• 934 youth (unduplicated) attended PRIMEtime programs last year.
• Among youth attending PRIMEtime 20+ times last year, 95.5% improved their standardized test scores from fall 2009 to fall 2010.
• The average number of school absences for the youth attending PRIMEtime decreased from 21.2 periods to 12.8 periods (a 39.6% reduction!) compared to the same students’ attendance records in 2008-09.
• Over 85% of PRIMEtime youth reported that being in the program “helps me do better at school.”
• Nearly 90% of PRIMEtime youth reported, “I want to go to college or technical college after high school.”

The PRIMEtime out-of-school-time collaborative recently completed its third year.  PRIMEtime aims to build a continuum of free after school and summer programming in the community.  PRIMEtime sites include: the elementary school PLUS programs; the Middle School Youth Center; the Summer PLUS program; the high school and evening homework help programs; and the Northfield Union of Youth/The Key.

Click HERE for a summary handout on the PRIMEtime program and its 2009-10 results.

Northfield is very fortunate to have four fantastic AmeriCorps Promise Fellows this year.   These individuals serve full-time, supporting youth in our community through a partnership with the Minnesota Alliance With Youth.   The Fellows work at the Northfield Middle School, Northfield High School, Area Learning Center, The Key, and the Healthy Community Initiative.  Northfield was selected to host four Fellows through a competitive grant process from the Minnesota Alliance With Youth.

This fal, we’re profiling the four Promise Fellows.  Today we feature the final Fellow — Mundo Garza, who is in his first year as a Promise Fellow with the Northfield High School.

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Meet Promise Fellow Mundo Garza!

Host Site: Northfield High School
Hometown: Laredo, Texas
School/Major: Carleton College – Religion
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, it would be… Chicken curry!
What you’re reading right now: The Next 100 Years by George Friedman
Favorite place you’ve traveled: Barcelona, Spain
Unexpected fact about you: I used to be able to fit the front half of my foot in my mouth–I haven’t tried this in a long time!

Tell us a little bit about what you do as a Promise Fellow:

In my work as a Promise Fellow, I focus on maintaining academic support programs, both in-school and after-school. I work closely with the Northfield TORCH (Tackling Obstacles and Raising College Hopes) program, a collaborative that provides low-income and minority students (as well as youth who would be first-generation college attendees) with more resources and support for their secondary/post-secondary endeavors.  I also sit on the Northfield High School’s Student Support Team, which identifies at-risk students and develops action plans to address various academic and personal issues.

Northfield is very fortunate to have four fantastic AmeriCorps Promise Fellows this year.   These individuals serve full-time, supporting youth in our community through a partnership with the Minnesota Alliance With Youth.   The Fellows work at the Northfield Middle School, Northfield High School, Area Learning Center, The Key, and the Healthy Community Initiative.  Northfield was selected to host four Fellows through a competitive grant process from the Minnesota Alliance With Youth.

During the month of October, we’re profiling the four Promise Fellows.  Today we are featuring Clare Dudzinski, who is in her first year as a Promise Fellow with the Northfield Middle School.

Meet Promise Fellow Clare Dudzinski!

Host Site: Northfield Middle School
Hometown: Wilmette, Illinois
School/Major: St. Olaf College – Social Work, Biomedical Studies
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, it would be… Despite Jordan’s probably valid argument that I’ll be the only Promise Fellow who won’t survive, I’m sticking with bell peppers.
What you’re reading right now: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, What Is The What by Dave Eggers, Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh
Favorite place you’ve traveled: The Victoria Falls in Livingstone, Zambia
Unexpected fact about you: I was a captain of my high school’s varsity badminton team.  We were fierce competitors.

Tell us a little bit about what you do as a Promise Fellow: I meet with students one-on-one and in groups throughout the school day to offer academic and personal support through homework help and tutoring, group discussions of relevant social issues, individual goal setting, and civic engagement opportunities.  I also help to facilitate the Middle School Youth Center (an after school academic and enrichment program for 6th through 8th graders) and Homework Zone (an evening homework help group).

Connected Kids currently has 85 youth who meet one-on-one with adults and do everything from recreational activities, arts and crafts, board games, and – most importantly – talking and developing a friendship.

All youth need caring adults in their lives—become a mentor by clicking HERE or by calling the Northfield Healthy Community Initiative at 507-664-3524.

One hour of your time each week has a powerful impact on a young person!

