Options we hope to accomplish a great deal in the New Year, and to get the year started on a positive note, we have some resolutions:

To increase our number of friends on our Facebook page

To encourage and support parents whose children do not have IEP's but need them, to write the letters to the school to start the process.

To get more testimonials from the parents and children we have served

To move fearlessly into the realm of the capital campaign to identify the support that exists and to determine the resources needed to secure a building in which we can deliver PREP

To eliiminate our waiting list of children who want mentors.

From all of us to all of you: Have a happy and healthy new year!

A Little Time Goes a Long Way

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Sometimes when I tell people about what I do, they seem shocked that I often visit families in their homes in poverty stricken neighborhoods or impressed that we are able to get so many families involved in our programs. They ask if I’m scared to go to people’s homes in “bad neighborhoods� or if the families we serve are abusive or neglectful of their children. Since I know that what we do may be outside of many people’s experience, I take this opportunity to educate them and give the families we serve credit for all their strengths.

In my experience with Discovering Options families over the last three years, overwhelmingly our families care deeply for their children and want them to do something positive, to have new opportunities, and to do something more for themselves. When I go on home visits, parents are welcoming and excited about their child participating in a new activity. They encourage their children and are proud when they come home with a new skill or a project that they did that day. They may not always know how to solve the problems that they are presented, but they are extremely resourceful and often come to our staff with questions about how to help their kids do better academically, socially, or behaviorally. Every day, our families continue to navigate a system that is often filled with obstacles and challenges in order to provide for their needs. Our kids and families are extraordinarily resilient, and giving them the opportunities that we do at PREP builds on their individual strengths and introduces them to a world outside of their neighborhood. I am glad when people are impressed at what we do; we work hard to improve the lives of the children and families we serve. But at the core of it is that we simply care, which is an easy thing to do. Every child wants to be important to someone. Become a mentor. Become a volunteer. A little time goes a long way in making a difference.

Your Help Matters

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Earlier today I was in my car stopped at a red light. A young man, maybe 17 years old was crossing the street. His gait suggested he had no real purpose or was not in any hurry. He was taking a drag off of what appeared to be a cigar, but any substance could have been in that wrapper. He seemed so heavy and sad and his head was hanging low. He looked tired and resigned and I was struck by how young he looked. He seemed to be without hope. At one time in my life I would have stopped the car and asked him if he was okay. I did not. But what I know is that the work we do at Discovering Options gives children hope and opportunities. With no hope and no opportunities children choose coping methods that are dangerous, addictive and life changing. Your support helps us give hope to others. Thank you for believing you can make a difference.

Your Help Matters

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

While stopped at a red light today, I watched a young man cross the street. He appeared to be about 17, but something else about him struck me. He seemed so sad and heavy with some invisible burden. He walked without purpose and his head hung low. He took a drag off of what appeared to be a cigar, but any substance could have been in that wrapper. Seeing him made me think about the children we serve in PREP and how hard we work to surround children who have so many adult concerns and burdens with new experiences, support and useful behavioral tools. This young man clearly needed something to believe in other than that blunt. Your support of our programs gives at-risk children hope and possibilities because childhood is too young to feel hopeless. Your support matters. Thank you.

Why do we sponsor families during the holidays?

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

This is the second year I have organized holiday sponsorships for the families of Discovering Options. Although sponsoring families is not written into our mission statement it has become an annual tradition we look forward to every year.

The Discovering Options staff looks into the eyes of poverty every day. Every day we see holes in the lives of our families and children that we do not always have the means to fix. We work hard on fixing the holes in their hearts that stem from lack of education and poverty, but the holes in the walls, the holes in the teeth, the holes in the socks, the holes in the pantry are not services we can deliver on a day to day basis.

The holidays are particularly hard for our families, especially this year. Sponsoring families gives the staff a chance to survey and assess our neediest families and provide the bridge between members of our community who wish to share their giving spirit with those less fortunate.

Jackie Willard

It Doesn't Take Much

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Last week, Miss Deborah, our volunteer who regularly staffs the "PREP Store" was absent, so Miss Kel and I worked the store together. The "store" is part of our behavior managment system for the children who attend PREP. Children earn tickets by demonstrating good citizenship, good choices, good coping skills and at the end of each week the child can use tickets to purchase something at the store, or they can bank their tickets and save for a big item. Our inventory includes: toothpaste, toothbrushes, chapstick, lip gloss, art supplies, pencils, hot wheels, hats, gloves, socks, t-shirts, uniform shirts, deodorant, stickers, tatoos, erasers, games, puzzles, books, balls, notebooks, playdough and lots of cool kid-friendly things we pick up at the dollar store. Apparently, I am a soft touch, because I ran a few specials (like if you bought toothpaste, I threw in a free toothbrush) and by 5:00 the store was depleted and the fourth and fifth graders hadn't been there yet!! If you have shampoo samples or any of the items listed above, or care to donate any of the items listed above we will put them in the store. The children LOVE the store and it is fun to teach them about saving, delaying gratification and smart shopping!

An Apology

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

We released our November newsletter late yesterday and made a huge oversight. We neglected to include the logo of one of our largest and longest funding agencies the Mental Health Board. Ironically, this particular issue of PREP TALK is all about gratitude. We have always been and remain grateful for the support of the Mental Health Board. We would not be able to bring meaningful, innovative afterschool programming to impoverished children in the City of St. Louis without the support of the Mental Health Board. I hope all of the staff and board members of the Mental Health Board will accept our apologies and know that we remain grateful for their suport, guidance and investment in our work. www.stlmhb.com/

Playing a Part- Changing Lives

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Mentoring is fun stuff. I know mentors enjoy spending time alone with their kids and giving them the individual attention they all seem to want. And that is where the deeper relationships develop. But there is a lot to be said for the monthly group activities as well. Doing things with the kids that they have never before experienced is especially fun. One weekend they went to a lake in the country. Some had never been fishing before. Some had never been on a lake. Or even seen a lake. Or even been out of the city.

Mentoring makes you reflective. You start realizing how privileged and blessed some people’s childhoods are. You see how some kids don’t have the luxury of safe neighborhoods or have adults in their lives who take them to experience new places and things. Resources are scarce so kids cannot take advantage of the plethora of cultural experiences our city offers. Horizons are narrowed. Opportunities are missed. Less hope is felt about the future.

Mentoring changes lives. Kids get to sample what’s out there. They become more discerning consumers. They discover hidden talents and latent interests. The world expands before their eyes. Their futures brighten. And you know you played a part.

PREP's Got Talent!

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Walk into Elementary PREP on a Thursday afternoon, and you might see some interesting activity – kids singing, dancing, or creating their own special scenes on huge paper. For the past several weeks, the kids have been working on a talent show to present to their families in the last week of PREP. But it’s not any ordinary talent show – the kids have each chosen a performance that reflects their unique heritage. We’ll have salsa dancing, an African song and dance, and the tango, just to name a few! The PREP talent show has given the kids an opportunity to learn more about their own cultures as well as to appreciate others’ differences.

They have practiced not only their songs and dances, but also patience, perseverance, teamwork, and problem solving. Shy kids have overcome some of their fears to get up in front of the group. Kids who might sometimes make fun of others have supported their peers in their efforts. To watch them work on preparing this show has reminded me how amazing our kids are and how important PREP is to help them realize their full potential and keep showcasing their own special talents, whatever they may be.

The Difference

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500

One of the questions I am frequently asked is: “What sets Discovering Options apart from other after school programs?� It is a fair question. There are several strategies Discovering Options employs that makes its approach unique and holistic. The first is that we enroll all of the children in our programs through a home enrollment visit. We meet families where they are. Going to the family solves a number of logistical challenges, like transportation, but mainly we create a personal connection with the families and start establishing trust and rapport in their living rooms.

We rely on research based curriculum and practices to strengthen our programs and to increase our efficacy with the children we serve. I also think that the team works diligently to deliver curriculum that is action oriented, interesting and stays away from the didactic. Because we know each child that we serve we can match them with resources and services when and if the need arises. We also have a visiting therapist that sees about 15-20 of our students a week. Every day we acknowledge that coming into your own is a process and it is our charge to honor that process, guide children and arm them with the tools they need to stay healthy, safe and in school.

Events! Events! Events!

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Discovering Options held its Second Annual Golf Tournament at Norwood Hills this past September. Thank you to all of our sponsors, committee members, volunteers and golfers who made this event a huge success! You raised over $18,000.00 to fund quality programming for impoverished children living in the City of Saint Louis!

The events of 2008 have proved that our small organization is growing, and growing fast! With more attendants than ever before, we have outgrown previous event venues. Planning is already in the works for Trivia Night 2009. We are moving this year’s event to the Carpenters Hall on Hampton and we expect to fill all 300 seats. Please save the date for Trivia Night, February 29^th2009, online registration will be available as early as November!

Many of us can still recall the charm and elegance of the evening spent at the Four Seasons for our annual Gala, Cirque de la Vie. Your positive feedback has determined that we will use the Four Seasons, once again, for our gala in 2009. Please save the date for Cirque de la Vie, June 27^th 2009, and look forward to more details to follow!

YOU would make a GREAT mentor!

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500

When you hear the word mentor, what comes to mind? Teacher? Advisor? Guidance counselor? Seasoned friend? Discovering Options has approximately 80 mentors and each would probably describe their roles a little differently. The common denominators and perhaps most important traits are “consistent" and “caring". Those are the mentor characteristics that impact our kids the most.

Many of our protégés have had more than their share of inconsistencies in their lives: frequent moves, new neighborhoods, change of schools, disrupted telephone and other utilities services. Often people in their lives show an inconsistent presence: parents sometimes drift in and out of their lives due to financial or emotional instabilities or incarceration. Children can interpret all of these events as people and the world in general just not caring about them. Some may take it further and believe “I’m not worth caring about".

Mentors, in offering nothing more than simple consistency and demonstrating a caring attitude, can help reverse that thinking and reestablish healthy self esteem. Positive self esteem increases the chances of the child making good choices for him/herself. Weaving additional things into the mentoring equation like exposure to new experiences, enjoying recreational outings together, pursuing proficiency in an academic or musical or physical activity further enhances a kid’s belief in himself and trust in adults.