Northfield is very fortunate to have four fantastic AmeriCorps Promise Fellows this year.   These individuals serve full-time, supporting youth in our community through a partnership with the Minnesota Alliance With Youth.   The Fellows work at the Northfield Middle School, Northfield High School, Area Learning Center, The Key, and the Healthy Community Initiative (HCI).  Northfield was selected to host four Fellows through a competitive grant process from the Minnesota Alliance With Youth.

During the month of October, we’re profiling the four Promise Fellows.  Today we are featuring Jordan Taylor, who is in his second year as a Promise Fellow with HCI.

Meet Promise Fellow Jordan Taylor!

Host Site: Healthy Community Initiative
Hometown: Hutchinson, Minnesota
School/Major: University of Minnesota, Duluth – Sociology
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, it would be… Potatoes – a boring but versatile food
What you’re reading right now: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Favorite place you’ve traveled: New York City
Unexpected fact about you: I play in at least 5 different bands, yikes.

Tell us a little bit about what you do as a Promise Fellow:

I work on a variety of youth-focused initiatives around Northfield and larger Rice County, collaborating with groups such as the Northfield Mayor’s Youth Council, the Northfield Mayor’s Task Force on Youth Alcohol & Drug Use, TORCH, and the Northfield Union of Youth (The Key).

Northfield is very fortunate to have four fantastic AmeriCorps Promise Fellows this year.   These individuals serve full-time, supporting youth in our community through a partnership with the Minnesota Alliance With Youth.   The Fellows work at the Northfield Middle School, Northfield High School, Area Learning Center, The Key, and the Healthy Community Initiative.  Northfield was selected to host four Fellows through a competitive grant process from the Minnesota Alliance With Youth.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll profile the four Promise Fellows.  We start today with Rachel Woldum, who is in her second year as a Promise Fellow with the Northfield Union of Youth/The Key.

Meet Promise Fellow Rachel Woldum!
Host Site: Northfield Union of Youth (The Key) & the ALC
Hometown: Tulsa, Oklahoma
School/Major: St. Olaf College – English, Film Theory, and Women’s Studies
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, it would be… Red Baron Four Cheese PIZZA!
What you’re reading right now: The Little Friend by Donna Tartt
Favorite place you’ve traveled: Munich, Germany
Unexpected fact about you: I used to be a huge Star Wars nerd and still have lots of Star Wars memorabilia – a Darth Vader doll and mask, model X-wing, a lightsaber, C-3PO cookie jar…you name it!

Tell us a little about what you do as a Promise Fellow:

• Staff at the Key
• Provide support to students at the ALC (this is a new piece this year!)
• Help support existing programs at the Key and start new ones
• Run the Main Street Mentors program
• Assist with the occasional grant
• Plan service learning and volunteer projects

Members of the TORCH Book Club meet Sarah Dixon (center), Executive Director of the Minnesota Alliance With Youth

Our book club is composed of  7-10 girls who  have been meeting weekly to read aloud and discuss books and newspaper articles.  During their time together, the group shares snack, takes turns reading, and keeps a list of new vocabulary words on a whiteboard.  Inevitably, the time is filled with reading and relevant conversation triggered by the subject of the article or the book.

Three of the girls and their leader, Middle School TORCH Coordinator Susan Sanderson, attended the Red Wagon Awards Reception and Presentation at the Governor’s Residence on Monday, September 13.  It was an elegant affair and an awesome opportunity for all of us.

Camp Pepin is a YMCA camp located in Wisconsin on the beautiful shores of Lake Pepin.  TORCH provided assistance with the registration process, fees, supplies and transportation.

Highlights of Camp Pepin include archery, sailing, and swimming.  On the ride home, youth were chatting about their plans for next summer and were hopeful that they would be able to return to Camp Pepin.   One TORCH camper declared this was the “best summer of my life.”

Funding for TORCH summer experiences was provided by Women In Northfield Giving Support, the Grace Whittier Fund, and the Northfield Area United Way.

Community members are encouraged to stop by and see firsthand this fabulous program, which provides academic enrichment and recreational opportunities to over 200 Northfield children in grades K-8 each day.

The program is being held this summer at the Northfield High School.

For more information on Monday’s Open House, click HERE.

Rotary announced that they will provide up to $40,000 in assistance to support the purchase of the new Key location in downtown Northfield (picture at the bottom of this post).  They will also partner with the Northfield Union of Youth/The Key to expand mentoring opportunities and to encourage additional intergenerational connections between local youth and adults.

Click HERE to read more about this exciting partnership in the July 10, 2010 edition of the Northfield News.

The new location of The Key