PREP Reads

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Many of us remember our favorite books as kids, hearing that bedtime story, or staying up late to finish just one more chapter. Many bedrooms have bookshelves stuffed with books starting from early childhood, from fairy tales to more modern stories. Yet when I ask PREP kids what they like to do, very few of them mention reading, and many even turn up their nose at the idea of sitting down with a good book. A large percentage of children in the St. Louis Public Schools read well below grade level, so it’s no wonder that reading is seen more as a chore than a hobby.
Enter the literacy curriculum at Elementary PREP…each week, our classroom of 4^th and 5^th graders participate in activities designed to make reading fun. We might do Mad Libs to learn the parts of speech while laughing at the goofy stories that result, make up our own endings or illustrations for books, or host a talk show interviewing the characters of a book. Right now, we are reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing together at the end of each day, which is about a 4^th grade boy named Peter and his wild brother Fudge, who is always managing to do crazy things like cutting his own hair off or ruining Peter’s homework. The kids are fascinated by the story, giggle at Fudge’s goofy antics, and many can relate to having a younger sibling overshadowing and bothering them all the time. Read aloud time is relaxing and entertaining for the kids, but most importantly, it introduces them to reading as an enjoyable activity, which is crucial for improving their reading skills. The literacy curriculum at Elementary PREP is just one way that we help kids discover a world of options. -Amy Bahn

The View From up Here

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0500

I did mention a challenge didn't I? The one that looms largest is that our grant cycle for Middle School PREP is coming to an end in January 2009. The award was for $369,075.00 made in January 2006 for 36 months. 32 months into adjusting and correcting the curriculum, forms, procedures and most importantly the way we respond to the myriad of daily dramas and dilemnas presented by at-risk middle schoolers; we have developed the capacity and the desire to continue delivering Middle School PREP.

The obvious hurdle we have to clear is: where do we find the capital to continue delivering the program? I have been around long enough to remember that in the old days plenty of grants got year after year of funding and the product they delivered was just marginal. I want to keep Middle School PREP funded because it works and the kids love it, not because I want to keep funding. Middle Shcool PREP has been evaluated and we can validate the quality and efficacy of the program. But unless you are getting federal funding or BIG foundation dollars, grant awards don't seem to come in six figures. It is expensive to operate quality programs. Our biggest expense for Middle School PREP is salaries and benefits. Other significant expenses are contractual (For Middle School PREP our contractors are visting teachers like Playback Workshop Theater, Tai Chi and Yoga teachers and practicum students), actual program expenses and rent. So Most grant applicants are asked what their plan for sustainability of the project is once the grant period has concluded. Our plan is to evaluate the whole program, the program delivery process, to adjust the program accordingly, re-evaluate, assess the impact of the findings and report what we have learned.

Art With Us

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0500

One-by-one, bright eyed smiling faces trickled into the First Unitarian Church uncertain to the next step they would take. As the Mason Elementary sixth graders scattered and chattered to find their seats they were warmly welcomed to the next ten weeks of their lives: PREP.
This session of Middle School PREP promises to excite the most challenging of children. From Project Alert to cultural cooking, from a RAVEN Peace workshop to Circus Arts hosted by Abra-Kid-Abra, the children will be engaged in a variety of activities relevant to the challenges of adolescents.
After months of preparation, a particularly exciting partnership has been developed between the Saint Louis Art Museum and Middle School PREP. We are working with professional photographer, Ms. Lois Ingrum, to bring Art With Us to this culturally diverse group of sixth graders.
Children will learn through hands on experimentation how to look for a subject, how to relate to the subject being photographed and how to tell a story through the “eyes of the camera". The children will have one visit to the Saint Louis Art Museum to visit the Print Room and study the surrounding architecture in relation to the principles and elements of art.
Art With Us goes beyond arts and crafts and will give an in depth exploration of the world and art of photography, leaving our children with an enhanced life skill and fonder appreciation for the arts. As the children develop their photography skills you can look forward to the Middle School PREP Photography Exhibit to be held November 10^th, 2008! More details to follow. Say Cheese!!!

Jackie Willard
Communications Coordinator/ Middle School PREP

Here we go!

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0500

I am Charmaine and I am the Founder and Executive Director of Discovering Options. I got all excited when the team here at Discovering Options agreed to blog. Each of the four senior team members will post an entry once a month. So you will get four distinct views of our world from the trenches. September is my month. I hope that as the year rolls by, you will gain a clear understanding of who we are, our challenges and opportunities and how we are impacting the community!

Like many young non-profit organizations, Discovering Options has several immediate opportunities to explore and twice that many challenges to address. Our current opportunity is moving us closer to placement on a National Registry of Effective or Model Program, Practices and Policies. It is a rigorous process, but one that we started two years ago and have just recently met our second milestone. For the details, click here. Gaining entry onto a national registry like NREPP or OJJDP gives PREP credibility as the programs admitted to the registry have been throughly vetted and the outcomes are published. The next steps are for us to have multiple published journal articles and a control group study. It is truly a process, but we are on our way! Stay tuned.